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| From Wikimedia Commons Click here for the specific File URL. "Currently living on earth organismes mixture" Amalgamation of photos by the following authors: Fir0002, John Severns = Severnjc, NASA, w:en:User:Dmcdevit, Deutsch: Dr. Ralf Wagner Uploaded by Mike Krüger at de.wikiped (For individual attibution of each photo, click here): [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)] |
Basu highlights the following websites in his article:
How Stuff Works
More than just a depot for fun facts (although, certainly, there is much fun to be found on this site; just click on the "Random Article" option at the top right of the menu bar to generate an interesting article on a completely random subject), most of the articles on this website are based on pure science. To read more about the reliability of this amazing source, click here. To focus solely on scientific topics, choose the "Science" tab from the menu bar and then choose from the list of subtopics which appear on a submenu bar. Make sure to also check out the many science videos available!
Mad Sci Network
A network for those of all ages to ask scientific inquiries of all kinds, Mad Sci Network is "staffed and maintained by volunteer scientists and engineers from around the world." Basu also points out that "All questions are graded and range from K-3 to professorial levels." Search through the archives of the 36,000 questions already answered via the website's Search Engine or if you feel you have a frequently asked inquiry, check out the MadSci FAQs. If you don't find your inquiry answered in these areas, you may also address your question to Ask-A-Scientist. Before submitting your question, you might also want to review their stipulations for inquiries.
New Scientist
A science forum for inquistive minds of all ages that aims to provide "The Last Word" on "The science of everyday things", New Scientist online contains "an archive of over 76,000 content pieces" from New Scientist magazine. According to the Open Directory Project, New Scientist is a "weekly science and technology news magazine, considered by some to be the world's best, with diverse subject matter." This website would be a great resource to answer a general scientific inquiry or spark your interest in a new facet of the ever-evolving world of science. Basu points out that "You can search for anything without logging in, but if you want to ask a question, do the free registration...". Just keep in mind that for academic research purposes however, the information on this website stems from a magazine as opposed to a scientific journal which would most likely be peer-reviewed, thus helping to preserve standards and reliability. To find more suitable sources for your academic research, check out our Library's Subject Research Guides for Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Science.
The New York Times
The New York Times Science Q&A page provides excellent information online from their highly reputable newspaper. You can find out the answers to inquiries ranging from, "Do Germs Have Germs?" to "Can Animals Get Sunburn, Too?". Search the archives via the search box at the bottom of the page (just be mindful that the further back you go, the more you will need to consider the importance of currency to your specific topic). As it states near the end of every article, you may also email your inquiry to question@nytimes.com.
This incredibly unique
"computational knowledge engine", designed by Stephen Wolfram and originally based on his computational software system, Mathematica, establishes the following prominent goal: "to build on the achievements of science and other systematizations
of knowledge to provide a single source that can be relied on by everyone for
definitive answers to factual queries." Wolfram Alpha strives to provide "expert-level
knowledge", drawing upon its own database to deliver an
organized collection of data in response to each inquiry, rather
than the typical search engine’s response of a list of web resources. A
distinct answer engine indeed, Wolfram Alpha accepts inquiries in both natural ("What
is five plus five?") and computational ("5+5") language. Click on the “Examples” link which appears below the search box
to see the types of inquiries you might ask within the various fields of
science. Choose your area of
interest (Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, Astronomy, Earth Sciences, Life
Sciences, Computational Sciences, Health and Medicine are listed as options) to
see specific examples. For example,
clicking on the “Physics” link,
gives you examples of the types of search terms you might enter (such as if you want to find out about Newton’s laws, you might just enter
“Newton’s laws” or perhaps, you might have a question about Thermodynamics,
specifically involving computations with Joule’s law, in which case you would
enter your computation: “Joule's law
u=3V, R=1ohm for 10s”). Although you may use Wolfpram|Alpha's free service without signing in, there are benefits to creating an account (click on the "Sign in" link at the top right of the home page to create an account; alternatively, you may use your Facebook ID) such as being able to set favorites, view your search history and customize settings. A
paid service, WolframAlpha|Pro, is also available
with extended options (such as the opportunity to go beyond “text input” and
enter “images, files and tabular data” into your search query for
analysis).
