After learning about encyclopedias and Wikipedia, there are some pros and cons to them both. The pros to the encyclopedias are that they give you correct information, and you shouldn’t have to second guess yourself about them. They are the go-to reference books for general knowledge on any given subject. Encyclopedias may contain everything from broad knowledge to a catalogue of specialized knowledge for an individual or group. The cons to encyclopedias are that they may not be up to date. Information could be out of date. Another con to encyclopedias is that they may not have been looked over good enough and may contain some wrong information. Also looking for encyclopedias can be a hassle for some people, and having the encyclopedia not be on the shelf at the library could be a problem. Wikipedia also has many pros and cons. A pro to Wikipedia is that it is right at the tip of your fingers. All you have to do is grab your computer, iPod, or phone and you can have information in seconds. Another pro to Wikipedia is that they contain information to many topics, pretty much any topic that you would like to research they will have some sort of information about it. A con to Wikipedia is also that the information could be wrong. Many people can go through and edit its page on that subject, which then will lead you to the wrong information. Allowing people to go through and edit the page is another con, because you never know if they are right or not. While looking on the school’s library website I could not find any encyclopedias on my topic. I also could not find any E-encyclopedias on my topic as well. I was unable to locate and read an encyclopedia entry on my topic so there for I will not be able to use it on my research presentation. However, I did find a Wikipedia entry on my topic that I will be using for my presentation. It touched on the topic of mentally disabled adults and I found it appropriate for what I’m researching.
Hi Rebecca,
ReplyDeleteWhat search string did you use to look for encyclopedias on your topic? How many times did you attempt the search?
Also, what were the reasons why you found the Wikipedia entry appropriate for your research project?
I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Professor Wexelbaum
The search string I used to search for an encyclopedia on my topic was the St.Cloud State University Library website. I attempted to search for an encyclopedia 4 times, and could not come up with one. Reasons for finding my appropriate Wikipedia entry was because it had a lot of information about my topic and all of the information that was giving will be useful for my research project.
ReplyDeleteHi Rebecca,
ReplyDeleteI think I need to redefine "search string". What I mean is, what combination of words did you use to search for an encyclopedia on your topic in the St Cloud State University website?
How could you tell that the information from the Wikipedia entry was useful for your project?
I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Professor Wexelbaum
The search string I used was "Mentally Challenged Adults". I could tell the the information from my Wikipedia entry was useful because some of the things that I read in the entry were things that I was told by a worker in a mentally disabled group home.
ReplyDeleteWhat happens if you use "developmentally disabled adults"? "Mentally disabled adults"? How do the results differ, if at all?
ReplyDeleteWhen I use the search string "developmentally disabled adults" it says that the page I am searching for does not exist. Also when I use the seach string "mentally disabled adults" it says too that the page I am searching for does not exist.
ReplyDeleteHi Rebecca,
ReplyDeleteThank you for trying those out...I tried out those search strings just now, and did not come up with encylopedias in our collection.
It is possible that a psychology encyclopedia, a mental health encyclopedia, or a social work encyclopedia (all of which we do have in the collection) will have an entry on adults with developmental disabilities, but we would not know from looking in the catalog because those entries are not indexed.
Perhaps the next time you are in the library, you can do a bit of browsing in the Reference shelves and see? I think you might find something that way...
Professor Wexelbaum