Before my first semester of college, I had not fully considered the difference between searching for a topic and researching one. In high school, when I would look up websites and journal articles for a specific assignment, I would struggle with determining what websites are reliable and what websites are not reliable. I would search a specific topic and click the first thing that popped up, inattentively searching for support and answers to the assignment I was given. After getting this assignment back and receiving a B-, I discovered that the sources I had used were unreliable, therefore making parts of my assignment unreliable and of low quality. I began looking into ways in which I could find better, more reliable sources, and in order to do that I needed to know how to determine a source’s credibility. I even went to my teachers to get aid from them, asking where reliable sources regarding research can be found. As stated in the Module 6 lesson of this course, they suggested search engines such as Google Scholar and University Libraries, such as Ohio States’. As I continue to learn more and more about the reliability of an online resource, I have also found that it is important to be able to keep track of them as well. EasyBib is one online tool that helps keep track of citations and ensures that you cite things correctly. This is an online resource I have used since high school, and I continue to utilize this resource within my college career as well.
https://osu.instructure.com/courses/91565/pages/lesson-module-6