Google, Wikipedia may not be best tools for kids

In order to help their children complete a paper for school, many parents in past generations bought their kids the entire World Book Encyclopedia Collection. Later generations may have moved along with technology to the Encarta series on CD-Rom.

These days, the Internet has taken the place of the printed and online encyclopedia collections because it's so easy to find research on the Web. Sites such as Wikipedia and Google make school research fast and simple. However, in spite of their name recognition and widespread use, they are probably not the student (or parent's) best friend. Tom Riedel, distance learning librarian at Regis University, states that parents should use caution when allowing kids to use Web sites for school research because they may be based on opinion, rather than a trusted source.

"Wikipedia calls itself a free encyclopedia that anyone can edit," says Riedel. "Wikipedia's policy is that articles should contain only material that has been published by reliable sources, and that editors adding new materials should cite them - but that's not always what happens in practice. You'll often see phrases like 'citation needed' several times."

Riedel also cautions about using Wikipedia as a reference in a paper.

"There's no guarantee that your citation will still be on the site the next time someone looks." Google has an option on its Web site called "Google Scholar."

When searching for terms, links appear for books and articles. Riedel mentions, "one good thing about Google Scholar is that it allows you to type in your zip code, which will then initiate a search for the book in libraries near you. The downside to Google Scholar is that for article access, you often have to pay $20 to $30."

So what are your child's options for research and gaining knowledge? Here are a few tips from Riedel to help your kids with research.

-Wikipedia can be a great place to gain a basic understanding of concepts and for leads to authoritative sources.

-Google Scholar can lead to well-published, free articles that may not be available in many library databases.

-It's up to parents and kids to evaluate resources and develop a critical eye for content on the Internet. Many cities have online library resources available for library members, contact your local library to find out more.