As a present graduate student, I will highlight the problems encountered while using the Internet for research purposes. In correlation to these problems, I plan to make suggestions that will alleviate or eradicate those problems experienced. By illuminating common areas of difficulty with the Internet, I plan to facilitate both graduate students and technical writers within their area of expertise. As these are problems both groups encounter, the suggestions will scan from the hopeful technical writer to the experienced one.
Secondary Source Reliability
The initial problem with Internet research is the dependability of the student/technical writer on another expert's findings. The raw data of a questionnaire could be demonstrated in a technical journal, but the source's opinion and analysis of that data is already closed tied to the matter. The kinds of questions asked and the phraseology with which they were presented to the questionee influences the raw data. With secondary sources, the reader must assume all interviews, experiments, observations and the author's personal knowledge must be correct and exact. This assumption is a leap of faith and the student/technical writer's research ultimately depends upon trust.
Because the Internet has no guardian for authenticity versus false evidence,documentation of the author's qualifications provides ample proof that an author is most likely correct in her findings. This method of authenticity is a limiting procedure, as it eliminates or severely reduces the published experimentation of new writers with fewer publications under their belts (creating a Catch-22!). Unfortunately, it is the best way for students and writers to confirm that their source is a professional one.