To be perfectly honest, my approach for tackling a research project is scatterbrained at best. When I have an idea for the topic I intend to research, I will immediately go to the library and search the catalog for relevant books and utilize the online databases to find scholarly articles. This type of research will occupy the majority of my time as I often feel the need to try and fully understand my area of study before I feel confident enough to begin the writing process. This step is often supplemented with excessive Googling to fill in any gaps.

The Methods and Skills of History workbook has certainly made me more aware of my own biases, author biases, and my reliance on secondary sources. I think it is rather easy to pick up an impressive looking book or scholarly article and blindly trust that what they are saying is true. Before this year I had also never visited the Dickinson College Archives. This class and the workbook has helped me to reevaluate and relearn the approach to scholarly research by emphasizing primary sources, independent original research, and critical thinking.