As I worked on assignment #3, I thought back to over fourteen years ago when I was working on my Master’s. I remember looking for articles in journals and having to make xerox copies of everything I needed for my papers. The process is certainly different now. I am able to sit in the comfort of my home while I find research article, still using VCU’s library, on the internet.
Though the actual process of locating articles has gotten easier, I find there is either an abundance of information about a topic or there is a scarcity of materials about a topic. There appears to be a correlation between the age of the topic and the amount of research to be found which is logical. I have started to utilize Google searches to help me find current information but then I go back to the database to input key phrases that may help my search. This has proven to increase my search results.
When I come across the topics that have plentiful amounts of research, I tend to gather much more than I need. My hope is that I will learn how to streamline this process so that I spend more time focused on the actual project and less time reading article after article after article. I seem to always think there is another article out there that is better than others I found so I tend to keep pulling and pulling until I have twenty+ articles. My “go-to” learning style of precision must be what continues to push me to seek more information. Surprisingly, so far I only have eight documents I am using for our culminating project. My expectation is that I will be able to stay more focused and use my time more efficiently.
