Modern Research
Author: Jake Kim | Category: Unkown category | Date: 07-01-2020
Conducting research today and 50 years ago was much different. Because of the recent shift to online research, where everything is accessible by typing in a few keywords and a few clicks, our brains have been rewired to retain information in a haste and impatient manner.
I received a surprising response from both of my parents after asking them how it was like to research with only books. Instead of giving me an answer like “It took a lot more time than it does now,” or “It required a lot more focus,” they both told me that they were never required to research school, as they both grew up studying in Korea. Instead of teaching students how to obtain information, Korean schools bombard students with notes and information and require them to do nothing else but to memorize them for the next test. By the time my dad became a pastor, all of the references that he included in his sermon were obtained from the internet. So, the only thing that I could use to conclude was my own experience of book research for my fifth-grade presentation about penguins.
The way that I researched in the fifth grade is probably drastically different from how I conduct research now. During that time, I wasn’t even old enough to go to the library on my own. Also, there are several things that I do not remember due to my lack of focus as a child. However, I do remember that the process of retaining information was a much lengthier than it is now. At the moment, I can get all of the information that I need in a spree of google searches that usually take around an hour to an hour and a half, which includes searching the keywords on google, finding the sources that I want to use, and extracting the information from the sources.
Back in fifth grade, I remember having to walk to the library with my mom, head over to the front desk to ask where books about penguins are located, and get enough books to suffice the amount of notes that I had to take. That process alone took me about an hour. Then I had to flip through all of the books and handwrite notes onto index cards. This process took me hours, which translated to a few days, as I could not get myself to work more than an hour at a time as an elementary schooler. I remember having a messy pile of notes to go through after the research portion of my presentation was done. Finally, I put together a mediocre presentation with all of the reorganized note cards on my desk.
This whole process took me about a week. The fact that I was still a developing child who enjoyed frequent breaks during homework made the process all the more longer. Compared to this tedious process, internet research is a godsend. It takes the seemingly unnecessary portions out of the lengthy research process and allows me to access the best of the best resources, essentially making the end product better in quality and faster to reach.
However, there are a few things that also drag me down when researching on the internet. While I can access the best resources for racial inequality and climate issues, nothing is there to stop me from accessing unproductive resources such as youtube videos about unrelated topics or social media. I feel detached from the resources that I use because I immediately stop reading once I find a point or statement that seems appropriate for my research. As Nicholas Carr mentioned in his essay, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”, I, too, feel like I’m depriving myself of deep reading and am compelled to get things done quickly so I can move on to leisurely activities. Because of this urge to rush my work, my end product is often lower in quality due to the fumble of some key information that I skimmed over and the lack of reviews.
All in all, the internet is a necessary utility for modern research. The internet’s accessibility was never the cause of any decline in research quality, but the human tendencies to avoid challenging and tedious tasks. By investing a little more of our time in retaining information, we will be able to negate these tendencies and put out better research products in the future.
About: Jake Kim
