Research:Student use of free online information resources/Results

Student demographics

The respondent set of 214 students included:

• a mix of graduate and undergraduate students, with undergraduates (Freshman-Senior) constituting over 80% of respondents
• students from across the university, with the College of Arts & Sciences and the College of Engineering constituting over 70% of respondents
• native speakers of 20 different languages, with English and Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese) constituting over 80% of respondents

• 
  Current enrollment status (grade level) of student respondents
• 
  Area of study of student respondents
• 
  Native language of student respondents

Questions about Free Online Information Resources used by students

What types of FOIR have you used in the past 3 months?

Types of FOIRs used by respondents within the past 3 months

We first asked students what types of FOIRs they used most frequently for school work. The full list of options was:

• government/institutional websites (other than UW)
• news websites or blogs
• online encyclopedias
• online dictionary or thesaurus
• free online courses
• tutorials or how­to guides
• question and answer websites
• streaming video or video downloads
• streaming audio or audio downloads (e.g., podcasts)
• downloadable books or articles
• online image repositories
• online forums or message boards
• social media
• Other type of resource (please describe)

These responses present some interesting contrasts with the responses below, when we asked students to list the individual sites they used most frequently. Notice that "encyclopedia sites" and "free online courses" don't even make the top 5!

How do you find new free online resources?

Ways students find new FOIRs

How frequently do you typically use each of the following methods to locate new free online resources?

The options were:

• Use free resources recommended by instructor or mentor
• Use free resources linked from free resources you already use
• Use a search engine
• Use free resources recommended by classmates/peers
• Use free resources listed in a textbook or other official course resource

"Search" is far and away the most common way students discover new FOIRs, followed by FOIRs recommended by instructors and peers, and FOIRs linked from other FOIRs, in a three-way tie.

Students are much less likely to find new FOIRs: either there's still a stigma in academia against referencing 'internet' stuff, or their textbooks are out of date. Probably a little of both!

How do you prefer to consume free online resources?

Ways students consume information from FOIRs

How frequently do you consume information from a free online resource in each of the following ways?

• Listening to audio recordings
• Reading books, articles, or other long form texts
• Reading short posts, abstracts, or summaries
• Watching videos
• Using interactive tutorials
• Browsing image galleries

We also asked students several questions about how they generally consume information from the free online resources they use for school work. Fortunately for Wikipedia, the results show that most students still read a lot on the internet, although most of what they read is short-form text, like summaries and abstracts. And they watch videos more often than then read whole articles or books online.

How do you prefer to access free online resources on mobile devices?

Ways student consume information from FOIRs on mobile devices

How important are the following factors related to availability on mobile devices to you when deciding whether to use a free online resource?

• I can download content from the resource to my mobile device
• I can access the resource through a web browser on my mobile device
• I can stream multimedia content from the resource on my mobile device
• I can use a free app to access the resource from my mobile device

We also asked students to rank features or characteristics of the resources they use by importance. One area we were particularly interested in was mobile use, so we asked students how they prefer to access FOIR content on mobile devices: though downloads (like podcasts or e-books), mobile web browser, multimedia streaming, or apps. On average, students ranked access to content via mobile web and streaming as more important than downloads and apps.

Which qualities of free online resource content are most important to you?

Information quality features of FOIRs by importance

How important are the following factors related to quality of information to you when deciding whether to use a free online resource?

• the information is up­-to-­date
• the information is presented in a way that is enjoyable or engaging
• the information is accurate
• the information is presented in a way that is easy to understand

Perhaps not surprisingly, accuracy is students most important consideration when they decide whether to use a FOIR—they're going to be graded on this, after all.

Contrast these responses with some of the sites that students reported using most frequently: YouTube is not known for its accuracy, StackOverflow answers are often out of date and difficult to understand (though it varies considerably), and Coursera and Khan Academy are intentionally designed to be easy to understand and provide engaging/enjoyable learning experiences!

It would be interesting to run a follow-up survey and ask students to rate specific sites according to these factors, and see how the distribution changes.

Questions about the free online resources students use most

The following questions are about the Free Online Resource that you have used most within the past three months. Please provide as much information as you can about the way you use this resource.

What FOIRs have you used most frequently in the past 3 months?

Word cloud of top FOIRs used by students within the past 3 months

In the past 3 months, which free online resource have you used most frequently to find information or learn skills that are relevant to your coursework or academic research?

We asked students to provide their first, second, and third choice. The first choice was required, the second and third were optional.

