With a daunting archival research project ahead of me, I wonder if college will be the last time I do research. Is it necessary to do research in college if I’m never going to do it again?
My friend, Micaela, got me thinking about what I’m learning now and how it could be utilized in the future. She refers to it as “Just-in-Time Learning” and “Just-in-Case Learning.”
Just-in-Time Learning: when you learn things in the moment you need it
Just-in-Case Learning: when you learn things or you are taught things just in case you may one day you need that information
When it comes to this research project I think it entails both types of learning. This applies to Just-in-Time, because I need to know how to research or I will most likely fail my CTW (yikes!). I learned how to do research particularly to help me with my archival research project, but the lessons I am learning right now can extend wayyy into the future.
Although I will most likely not be doing big, fancy, official research projects after I graduate, I can still use these skills in everyday life. Our professor taught us how to pick out the valid sources from ones that might have a little bit of bias. So that article that seems to thoroughly cover Martin Luther King? Probably not the best source to believe since the rest of the website contains pieces from KKK supporters among others.
Learning how to pick out small details like this will help me be a more active and informed member of society. I might not have to write a 6 page paper every time I look at a newspaper, but I will have a better understanding of how to detect bias and good sources from bad sources.
functioning adults in society