I recently read a blog about Google. It detailed one student's experiences, both good and bad, when relying on Google for day-to-day information. It prompted me to think about how I use Google and other information sources.
Google, for me, means Answers. Answers to any question I can dream of... and I don't believe I’m the only Google-loving freak.
When I was younger, and a sibling or I had a question or wanted to know the meaning of a word, out would come the big, heavy dictionaries and various reference books. We’d pour over them and discuss our findings with whoever was around.
In some ways, I feel that not much has fundamentally changed. When I, or someone else has a question, the common response by those around is “Google it” or “check wiki”. In the same way I remember looking over those big books with a sibling or parent, people will stand behind you reading the computer screen over your shoulder, as you find out the answers together.
There are, however, some very important differences to keep in mind. While in the past, one could count on accuracy and reliability from a physical encyclopaedia; the range of information one can get from Google or other online information sources is not always desirable. Information can be inaccurate or incredible (Grazette, 2007).
Due to the relative lack of filtering in a Google search, I am finding more and more that Google can’t sufficiently answer everything for me. Even Google’s attempt at providing more academic information, Google Scholar, often leaves me unsatisfied. I try to use this more credible information in my research, only to find that what I’m reading is simply a “preview” and I have to pay to read an entire article or e-book.
Because of this, I have come to rely on University library databases more and more in my hunt for reliable, trustworthy research. Although bias can still exist in the information I find through said databases, I find that the selectivity and filtering of information gives me a head start, and makes assignment research far less daunting.
It does lead me to question, however, what I’d do without access to such databases. While access to databases can be privately purchased, the cost of doing so would be highly expensive for the individual.
If a person cannot afford to purchase access themselves, or isn’t lucky enough to have access through a university or other institution, they are left with the problematic and unsatisfactory free sources of information I mentioned earlier.
The digital divide, or knowledge divide, are terms usually applied in a global sense; the differences in levels of access to knowledge or technology in poorer countries versus those more well off (Aquili and Moghaddam, 2008). I think what I have talked about is an often-overlooked, yet similar situation, if on a much smaller scale.
The Internet holds a vast amount of information, and as a 20-year-old university student, I feel that I am only just beginning to really come to grips with the importance of being “smart” about online research. Google and Wikipedia aren’t going away anywhere, and I certainly don’t want them to. However, like badly behaved children, they have a time and a place.
I think that it is important to be educated on how best to research and seek reliable, accurate information. However I also feel that those without the higher levels of information access that I’ve discussed are at a disadvantage. The Internet is often said to be a tool of democracy, and while it has freed up areas such as music, information is an area still plagued by restrictions. These limitations force many to rely on more sub-par, often dubious information.
References:
Aquili, S. and A. Moghaddam. 2008. Bridging the digital divide: The role of librarians and information professionals in the third millennium. The Electronic Library, 26 (2): 226-237.
Grazette, J. 2007. Wikiality in My Classroom. The Washington Post, March 25.
2 comments:
Google-mania, you couldn't have used a better word to describe the phenomenon that is Google. But it is great how you point out how we have evolved in searching for information. My parents also had the same solution for when I needed to find a meaning for something "Look it up in the dictionary" they would say, but nowadays the common term being used is 'Google It'. It really fascinates me how we have evolved in finding information in relation to the ever changing world of technology. I also agree with you on university databases and how they are much more reliable and efficient in finding the information that I need. I believe that if Google wishes to remain as one of the biggest search engines on the Internet today, they have to get rid of some of the restrictions that plagues it, so that everyone can rely on Google and not just databases, as many people do not have access to the information that we as university students have, demonstrating that a lot of people might still have to tell their kids to "Look it up in the dictionary"; a notion that seems so profound in this ever changing world of technology. I agree wholly with you that by enforcing limitations on finding information then many will have to settle for inaccurate, untrustworthy pieces of information.
It’s amazing how many people are most likely reading your post, and seeing themselves in exactly the same situation. I use google for absolutely anything, and get extremely frustrated when I can’t find reliable sources for my assignments. It’s become too much of a hassle to go to the library and hire text books these days, because then we have to cart them home and actually return them, otherwise we’re hit with a fine. Who studying actually remembers to return their books after an assignment is submitted? I personally forget I even wrote the assignment and move on; until I receive an email saying my books are overdue!
I love the style you’re written your blog in. Its very easy-to-read, but yet academic and argumentative at the same time. You’ve included a lot of areas for discussion and provided a substantial amount of resources. The only constructive criticism I have is that you could have extended some of your arguments and written a separate blog on the topics. For example, you say
“the digital divide, or knowledge divide, are terms usually applied in a global sense; the differences in levels of access to knowledge or technology in poorer countries versus those more well off” which could have been a whole other argument all together, and would have made a great separate post. But apart from that, I thought it was interesting and most engaging, undoubtedly relating to all of us ‘googlers’.
Here’s a site I found which you may be interested in reading; http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2008/01/before_and_afterhow_google_wik.html
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