The costs and benefits of online research
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009We have all benefited immensely from the availability of high-quality information available online. Or have we? Some researchers are now considering what we have lost with the way scholars are discovering information through databases. Databases tend to have better access to more recent articles and citation analysis showed that new research references a smaller pool of articles. In short, we have lost or reduced serendipitous discovery of new ideas and perspectives. The author of a recent study argues that the internet may “tighten consensus” and drive out diversity rather than fuel the proliferation of new ideas. Not all agree though. Read a news story or read the article in Science.
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