week 2

It was interesting to learn how to find different sources using the different things the library had to offer. I think the Wikipedia talk was the most interesting. Wikipedia is a great thing because it provides useful information. I understand why schools don't want you to use it for research, but I think they should come up with some other way to easily access credible information.

When I'm writing papers and researching, I usually don't care about the topic and so, I have no desire to do more work than is necessary. Although credible info is available on the internet, I don't want to spend unusual amounts of time searching for it. In class we talked about looking past the first page on search engines, and there were lots of good things to find. However, in reality, I wouldn't want to look that far. Wikepedia is the very first thing that comes up, and that is how I learn about the topic. When it comes to papers that I don't like writing, or (just don't care about) I want quick answers. In the end, I just want to get the paper over with.
This would be different if the topic I was researching hadn't been reseached before. Then it would mean that any information I find would matter. But when the topic is something that has been covered before, then I feel like I just have to find the correct answers. It becomes a chore instead of a learning experience. Thats why I'm so lazy with research!
I'd like to say that I don't directly cite wikepedia as a source. I look at the sources section at the bottom of the page. It's like the author of the page did most of the work for me. I'm fully aware of how easy it is to screw up information on wikepedia.

We also talked about how to find scholarly journals. Those are the best sources for information, but  once again, they require some effort to find. Maybe there should be a Scholaryly journal website that is as convienient as Wikipedia.
oOne more thing: We talked about articles that are used for entertainment, and those that are used to inform. The book STIFF was used as an example to illustrate how some information in entertainment writing is not always reliable.  I must say, I was a little annoyed that people were saying suff about  this great book. The author is an excellent writer and it was clear when she was giving an opinion and when she was stating facts ( not to mention that her bibliography  was incredibly long.) STIFF rocks. You should all read it.