OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this project is to demonstrate your ability to distinguise between and among web-based information sources of varying qualities. Specifically, you will examine and evaluate the Wikipedia in comparison to other web-based resources.

General Guidelines

• The Wikipedia is among the most popular resources available without restriction to any users of the internet, but the nature of the Wikipedia is such that it cannot be used unconditionally.
• For this exercise you will investigate the Wikipedia, including its history, culture, and a selection of its entries, and you will then compare that resource to proprietary databases like the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, and any non-proprietary web resources of your own choice. You will then write an extended essay that covers the use of these resources for music-related research.

Specific Components of the Assignment

• Investigate and study the Wikipedia, especially including its origins and intended purpose. Look at the mechanisms by which Wikipedia articles are created, reviewed, edited, and rewritten. How trustworthy and reliable is this system? Also look at the areas of coverage, noting the sorts of music-related subjects that are included, especially in comparison to the various NGD resources (both online and in hard copies).
• Re-examine the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed. (either online on in hard copies). Since you have already reviewed this resource, this should be a brief task.
• Identify and examine at least 2-3 other internet resources of your own choice. These should be, in your opinion, high-quality resources, available without restriction to any users (non-proprietary). Additionally, these should be resources not previously covered in class by me or on my internet handout. [The use of only examples previously discussed in class or the handout will result in an automatic one-grade reduction ( -10 points). Failure to mention any such web-based resources (beyond NGD and Wikipedia) will result in a two-grade reduction ( -20 points).]
  See the following list of articles for suggested web sites and reviews for comparison. NB. you need not cover all of these (or any of them). This is merely a list to get you started:
  • For possible examples, see: Paul Carey, "Free Online Dictionaries," Notes 65, no.4 (June 2009): 808-13 [available through Project Muse]
  • For possible examples, see: Yale Fineman, "Reliable, Useful and Free : Notable Bibliographic Databases on the Web," Notes 58, no. 2 (December 2001): 411-14 [available through Project Muse]
  • For possible examples, see: Judith S. Pinnolis, "Jewish Music Resources on the Internet," Notes 61, no. 1 (September 2004): 194-97 [available through Project Muse]
  • For possible examples, see: Nicholas Saylor, "The Folk Music Index, and: Discography of Bluegrass Sound Recordings," Notes 67, no. 1 (September 2010): 164-5 [available through Project Muse]
• Choose three specific music topics (roughly divided into a traditional classical composer from any style period, a more recent popular musician, and a non-human topic, such as a musical term, instrument, theoretical or historical subject), and compare all three of these in the Wikipedia, NGD2 (or any spin-off), and a non-proprietary web resource.

Content and Format of the Final Document

• For the written portion of this assignment, you will write an essay of approximately 2000 words. NB. Any essay under 1900 words will be assessed a 10-point penalty for every 100 words (or fraction thereof) that you fall short, and any essay that exceeds 3000 words will be similarly assessed a 10-point penalty for every 100 words (or fraction thereof) beyond 3000. Only the words of the essay itself should be counted, i.e., ignore headers, title page, footnotes and bibliography.
• The content of the essay should include the following:
  • a brief introduction
  • a summary of the history of Wikipedia, its intentions, and its general contents
  • a clear explanation of how Wikipedia articles are written, edited, updated and peer-reviewed.
  • three specific examples of topics covered in Wikipedia, comparing each specifically to the NGD2 (or the appropriate spin-off) and a non-proprietary web resource of your own choosing. [NB. Re-use only of examples discussed in class will result in a two-grade (20-point) reduction in grade for the assignment. You may refer to items discussed in class, but only in addition to your own newly identified examples.]
  • an extended general summary that discusses both the value and challenges of using internet resources, chiefly the Wikipedia.
• The paper should be writen in a "formal" (but not artificial) tone, without slang, jargon, or contractions. Titles of books and similar larger objects should be in Italics, while titles for articles and smaller consituent parts should be inside "quotation marks." Use block quotations for citations of at least three lines or more. Numbers under 100 should be written in prose ("three", not "3"). When in doubt of how to do something, consult a style manual, and above all be CONSISTENT in your treatment of similar objects.
• Your paper should be formatted as if it were on 8-1/2" x 11" paper, with a consistent 1" margin on all four edges of the text block, with the exception of the first page, which should begin with a 2" top margin.
• The body of the text should be double-spaced throughout, with the exception of block quotations. All paragraphs should begin with a first-line indentation and run as a single block of text, i.e., do not use "hard returns" at the end of each line (allow the word-processor to format the paragraph). You may format brief lists with "bullets," use tables, or otherwise modify the formatting to present materials in the most effective ways, but do remember to revert to the original double-spacing, etc., following such lists.
• The majority of the text in the body of the paper should be in a single, consistent 12-point font (Times New Roman is among the best). Use Italics for titles only (avoid underlining and/ boldface except to add emphasis to your own writing). Beware that if you copy text across platforms (from another program, a web browser, etc.) the imported font may not display properly. In such cases, you may need to adjust the font manually.
• Because you may be referencing many outside sources, you must provide footnotes or endnotes for those items. Those notes must be complete bibliographic citations in a proper and consistent format. You may use any single style that provides a full author name, complete title, and all publication data for each item (at the bottom of the page with the reference or on a final page at the end of the paper). In-line citations will not be accepted. You should use a "short form" of the citation for second and subsequent references, but every first note to a source must be complete.
• Footnotes (or endnotes) should be formatted in a 10-point font. Each note should have a first-line indentation, be single-spaced within the note, and be followed by a blank line (12-points).
• Before submitting your paper, use the spelling and grammar checkers in the word-processor, but also proofread with your own eye or have a friend or colleague read the paper. Be alert to such easily missed problems as homonyms (sound-alike words with different spellings), subject-verb agreement, correct use of pronouns, run-on sentences, comma splices, and other improper uses of punctuation that word-processors often do not see.

Presentation and Grading of the Final Document

• Create a title page of your own design for the paper and include it at the beginning of the same file as the body of the paper. Do not waste bandwidth with pictures or other large imported files that purely decorative.
• Save your paper as a WORD file or something compatible with WORD XP. RTF (and similar) files are acceptable, provided the formatting of your paper remains visible. Avoid any program that saves files in a compressed format.
• Submit your paper to me as an electronic attachment to an email.
• The acceptable minimum length of this paper is 2000 words, not including footnotes.
• Grading will be split between formatting and the physical presentation of the paper, i.e., the formatting within the WORD file (20%), basic writing, i.e., grammar, spelling, etc. (30%), and the content of your paper (50%). The overall grade for this paper counts for 10% our your course grade.
• The paper is due to me by 5:00 pm on Monday, 28 November 2011.