As freelance writers and ghostwriters, we often need to do quick internet research on topics we may know very little about. If we’re going to be professionals, then we have to find a way to decide whether the information we use is really reliable (Wikipedia may have a lot of information, but who knows if it’s trustworthy?) Finding information you can trust gets more and more difficult, as there is more information to wade through every day. Google may help you find information, but you still need to evaluate it.
When I was teaching journalism, I prepared a lecture on verifying internet resources, then promptly lost the reference. Luckily, I’ve found something similar again – this article on
Evaluating Internet Resources – Georgetown University Library
Unlike similar information found in newspapers or television broadcasts, information available on the Internet is not regulated for quality or accuracy; therefore, it is particularly important for the individual Internet user to evaluate the resource or information
Though it may be time consuming, you could use it to build a list of trusted sources that would be your first stop when doing some new research.
Article by Sharon Hurley Hall
Sharon Hurley Hall has been mentoring writers here at Get Paid To Write Online since 2005 to help them improve and build sustainable and successful writing careers. Check me out on sharonhh.com. Feel free to connect with me online on Google+.
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Wikia, Incorporated, is a seperate for-profit company owned by Jimbo Wales. It’s funny how ALL of Wikipedia has “nofollow” on their URLs… except to Wikia.com and Amazon.com external links (Amazon invested $10,000,000 in Wikipedia, public record).
Why is that?
Learning to use search engines to mine for information and cross-reference resources is something that comes with practise & time. Wikipedia isn’t a bad jumping off point, just be sure to validate those findings. Often, the linked references at the bottom of Wikipedia articles are much more in-depth sources of much more reliable information.
Yes, I think that’s the important thing, Rob. Cross checking is essential to make sure you have really reliable information.
Thanks for your advice! Luckily I did not only use Wikipedia as my reference and resource when writing. I have lots of books available in my mini library in my house, I usually used also search engines like Google to search to search related topics for my writing.