Not surprisingly, we found that students draw on a wide range of resources of many types, for many reasons. However, there were definitely some stand-outs. Video streaming sites, online courses, and social Q&A sites were popular, as was a certain free encyclopedia. Many of the less common resources that people named were subject-specific, and many of these focused on sciences and engineering disciplines (probably because our survey population contained a lot of engineering students). Social media and news sites were also well-represented.

Top 5

Wikipedia was the most mentioned site by far. YouTube, StackOverflow, Khan Academy, and Coursera rounded out the Top 5.

resource	mentions
1. Wikipedia	74
2.StackOverflow	32
3. Youtube	40
4. Khanacademy	20
5. Coursera	11

Reasons why students use particular free online resources

Wikipedia

Why do you use this resource? Please describe why this resource is valuable to you in a sentence or two.
It is a really useful and complete learning tool since I can find many information I need by using Wikipedia.
To look up information about a topic that I'm unfamiliar with
Provides lots of information and the outside source.
This resource connects me to a large number of other online articles and books.
This resource gives a really great genreal outline to topics, and points to resources of further detail.
I use Wikipedia as a jumping-off point for research. It helps me lay the ground work of a research project, which I then verify and expand with reputable topic-specific resources.
The info is often well organized, and links their sources so I can actually use some of the information in my research papers.
It's a comprehensive summary of everything I need to know
My profs don't allow Wikipedia to be used as a reference, but I use Wikipedia as a "jump off" for research. There are lots of sources cited at the bottoms of the pages that I can read to draw my own conclusions. Those papers sources have sources of their own that I can also follow.
A very extensive compilation of various sources. A great start to understand the basics and lead to deeper research after using it.
Simple, straigh-forward structure, usually with links to sources, that can be used to deepen my study
most convenient
Useful for getting brief overviews of topics.
To get a general sense of the research topic before I actually use a relevant article
A consistent style to introduce me to any topics that I encounter- has links to more specific websites for certain deeper aspects
It provides good basic information for me when I need it
Hw
It is quick and easy to find information I need, though I know it is not the most reliable.
It's fast, easy and it gives a basic understanding
To get a better understanding of a certain topic that I am currently interested in
Information are very detailed in wiki.
They have basic information on pretty much anything.
Information here seems to be reliable and complete. It also has citations that leaf to other resources.
To look for information on various topics in science and engineering
Look up definitions or equations
Organized information. It provides specific and direct explanation.
Wikipedia covers almost every topic and has the references that I can use for my academic papers.
Because there are lots of stuff on this resource, and it is free!
lots of information presented in an easy to understand format
Easy to use, links to more information
It's well-maintained and generally understandable. I can go to it with only a little understanding of what it is I'm interested in and follow links until I feel like I understand the concept.
Easy to read through, straight to the point. After I find the information I'm looking for, I'll do further research to make sure the info is accurate.
Gives a good broad understanding of a topic
Easy to use. Safe informations and lots of details
huge amount of info, links to other references, well organized
I use it to get an overview of what I am researching, then I go to paid sites to do my actual research.
Easy to learn about various subjects in chemistry, like quantum numbers, electrophoresis, etc.
It's usually the first link that comes up when I look up a topic on google
convenient, contains almost all of the information I need to know
Easy to understand information
Wikipedia knows everything
Becase it is easiest to find and read

YouTube

Note: these testimonials have been synthesized and grouped by themes. The second column contains the number of comments that reflect a particular theme.

Why do you use this resource? Please describe why this resource is valuable to you in a sentence or two.
Easy to Digest	1
Funny	1
Entertaining	1
Interesting	1
Gives a foundation to base knowledge for class/research	6
Works out confusion from classes	3
Video format	3
Visual format	4
Tutorial Videos	4
Easy Access	4
Taught by multiple backgrounds	1
Free	1
Available for many topics	4
Real People teaching	2
Documentaries	1
Video games	2

