RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY

What do you think of when you think of "technology"?

What do you think of when you think of "research"?

The words "research" and "technology" are often used together. Research, after all, leads to new technologies, and how often are we told that technology is changing research?

Technology has always aided research.

From pen and parchment to pencil and paper.

From the printing press.

To the printer.

From the typewriter.

To the personal computer.

Or the microfilm reader.

All of these technologies transformed research in their time. Some are still with us.

In the past fifty years, for example, computer technologies and the Internet have changed many aspects of research.

Think of the process of research represented by the Information Literacy Standards to see how.

Know Your Information Need

. . . you are likely to

• Read an encyclopedia article online
• Make notes on your iPad or laptop
• Type an outline in MS Word
• Use online chat to ask a reference question

Access the needed information

you are likely to use

• Online Library Catalogs
• Article Databases
• The World Wide Web
• Documents you have downloaded
• Computer programs to aid data collection

Evaluate Information Critically

it is aided by technology

• Find information about an author online
• Check out the publication standards of a journal
• Computer programs that help in evaluation of data

Use Information Effectively

They are moving online at an astounding rate.

It is the rare conference presentation these days that does not include some sort of visual enhancement.

And social media and online discussion lists are facilitating scholarly communication.

Use Information Ethically

The Internet has made it easier both to plagiarize and to be caught at it!

Paper mills and plagiarism detection software are both symptoms of this growing problem!

We tend to think of technology as providing cutting-edge solutions to contemporary problems.

But it can also have a profound effect on the study of the past, as you will see in the Ted Talk by Anne Knowles.

You will soon be embarking on your Technology Tool Assignment, which focuses on Web-based presentation tools.

Just one aspect of "Technology and Research"!