It is critically important that students use the best available resources when they do research. In my opinion, it is far better to use printed materials than online sources. I feel
this
way for two reasons, which I will explore in the following essay.
To begin
with, printed materials
such
as
books
and
articles
are more reliable than websites.
This
is because websites can be edited by anyone in the world, regardless of whether or not they are qualified academics.
As a result
of
this
, even
articles
in popular online encyclopedias often contain incorrect and biased information. My own experience demonstrates the danger of relying too heavily on online sources of information. Two semesters ago, I was assigned a research paper in a freshman biology
class
. I cited data that I found on Wikipedia which later turned out to be completely incorrect.
This
data was so hopelessly wrong that my professor spotted it immediately, causing me to fail the assignment and receive a fairly low grade in the
class
at the end
of the semester. If I had taken the time to compare what I had read online to a book or a scholarly article, I would not have included it, and would not have received
such
a terrible score in the
class
.
Secondly
,
books
are superior to online
articles
because they cover topics in much detail. Textbooks are significantly longer than online
articles
, so they are more useful to students. Students who use them when doing projects can
also
look at the detailed indexes which they include to focus on very specific topics.
For example
, I was assigned an essay
last
semester in a history
class
and the very first book that I consulted contained a long description of both the underlying causes and long-term effects of the historical event I was writing about.
In contrast
, most of the online
articles
that I consulted contained little more than superficial facts and dates. I based my research on the book rather than these
articles
, so I was able to write a very insightful paper.
In conclusion, I strongly believe that printed information is more useful than online resources.
This
is because
books
and printed journals are less likely to be biased or contain errors and because
books
provide a superior level of detail.