Sami Abdulnabi "Googlepedia"/Praxis

          The foundations of any good research paper (or any paper for that matter)  starts with proper research. The process of researching has changed over the course of human history and even more so with the advancements in technology. For instance, the Internet has become an integral part of everyday research and has provided this generation with a valuable commodity for research. However, both the Praxis book and "Googlepedia" emphasize the importance of gathering credible sources by utilizing other sources such as database, books, and journals that are almost always provided on college campuses. In addition to creating a research paper with credible sources, the book mentions ways of gathering information, whether it be interviews (primary research) or peer-reviewed articles on other primary sources (secondary research).

         In the "Googlepedia" article, Randall McClure supports the idea of students using Google and Wikipedia as a way of pre-researching topics to gather a general idea of said topic and eventually narrow down sources by utilizing college campus libraries and databases in order to guarantee credible sources. McClure writes an analysis on two students that research using Google and Wikipedia as their main methods of source gathering and gives recommendations to further enhance their research process. A noteworthy comparison between the two was their apathy towards verifying the credibility of said sources. This observation is important in todays world because it shows how the accessibility of information from the Internet can possibly lead to people to blindly belief in sources that appear "pleasing". McClure mentions that an easy way to evaluate a source is by using the CRAAP method: Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose. Research "funneling" is a way to incorporate todays generation of students that use Google as way of finding topics and enhances their research process by noticing credible sources from the search engine and then eventually finding actual sources through databases.

          The Praxis book mentions different forms of researching: primary and secondary. Primary research is done by interacting personally with a subject. This can range from novels, films, poems, interviews and personal anecdotes. Another form of finding a source is secondary research. This type of research has already analyzed and synthesized preexisting primary sources. The two articles, "Bringing History to Life" and "What Does it Mean it Mean to Drink Like a Women?", in the book give examples of the importance of primary sources and secondary sources, respectively.