The term ‘research project’ typically conjures images of libraries, books, note cards, blood, sweat and tears, but Boston University freshman Hannah Letbetter did not even have to leave her dormitory to complete her academic missive.
Instead, she found sources within seconds through online library databases such as JSTOR and Project Muse.
‘I was looking for really specific information, and to find that out, I [would have] had to read every single book there ever was, but I just use a keyword for online,’ Letbetter, a Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences freshman, said. ‘I think it’s just a lot easier to type things and just look them up. You have all that information right in front of you.’
Like Letbetter, many students said they are also replacing printed books with Internet sources for research because of the quick accessibility and convenience. However, they may not be obtaining the most thorough and critical information available, library professionals said.
BU University Librarian Robert Hudson said library research is about critical thinking rather than just convenience. He said it is difficult to determine an author’s validity online.
‘ ‘Think about what you’re doing, do thorough research, understand your sources and construct better arguments,’ Hudson said. ‘I think that students don’t always think critically because it’s convenient and it comes up on screen, but it’s really the authority of the author we’re talking about.’
Head reference librarian Thomas Casserly also said the online source is becoming more popular, but students who rely only on what’s online could be missing essential information.
‘There is so much information in the universe that students are ignoring vast treasure troves sometimes because they’re limiting themselves,’ Casserly said. ‘The history of human record is what we’re talking about.’
With 38,000 electronic journals and more than 275 subject databases, Mugar has increased its journal resources from 28,000 paper journals 15 years ago, Hudson said. Mugar is also working on providing more e-books, he said.
The 2008 book circulation figure was about 250,000 books, though the figure was 350,000 15 years ago. However, these figures may not be directly correlated to the increased usage of online sources and expansion of electronic resources, Hudson said.
College of General Studies sophomore Hannah Machlin said she never found reason to check’ out books for research when she could go to a computer and find every source she needed.
‘A lot of students don’t have time to go through books when they have a paper due the next week,’ Machlin said.
Although Letbetter said she has found obstacles when online, she still prefers e-resources.
‘It’s really hard and takes a long time because things are still going to show up that have nothing to do with your subject,’ she said. ‘But it’s better than reading 20 novels.’
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
