Page 212 - Between One and Many The Art and Science of Public Speaking

Chapter 7 Researching Your Message 179

At the same time, we think that wikis do have a role
to play in your research. Rather than treating wiki arti-
cles as ends in themselves, use the external links and ref-
erences in the articles to see if there are reliable sources
that you can easily access. Wikipedia can be a good quick
stop for statistics and factoids, and having the informa-
tion may make it quicker to fi nd the detail in question.
For example, if we need to know the Nobel Prize win-
ner in physics for 1973, we can just go to Wikipedia,
search for Nobel Prize Physics, fi nd the name, and then
search for a credible primary source on the name. If the
wiki was wrong, we’ll quickly fi nd that out, but most
likely it will help us fi nd good primary sources on the
person in question. It is also good for checking the reli-
ability of other sources. It represents an infl ux consensus
of many people. Thus, we suggest using sources such as
Wikipedia as a way of locating other sources that can
meet the tests of currency, relevance, authority, accuracy,
and purpose.

Podcasts and RSS Feeds

With the widespread use of MP3 players, such as Apple’s Podcasts can be a good resource if the
popular iPod, audio and even video fi les can be transmit- source is credible.
ted over the Internet to anyone who is interested in ac-
cessing them. A podcast is an audio broadcast that has
been converted to a digital format (such as MP3) for playback by a digital music podcast
7
player or computer. Some universities make many professors’ lectures avail-
An audio broadcast that
able in podcast format. For example, in December 2006 one could download a
has been converted to
lecture titled “Is Global Warming Real? Climate Change and Our Energy Fu- a digital format, such as
ture” by Professor Robert Dunbar, Professor of Geological and Environmental MP3, for playback by a
Sciences at Stanford University. In fact, there were 79 lectures available to the digital music player or
general public on iTunes from Stanford experts, with topics ranging from global computer.
warming to electronic voting. Ten lectures were even available in video format.
And that’s just one university.
It’s not only universities that have podcasts available. National Public Ra-
dio, the White House, TV networks, and major news sources like the New York
Times all have podcasts readily available. The key, as with any other source of
information, is how well it meets the CRAAP tests we’ve outlined. Certainly a
lecture by a respected professor at a major research institution such as Stanford
is as good if not a better source on global warming as a movie by a former vice
president.
RSS (Really Simple
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a format that aggregates updates to vari-
8
ous news sites or blogs and transmits them to users. For example, you can sign Syndication)
A syndication format that
up for feeds from various news sources, even the White House. RSS is a form of
aggregates updates to
“push technology”: it pushes information directly to your desktop. This will send
various news sites or
you news headlines that link back to various press releases and Web content
blogs and transmits them
without you having to visit the site every time. If you are doing ongoing research to users.
on a topic, then signing up for RSS feeds from reputable sources is a way to be