Think back to an elementary history class, or an anthropology course if your primary education was fancy, and think about what you know about the evolution of humans and how we came to be the walking, talking, polluting, hurting, but more importantly thriving homo sapiens we are today…
If you’re anything like me, your idea of evolution is over-simplified into something like this pictured to the left. As incorrect too real and basic this may be, we all understand how we got here. The term “hunter-gatherer” is often used to describe some of the early humans and their characteristics. Notice how the term is incomplete without the other… you typically cannot gather without also hunting, and likewise you would have trouble hunting without also gathering.
The “hunter-gatherer” expression has been modified to exemplify various polarities in human behavior. Employers and sociologist use the term to define behavior in the office, at home, and interactions with one another. Even literature and writing professionals use the term to describe work methods.
Tonight for my writing class we dove into this “hunter-gatherer” approach to research and writing. In Klein’s “What Is It We Do When We Write Articles Like This One – and How Can We Get Students to Join Us?” he brings up two common research methods (again, like human evolution they are rather simplified) that many prospective researchers find themselves utilizing. He notes the “hunter” who is on the prowl for information, someone who is actively looking for resources big and small, and the “gatherer” who is out there…. but they are really only picking up information that is available to them, something they have found rather than acquire.
Although both methods are useful, you need to utilize what is readily available (gather) as well as go out an find something meaningful (hunt), Klein notes that he notices that, with young researchers and writers, there is often a disconnect. Like Klein, I’ve noticed students my age and especially those younger have only become familiar with gathering, and have not even touched the surface of hunting.
Gathering in my mind is the Google search bar, where seemingly useful information is at our fingertips. Gathering is where the first three links in our search compile 60% of our Works Cited Page.
Hunting is the library. Hunting in the online databases and complex search options with asterisks and AND and OR.
You cannot have one without the other, though. Google and webpages help set up the foundation for questions to bring to those complex search engines and databases. Although the “hunting” is new to me, and my knowledge of how to use them goes as far as the 2 hour tutorial in class (helpful btw, professor) I am not only required to, but I am looking forward to using it for the two research papers that are coming in my near and impending future.