Thursday, February 28, 2008

Google as a Research Tool

Google' s mission statement is to organize the World's information. But the cyber world is too large to organize. Even if Google has succeeded in becoming the world's largest search engine, it has limitations as to how much information it can provide. Some data is copyrighted and not allowed to be publicly distributed. And with information always expanding, it's difficult for Google's database to stay up-to-date.

I personally find that Google is a good research tool for average citizens who just want a basic understanding of a topic. It provides numerous sources, some not as reliable as others, on a whole variety of issues in life. However, as many different references as it offers, there cannot be enough resources on any one topic. And the "knowledge" it links to may or may not be trustworthy. It is certainly not by any means a useful source for academic research at the university or graduate level.

With Google's high popularity as a result of globalization, there's no doubt that it has some positive factors attached to it or else it wouldn't be such a hot commodity. But with its advantages comes disadvantages. For example, Google cannot list its information in every international language. This means that some foreign people cannot use it as a research tool. Also, its search results are not fact-checked for the possibility of error like academic search engines such as Factivia or Proquest. On top of that, Google organizes its information by default based on popularity and not by relevance. Thus, one who's not internet saavy must do a lot of scrolling before they can find a source that fits their query.

No matter how Google organizes its information, though, it almost always lists something on every topic imaginable. Whether it has value is another question, but one can expect to find at least one result on whatever they type in the search box. And even if Google hasn't been able to dominate the World Wide Web by being the Internet's biggest information provider, it is still growing as a research tool and only time will tell how much it can grow.

Since I've already seen Google bring innovations like advanced search engines and interactive learning tools, I will use it to collect a little bit of research for my online feature. I will use Google to gather some basic facts on my topic about degradable product packaging. In addition to that, I will consult primary sources like the presidents of food companies (i.e. Danone Yogurt) to ask them about the reasons they've implemented degradable methods of packaging. I can also ask the people in charge of packaging food about the process behind degradable packaging. To make my research more complete, I will interview buyers of biodegradable foods to find out how degradable packaging has changed their lives. And finally, I will use credible secondary sources like Lexis/Nexis or Gale Products to gather information on the popularity of degradable product packaging and how it can help the environment.

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