Writing and Research: Just the Facts

Some writers suggest that you can now do research using only the Internet as a means to obtain your information. The reasoning goes, you can find your university library information there, so if the university has information on the web, much of the web must be correct. The question that is not asked is this: is the information is factually correct and in a reliable resource site?

What I want to ask is this question to the people who say this about sites such as Wikipedia or sites where there seems to be "sources" given: Are you sure?

For many writers, and for many others who do research, part of what makes research great is the actual going to the library, learning, and making sure that the information is correct. The information that you give must be correct, and often in a traditionally published book, there are checks to what can be written and your sources must be proven.

The reason writers must learn to know and do some research is simple, your professional career depends on your sources. For example if someone was going into a bookstore and asked for a book on Transylvania, which for the most part is a general search, but when the search was typed into the bookstores information, one of the few books found was a book called Transylvania and Hungary... would you consider this a good source? No, for two reasons, Transylvania is a part of Romania, and the publisher is AuthorHouse.

If as a writer you were to buy this book as a reference, a lot of others would question this as a reliable resource, and the sole reason is that it did not have a "check" about what was written in it. AuthorHouse is a vanity press, and with money, you can get your work edited, but often this editing does not go as far as proper research or content editing.

This is also the case with information written on the Internet. While they may have sources, even quoting magazines, if as a writer you were to use these sources, this would be called into question. Someone would ask if you could prove your sources. This is important in the life of your writing career to think about your business, and your future as a writer.

Rebecca is an author on HubPages where you can read the Ten thing to a More Profitable, Money Making Site http://hubpages.com/hub/Ten-Steps-To-A-Better-More-Profitable-Money-Making-Site and writes about writing on the blog called: Living a Life of Writing. Rebecca publishes lenses on Squidoo as well, where you can read Buy Windstone Dragons http://www.squidoo.com/windstone-dragons.