I remember when I was back in about 1st
grade and learned about how the library is organized in order to find the books
you need quickly. I believe my grade school and middle school library used a
system called the Dewey Decimal System. The way it worked was there was a
shelving unit in the library called the card catalog. The shelving unit had
probably about 50 or so different draws that pulled out of the unit containing
index cards for all the books in the library. Some were classified
alphabetically by author’s last name or a subject heading. This made it a difficult
task for me, at least when I was in the first grade, to find what I was looking
for because you really had to know how to alphabetize well in order to find
what you were looking for. It wasn’t until I was in the fifth grade that my
school’s library went electronic. In fact, I was one of the first students to
get to search using the computer card catalog system.
This week I have been finding sources for my research project that is coming up.
Quite contrary to my early years of doing research, I was able to do it from
the comfort of my own bedroom while sitting at my desk with my computer on the
internet. It was amazing to find all the information I could learn over my
topic by just a few keyword searches. It was neat that after reading one
article I got a better idea for a search term to find even more articles
related to my topic all in the matter of a few minutes. I remember when I did
research projects back in grade school, before the computerized system in the library,
it would have taken me days to find the quality of sources that I was able to
find in several minutes. The internet has truly revolutionized the way students
and professors do research toady. However, you do have to know what a credible
source looks and reads like. A great way in helping find credible sources is to
use an online database that will search for only credible sources –however, you
still have to be careful. It is amazing how the internet has shaped our culture
in so many different ways including in the research field. I am interested in what your experience has been how the research process has changed. Has it changed for the better? Please comment below!
I agree with your post. We have come a long way with technology in just a couple years. I believe all these resources are very effective tools and allow you to reach more sources than ever before; making your arguments that much more concrete.
ReplyDeleteI can directly relate to your experience using the Dewey Decimal System because I work at a University Library. I absolutely agree that doing research online is much more time efficient than searching through books. Databases have created a whole new aspect for the ability to do research, and find creditable/reliable sources.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that technology has greatly increased the materials that are possible to research. Although it can be challenging filtering through credible and non-credible sources, it is definitely beneficial and I would say has changed for the better.
ReplyDeleteThe plus side of the technological advancement we have witnessed in the last decade is as you mentioned the ability to locate sources with a click of the button. The down side then becomes the ability for pretty much anyone to upload their oppinion on something with that same click of a button. So there certainly seems to be pros and cons on this one. I would say mostly pros though.
ReplyDeleteIt's shocking to think how far behind the world would be if the internet were not invented. And it certainly has made information exponentially more available and easy to access, but I agree that you still need to be careful and ensure that the data you're using is credible and accurate.
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