The complaint that most frustrated me was that his professor required the students to use sources from numerous types of media (book, website, journal, etc.). At first, this actually seems pretty logical; you want to have a variety of sources to base your argument on. But what I found frustrating is that nowadays there is so much overlap between print and non-print media that it almost seems foolish to require specific ones. It would be better to simply require "credible" sources, wouldn't it?
That brings up the issue of defining "credible." My friend has never been taught how to look up journal articles on the library website. Should we consider only journal articles as "credible," or are regular websites worthwhile as well? Where do we draw the line between expert and random blogger or mere aggregate site?
Personally, I don't really have an answer. Each case is different; each topic of research is different.
I think this is something that we have to keep in mind as we enter the real world. We have to know who will be judging the sources of our materials (a boss, publishing company, etc), and we have to define our own guidelines of what is "credible." Students hate ambiguities, and the have every right to do so.
I can definitely see where you're coming from, Jake. Even as someone who has been taught what a "credible source" is, I still find myself having difficulties with the matter. I feel like I generally just limit my google search to .edu and .gov in the advanced search in my attempt to exclude unreliable sources. That's not always the best solution, though. I've been able to find the same information on a .com website as I have in an article written by a Yale scholar on EbscoHost, but I only used the article in my works cited because it was more "credible." I'm an English major, and the line is still fuzzy to me.
ReplyDeleteI think "credible" is the key word, and yes, this is something that should be taught at some point. But the question is...who teaches it and when? I know in my college writing class I teach students how to find journal articles because they write research papers, and because I consider the class a kind of "backbone" for what they will be doing throughout their college experience. And it surprises me that some don't know what an journal is.
ReplyDeleteShould we expect them to read journals in high school, or is that too early?
In the perfect world, yes; I would love to see kids using journal sources even at the high school level. Sadly, I don't think this will happen unless they are told that that's what they have to do. Let's be honest, a lot of students (of all ages) do the minimum work and don't feel driven to do much more. With this in mind, it may be a good idea to "force" them into, at the very least, becoming familiar with journals and other, more "academic" sources.
DeleteAnd yes, College Writing needs to be a backbone. That was actually part of why my friend was having so much trouble. He is in the middle of taking College Writing and his professor hasn't taught them anything more than doing personal narratives up to this point.