Why You Must Know This
You are one of the first internet generations. Prior to the ubiquitous presence of the internet, academic study happened in a controlled environment, in which schools carefully filtered the amount, quality and type of information that was presented to students. That is, when it came time to do a research paper, you went to your school's library and used the books that that school put in there for your to write a research paper.
With the internet comes less censorship and more information. This has its pros and cons. It is a good thing because students are no longer as inhibited due to their geographical or socio-economic status. In the past only the rich schools in the nice areas had the most information, but this is no longer so. On the other hand, although its a good thing that no one polices the internet, this lack of content review has led to tons of bad information. You really have to seek out quality information on the internet.
Not All Sites Are The Same
If we were studying, let's say, European History during the Enlightenment, and we had to do a research paper, we could browse the internet for a number sites and make a site list by simply using the google tool bar and picking from the first 2-3 pages of links. Of these sites, some would be better than others, but in general many of the "facts" would overlap. Dates of the Enlightenment would be roughly the same; it would fall between the Dark Ages and the Modern Era; and people and their achievements would, for the most part, appear uncontested on the majority of online sites.
You, however, are currently an apologetics student. Finding good research from Christian websites can be difficult because, by its very nature, a religion is much more complicated than the mere telling of history. Religion includes history, to be sure! But it also includes heated arguments over the accuracy of such history, the relation of knowledge to spiritual development, and many more difficult issues. Since not all of these issues are important in an academic research paper, you need to ensure that you are looking in the right places and for the right types of information.
For instance, if you are doing a research paper on the origins of the Greek Old Testament, you want to stay away from ministry and pastoral sites whose goal is evangelism or pastoral care. Why? Well, these sites may have general statements about the Greek Bible, but they are not experts. Their information may be good for a conversation over coffee, but not for a research paper. In a research paper, the goal is to get the experts' opinions. (You'll see a situation where this applies in Apo I lesson 5.02, in which the course asks you to read a part of an article from Leaderu.com, but to disregard part of the article because the writer stepped outside of his own expertise and writes inaccurate information.)
1) (Public) Library Websites. The best research comes from academic journals. To find these go to your local city library and get a library card. Then go home and look on their website. They likely have encyclopedias, and journal data bases which make finding research pretty straight forward. Ebrary is a great tool if your school or public library subscribes to it. In addition, for those of you affiliated with a local Christian school look on your library's webpage. Some of your high school libraries will also have this accessibility, but your pretty much guaranteed to find it at you public library for free. Ask a librarian for if need be.
1a) If your library has access to EBSCO, one of the leading academic journal search engines, then you'll have access to more research than you'll ever need. In EBSCO, the following databases are helpful for this course: Atla Religion, OT Abstracts or NT Abstracts. An alternative to EBSCO is Jstor; it is equally as good. If you have access to one or both of these databases through your school's or public library's webpage, I highly recommend you take advantage of it! You will use these in college all of the time, so why not learn how to use them now and get ahead of the game!
2) Google Books. books.google.com offers a great range of Christian Apologetic books in full or limited preview. Books that are not previewed, obviously should not go in your bibliography.
3) .edu. If you are doing an academic research paper, where better to go than to the academy? In google's "advanced search options," which are found at the bottom of the page after you make an initial search, you can limit your search to solely .edu sites by using the last field (the domain field) at the bottom of the advanced search page.
For instance, if you are doing a research paper on the origins of the Greek Old Testament, you want to stay away from ministry and pastoral sites whose goal is evangelism or pastoral care. Why? Well, these sites may have general statements about the Greek Bible, but they are not experts. Their information may be good for a conversation over coffee, but not for a research paper. In a research paper, the goal is to get the experts' opinions. (You'll see a situation where this applies in Apo I lesson 5.02, in which the course asks you to read a part of an article from Leaderu.com, but to disregard part of the article because the writer stepped outside of his own expertise and writes inaccurate information.)
Here are the Following Guidelines for Internet Research Sites in Apologetics:
1) (Public) Library Websites. The best research comes from academic journals. To find these go to your local city library and get a library card. Then go home and look on their website. They likely have encyclopedias, and journal data bases which make finding research pretty straight forward. Ebrary is a great tool if your school or public library subscribes to it. In addition, for those of you affiliated with a local Christian school look on your library's webpage. Some of your high school libraries will also have this accessibility, but your pretty much guaranteed to find it at you public library for free. Ask a librarian for if need be.
1a) If your library has access to EBSCO, one of the leading academic journal search engines, then you'll have access to more research than you'll ever need. In EBSCO, the following databases are helpful for this course: Atla Religion, OT Abstracts or NT Abstracts. An alternative to EBSCO is Jstor; it is equally as good. If you have access to one or both of these databases through your school's or public library's webpage, I highly recommend you take advantage of it! You will use these in college all of the time, so why not learn how to use them now and get ahead of the game!
2) Google Books. books.google.com offers a great range of Christian Apologetic books in full or limited preview. Books that are not previewed, obviously should not go in your bibliography.
3) .edu. If you are doing an academic research paper, where better to go than to the academy? In google's "advanced search options," which are found at the bottom of the page after you make an initial search, you can limit your search to solely .edu sites by using the last field (the domain field) at the bottom of the advanced search page.
4) Google Scholar. At Google.com under the "more" option at the top of the google homepage, you can select "Scholar". The problem with Scholar, is that many times you come across journal articles that require you to have access to EBSCO or Jstor (see 1a above) to actually look at. But sometimes it will have good free websites too!
5) a Wiki Bibliography. Wiki sites (wikipedia, conservapedia, etc.) DO NOT qualify as academic research! However, the bibliographies at the end of wiki sites may count as good research.
Rules of Thumb
1) Make sure the site has articles which are authored by people who put their name on their work. Ensure that at least some of these authors have Ph.D.'s in the field of study by simply looking at the "about" link on the website, or googling the author.
2) Avoid "ministry" sites. They often have a different objective. This includes sites like answersingenesis.com
3) Ask me about a site before using it if you are unsure about it. One of the leading causes of low grades on a research paper is that a student used a website with poor information.
4) When in doubt don't use it.
5) Use a book! I know it's archaic to suggest, but sometimes going to your local school or public libraries (yes your public libraries have good Christian research books!) and looking up a book is the fast way to get good info. Believe it or not they tend to be easier to use once you get the hang of it because if your standing in the right section of the library, you can find a book that will help you even though you were not looking for that specific book. The problem with the internet is that you need to know what you are looking for to find the right info. Besides, it'll do you good to get out of the house every now and again if you are able.
This is perhaps the first and only assignment you'll read that will help you determine what type of internet research leads to good papers, and in turn, good college prep writing. Bookmark this page and come reread it as needed. All of this info should help you, not just in my course, but in other courses and when you get into college. Now go search!
