Dear class,

I have noticed that most of you are either preparing your presentations using your prior knowledge or doing research via the internet. There is an additional valuable resource that is available but most of you are not utilising it: the library.

While internet research may provide you with valuable information in terms of breadth (as in the scope of the area being examined and investigated), it pales in comparison with library resources such as books when it comes to depth (the amount of available information with regard to specific subject matter). 

Therefore, it will be good if you are able to utilise library resources for the lessons as well. Technology may have its advantages (with information being more updated at times than its printed counterparts), but it has its limitations as well (lack of depth).  It will be good to take note of the following points when it comes to doing online research:

• Breadth versus Depth: Internet content is usually strong in breadth. This means that the coverage is wide when it comes to various topics. Simply type in “fitness” or “presentation skills” and you will have retrieved tons of information on the specific subject. However, internet content lacks depth.  This means that the content sourced from various sources on the net does not contain as much information as what you will find when you browse through text books in the library.
• Disorganised content: Most online content are retrieved haphazardly (Yes, the internet search engines are not as powerful as some people claimed it to be).  What is retrieved is thus a mishmash of data that the students will try their best to put together and collate what will then be regarded as information. But the question is: Is this complete? This reinforces the abovementioned perception that internet content is indeed “individually incomplete and cohesively inconsistent”.
• Credibility and Validity: The proliferation of the blogs has encouraged many writers to contribute their works to the world. While this is commendable, online readers should be prudent by reading and digesting the information with a pinch of salt, since credibility and validity are two issues here. Unlike encyclopedia which is compiled by reliable sources,  all online users can be producers of content. In fact, it has been said that the media is losing the clout that they have years ago when they are the sole provider of information.  However, when it comes to credibility and validity , the media may still run strong.
• Updated information: It has often been said that information on the internet is often updated. However, how true is this? Try counting the number of “inactive” blogs now drifting in cyberspace everyday and you can gauge the validity of online information. Some websites are also not updated and it’s worse when there’s no mention of this on the website itself.
• Quick links to related materials: The feature of hyperlinks may prove to be one of the greatest inventions not only in the academic circle but other professions as well. With a click, users and students are now able to access related information easily and quickly. This is something that one will take hours to accomplish in the library.