If I were to select three of the most helpful things that I’ve learned throughout the course, I believe that it would have to be:
- Basic Searches — using AND/OR, quotation marks, parentheses, the asterisk (*), etc.
- Finding sources using various keywords, databases, etc.
- Creating a research question and further developing the question into a more specific question.
Basic Searches are crucial in terms of using a search engine because they basically inform the search engine what to sort out/find for the user. I find it to be important because prior to my findings in this class, I had no clue that simple words like “and/or” would make a difference in a simple search.
Finding sources helped me in the sense that it taught me that there were multiple resources available to me now that I’m a college student (i.e. databases, keywords, etc.). It helped me realize that you don’t have to specifically search for information directly on your topic, but you can research on topics relating to your topic.
Creating a research question feels critical to me for future research papers and other projects to come.
I wish that we had spent more time on evaluating sources for how authoritative the author is, the quality of the research/material presented in the articles, and the relevance to our research questions and how to apply them to our work.