But on to the most
critical question…Can you trust Wolfram|Alpha’s results? According to their, “Frequently AskedQuestions (FAQ)” page,
they "certainly hope so", citing their "automated testing, expert review, and checking external data...". They also mention
that their “data is continually being
updated…”. To learn more about the origins of their data,
click here. On their “About” page,
they cite their "world-class team and participation from top outside experts in countless fields...." Although they primarily retrieve answers from
their own database, they do offer some unique search options as well that pull
data from outside websites (such as their option to create personal “facebookreports” or for example, relying on data from businesses such as Best Buy to list
product information for shopping queries). So returning to the original question...Can you trust Wolfram|Alpha's results? While many praises have been sung about this unique answer engine's accuracy, ultimately, it is really a similar answer as to many of these websites: it is best that as a critical user, you verify the results via additional reliable sources, especially when conducting academic research.
Don’t forget to have fun
exploring the wonders of Wolfram|Alpha as questions about Culture, Sports,
History, Money & Finance, Socioeconomic Data, as well as many more categories
(even Shopping!), are fair game as well! Wolfram
Alpha has the answers to questions as wide-ranging as “What was Green Day’s
first album?”, “How old was Babe Ruth in 1942?”, “Where was Abraham Lincoln
born?”, “What is the second largest country by GDP per capita?” Clicking on the
“Random” option below the search box is also a fun way to learn about a totally
new and surprising topic! While factual
inquiries with "a mathematical or physical answer" are Wolfram
Alpha's main concern, Basu also points out that this one of a kind answer
engine is not adverse to pondering more philosophical questions from time
to time: "...go ahead, ask what is life too!”
**
In addition, Basu highlights the following sites which may also contain very helpful information, however they should be examined with increased scrutiny as they are run by open communities where anyone may answer a question. In these types of online communities, it is up to each respondent to prove his or her own credibility with their answer which is then ranked by the community of users. Therefore, it is important that you consider each answer from a critical viewpoint where you must first verify the following:
- the credibility of each respondent (as well as the resources they might cite in their answer)
- the accuracy of the answer itself determined by checking against other reliable resources
- the objectivity of the answer (is this fact or opinion?)
- how current the information is.
Here are the open community websites Basu recommends:
According to their own description, Reddit is "a type of online community where users vote on content." Registered users (to register, click on the "want to join? login or register" tab to the top right of the page under the menu bar) may post links or write their own entries on any subject they wish, as well as vote on posts which impacts their ranking in order of importance, and thus their positioning on the page. In regards to science, Basu recommends "Reddit" as a resource which "can probably answer all your science questions as there are sub-Reddits [specific subject areas] on every branch of science". Click here to be taken to their question / answer AskScience page with a list of Science-based Sub-Reddits (including Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Psych/Cog/Neuro, Earth Sciences, Applied Sciences, Formal Sciences, just to name a few...) found in chart-form to the middle of the column at the right of the page (you will need to scroll down the page to find it). Just click on the science sub-reddit link of your choice to be taken to that subject's individual page. In addition to having a question / answer Science Reddit, there is also a Science Reddit page where members write posts on scientific topics or link to outside scientific articles (also broken down into sub-Reddits; see the chart of science sub-topics located towards the middle of the right-hand column). Although the "Science" area of Reddit attempts to establish a level of authenticity regarding their content, asking their users to keep their discussions "Scientific (i.e. based on repeatable anaylsis published in a peer reviewed journal)", it is of course, up to you as a critical user, to determine if the source (remember, Reddit is an open source community, where any registered user, expert or novice, may write a post) and information offered in each post can be considered reliable and accurate. Keep in mind also, that ranking may NOT be an indicator of reliabity or accuracy, as it will not be clear what terms were used in each user's voting process to determine ranking.
Stack Exchange
Stack Exchange encompasses an incredibly broad range of information. Basu describes it as a "network of specialized communities, each on separate subjects...." Their Science link offers community options for many different areas including "Biology", "Chemistry", "Physics" and others... Each area includes a multitude of questions and answers which are further organized by subtopic tags at the right of the "Questions" page. For the most part, Stack Exchange's communities are open at this time where anyone can ask or answer questions, or recommend editing changes without logging in (however, to vote on the credibility of a respondent, one must log in or create an account). Be sure to check out each area's "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)" section (you can find the link in the yellow "Welcome!" box to the right of page; the "faq" link is at the bottom of the box; here is an example of the "Biology" community's FAQ page) to determine each community's ground rules, including how they determine the "reputation" of respondents which is based on community ranking (you of course, as a critical user, would still be wise to scrutinize on your own terms).
There is so much to wonder about our world...Here's hoping these websites spark your scientific spirit!
- Kerry Vash, Online Librarian, Blog Co-editor -
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