The internet is a tool that college students are lucky to have. When our parents were in school, being assigned a research paper was a nightmare. The student had to go to the library and dig up books on the topic of their paper, and then painstakingly look through each book to acquire the necessary information. In contrast, students that are assigned a research paper today can find information by simply running a Google search on the topic of their paper. This may seem to be the prefect situation for the modern student, but there is a catch, and a large one at that.
Nearly all professors require the sources of information used to aid in writing a research paper to be "reputable," a difficult term to define. To be truly reputable a source must come from a book, magazine article (if the magazine itself is generally respected), or the website of a respected institution. Although these sources are possible to find, most the the websites that are offered as the results of a simple Google search will not meet the criteria required to be considered a "reputable" site. This causes students to be brought back to exactly what their parents did while in school: sifting through a large amount of information to find the few bits and pieces that they can actually use to complete their paper. Although these students could choose to utilize complicated and highly effective search tools subscribed to at considerable cost by the library, most still choose to find information for research papers by digging through a large amount of Google search results. The library pays a large sum for the very effective search options that they provide for the students here at Montana State University, and these students would benefit greatly if they were utilized to a greater extent.
Image credit: http://www.bestonlinecolleges.com/blog/2010/10-classes-every-college-student-dreads/frustrated-student-working-on-a-computer/
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