Essay # 3 Information Quality Control

“Throughout our childhood we are taught to pay attention to books- read remember, and repeat what we find in them.”(Tensen 69 ^Para. 3) However, it’s becoming more and more prevalent that many are not relying on books they are instead going to the Internet as their main source of information. This new found allure of the Internet has managed to snatch the spotlight the trusty book once held but this medium presents the huge problem of information quality control. Due to this mediums forever growing database a vast amount of the information many rely on is often unverified opinions which could be false and biased. To understand this problem of quality information on the Internet I will use this medium as the main source of obtaining information for my final research assignment on the Web 2.0 application You Tube. The information gathered here will look at my process of searching the web as well as a brief evaluation of some search engines I used and why. In the end it will be shown just how and why it is so important to pick one website over the other.


When I started my research I quickly decided that I would select one search database I am very familiar with and two others I don’t often use. In doing this I hoped I would gain a better understanding of some different search engines and compare them to the one I use most often. The search engines I used were Yahoo, Google, and Ask which happen to receive significant boast and support from many Internet users nationwide. The first search engine used was Yahoo and discovered a number of things about I never noticed prior to the research even though I use it almost everyday. One thing in specific was Yahoo’s ability to present information about the top things searched on the engine that day. To supply this information seems quite useful because who doesn’t want to know what the most searched topic is. Another key element Yahoo has that I personally like is its ability to provide an advanced search to help better pinpoint what you are actually looking for. Besides Yahoo, I also used Google which is said to be the most popular search engine selected by many computer users. The initial use of Google’s search engine seemed very effective for the information in which I was searching. I found that upon searching for specific information the search engine also showed some of the most recent news articles relating to my search. I would definitely use this search engine more often now for this very reason. The last search engine I used was Ask which is another well known search engine amongst the Internet cyber world. This search engine was very interesting in comparison to the others because it was sort of question and answer oriented. (i.e. what is you tube?, who created you tube?) Although I liked this style of asking questions when searching, I didn’t really trust the results I received. I took a lot of the information as the opinions of certain people and answers which needed to be backed up. All in from the three search engines I used I found that Yahoo was the most effective and reliable to me.


While searching for information on my topic I took some time to evaluate the quality of the sources I found. To help in the evaluation process I relied on a reading by Bonnie L Tensen entitled “Research strategies for a digital age” which highlighted some of the ways to determine the quality of information on the Net. To verify my sources I will first look at the sources that would most likely be useful in the final essay then focus on the other sources I wouldn’t use. The websites I have chosen as useful were carefully scrutinized by using Tensen’s methods of determining credibility. According to Tensen in order for Internet sources to be proven credible one must be able to determine the purpose, source, intended audience, date of publication, appearance, and reputation. The most credible sources I will be using come from a libraries electronic database Lexis Nexis. These articles include “Inside the Promise & Peril of You Tube” by Brian Morrissay, “You Tube: You Created the Content, Now Sell the Ads.” by Abbey Klaassen, and “You Tube’s Troubles” by Duncan Mcloed. Besides the credibility being accurately determined by using Tensen’s method, I also feel the reason I trusted these sources more then others is because I found them within the Library database. The other credible sources obtained came from websites like You Tube, Crunchbase, Mashable, San Franciso Chronicle and Wikipedia. I again used Tensen’s method as a benchmark but also relied heavily on my own confidence towards the sources before using them. I had to make sure each of them was effectively useful. After finding the sources I trusted I realized that there were a few sources which didn’t make the cut. These sources were either littered with ads/pop-ups (appearance), rarely used (reputation), and mostly lacking a purpose. These sources were found on Dig and Answers; both sites used a unique method of a question asking and answering style. Although this style is quite common, what I quickly came to realize was that they were people’s opinions. These opinions may be accurate but the only way to determine this would be to check another site.

In conclusion, from this assignment substantial evidence has been supplied to help me understand some of the proper techniques necessary for researching on the Internet effectively. Along this process I have not only learned how to search for specific information effectively but also where to search(databases/search engines). In taking the time to research various websites/search engines like Google and Dig to determine their quality I have gained an increased awareness of just how much information is on the Net and why it all can't be trusted. Whether this information useful or not it has become clear that the Internet indeed could someday surpass the usefulness of a printed book in a dusty library with the simply click of a mouse. However I stress the word could since as stated earlier by Tensen our society today is taught at a young age to rely heavily on books. With that said it could also be true that tomorrow's society(next generations) will have the same ideals for the Internet especially with the growing advancements of the medium as whole.


Bibliography
Lexis Nexis/Library:

1.Morrissay, Brian. (2007). Inside the Promise & Peril of You Tube. Adweek.
2.Klaassen, Abbey. (2008) “You Tube: You created the Content, Now Sell the Ads.” Advertising Age.
3.Mcloed, Duncan. (2007). You Tube’s Troubles. Financial Mail.