Traditional vs. Online Resources

In my short lifetime I have seen the progression of technology and how it has changed our world. Computers are now integrated into almost every aspect of daily life. I have noticed that my habits and practices have been dramatically altered by this technology.I still perform the same tasks as before, but in different ways. One task in particular that has changed is the way I perform academic research. The traditional method of doing research and citing sources is somewhat different from the electronic methods I use today.

Traditional research requires a lot of time and footwork. I used to use libraries as my main source of information. I can still remember the days when I used reference cards and the dewey decimal system. When I found a useful piece of information I would look inside the cover of the book and write down the bibliographical information on an index card. I would then write the quoted material on the other side of the card. This was effective, but it sometimes caused problems. I always felt that this system was unorganized. I also found that after time I would forget how the quote I referenced related to the rest of the book.

Electronic bibliographical tools such as Diigo and Zotero have made the process of citing information much easier and more organized. These two programs are useful for different reasons. With the click of a mouse Zotero will display the bibliographical information of a book or journal article in MLA format. This eliminates the factor of human error and ensures that the information is correct. Diigo is also quite useful. It allows the user to write comments on the article that is being referenced, which allows the reader to understand the context of a specific quote. These electronic tools perform the same tasks as traditional methods, but with more efficiency. It is amazing to think that a web page that can be accessed from anywhere can take the place of a stack of books and index cards. Both traditional and modern bibliographies perform the same function, but they work in very different ways.