Okay this is going to sound so stupid to people who've known this forever, but I just figured out how to use the library database and I feel like I've discovered fire. 
I'm a first-gen student. No one ever taught me this stuff. In high school, we just Googled everything and called it research. When I got to college, I kept trying to do the same thing and wondering why my professors kept saying my sources weren't "academic" enough.
Last week, I finally admitted to a librarian that I had no idea what I was doing. She was so nice about it. Showed me how to use the databases, how to filter for peer-reviewed articles, how to use Boolean operators (which sounds scary but is actually just using AND and OR). I spent three hours in the library yesterday just... searching for things. For fun. I found articles on my topic I didn't know existed. I found scholars arguing with each other about things I actually care about. I felt like a detective solving a mystery.
My research paper is actually coming together now. I have sources. Real sources. Good sources. I understand them. I have opinions about them. This has never happened before. I know this is basic stuff for most people. But for me, it's a revelation. I'm not stupid, I just never learned. And now I'm learning. Finally.
If you're first-gen and feeling lost in research: go talk to a librarian. They are actual angels who want to help. They don't judge. They just teach. I wish I'd done it years ago.
I'm a first-gen student. No one ever taught me this stuff. In high school, we just Googled everything and called it research. When I got to college, I kept trying to do the same thing and wondering why my professors kept saying my sources weren't "academic" enough.
Last week, I finally admitted to a librarian that I had no idea what I was doing. She was so nice about it. Showed me how to use the databases, how to filter for peer-reviewed articles, how to use Boolean operators (which sounds scary but is actually just using AND and OR). I spent three hours in the library yesterday just... searching for things. For fun. I found articles on my topic I didn't know existed. I found scholars arguing with each other about things I actually care about. I felt like a detective solving a mystery.
My research paper is actually coming together now. I have sources. Real sources. Good sources. I understand them. I have opinions about them. This has never happened before. I know this is basic stuff for most people. But for me, it's a revelation. I'm not stupid, I just never learned. And now I'm learning. Finally.
If you're first-gen and feeling lost in research: go talk to a librarian. They are actual angels who want to help. They don't judge. They just teach. I wish I'd done it years ago.