StackOverflow

Why do you use this resource? Please describe why this resource is valuable to you in a sentence or two.
Stack Overflow comes in close with various other programming-learning web sites, but I tend to lean on the amateurish, web-dev side of software, so Stack Overflow is currently top.
This forum is well maintained and reliable, so I know I can quickly find useful information related to what I'm looking for.
Sometimes I do not know the specific command or how to write specific codes, I can always find answers on stack overflow.
they answer math questions very detailed
Great resource that answers common questions on computer programing syntax.
Quick answers to specific issues
I need it when I code
For programming questions / debugging
Q and A forum helps me to understand technical material better, as I can see people's differing methods on how to solve problems.
I use Stack Overflow to learn coding.
Often times it provides a solid platform to figure out what I'm trying to ask, and then link me to additional helpful resources like documentation for software.
Help with computer programming It give concrete answers to real problems that people have. Documentation for programming is often abstract, real examples of actual usage are often found on stackoverflow.
Answer all my issues when I'm debugging my program since I'm too lazy to read the manual which I'm supposed to do.
because help me
it is helpful
It helps with problems that one might run into while creating a computer science program
Good source of information. Lots of users use it.
codes man! it has all the codes you need (and don't need :D)
It's a Q&A website that has many experts who know a lot about CS and similar things.
It is a professional programming related q&a website

Khan Academy

Why do you use this resource? Please describe why this resource is valuable to you in a sentence or two.
It's a useful second place to brush up or clarify concepts I don't understand in class.
Visualized tutorials of a wide range of complex subjects, it's a well-known site.
It provides videos on different topics related to my coursework while also providing questions to review the topic.
Used to learn concepts for my course
It offers clear, concise explainations
Very helpful in explaining concepts that I need help with from science+math classes. It can be difficult to find other good resources for these.
To understand the material that's taught in my classes
Tutorials for chemistry and physics
Offers interesting and tools for self assisted learning
Visual explanations of mechanisms/processes/reactions/etc. that happen in biology and chemistry are extremely helpful.
They have educational videos that cover a wide range of topics and are very helpful.
Use this for math primarily. Videos demonstrate examples which are helpful in understanding concepts. Navigation is well done so I can easily find the specific topic I am interest in without having to spend too much time searching or watching irrelevant material
it's very helpful
Khan Academy has been helpful in many of my science classes providing thorough videos on how to solve numerous problems.
Finding hw hints

Coursera

Why do you use this resource? Please describe why this resource is valuable to you in a sentence or two.
Provides in-depth explanation of concepts from professors are reputed colleges around the world.
Awesome comprehensive free courses from others top colleges to complete what I learnt from UW
contents were very well structured and less biased than other commercial websites
learn free online course
It offers training I need
Very easy, self-paced

Other resources

Other resources mentioned by survey respondents, and their reasons for using them.

Why do you use this resource? Please describe why this resource is valuable to you in a sentence or two.
resource	reason
Lynda.com	I needed to learn new programs to complete my program. I Used it to learn how to build my website, build prototypes and learn art techniques for example
Wolfram Alpha	This website has really helped me to answer math questions as well as science questions that I need to do my homework.
Medium, Facebook, Twitter	All the relevant content comes to me rather than me having to go and search for them.
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python	I was newq to python and had to learn it for my research, https://automatetheboringstuff.com/ was an amazing way to learn stuff with how to do tutorials n videos
Dictionary.com	It is very important to understand language and words when reading certain texts. Dictionary.com shows the origin of words to the latin or other suffix/prefixes, and has antonyms/synonyms. These are important when analyzing an author's diction and tone.
The New York Times	Credible and easy to access
Yahoo Answers	Gives me a starting place to help solve a problem I have. Gives me coefficients and necessary formulas
GitHub	GitHub has a range of open source coding repositories that give great examples of code written in any programming language.
Reddit	Tons of people in my intended field use reddit, so I can ask questions and learn while I'm still able to make mistakes as a student. Also I can talk to other students and plan or work together to solve homework problems etc.
Investopedia	It gives an animated video of concepts of Finance.
UNESCO	Unesco is essential in monitoring heritage sites throughout the world.
smartPhysics	practice problems, introduce prefecture
Dictionary.com	Quick and easy to find answers.
Mayo Clinic	Look up symptoms and physiology or diseases.
Pinterest	Get inspired to design
Google.com downloadable book links	Free text book, more mobile, required for class
The New York Times	To find current technological articles.
Tutoring videos	To supplement my lectures in order to better understand material
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/	This website allows to to practice reading Japanese, and they also provide audio as well so I can hear how everything should sound. Also when you scroll over difficult kanji characters it gives you definitions, which is helpful for learning new vocabulary.
Wolfram Alpha, math message boards	wolfram alpha lets me check my calculations quickly and handles abstract expressions well message boards often have questions similar to the ones I have and sometimes the explanations are very thorough
Quizlet	Summarizes key words effectively and overlaps with my coursework
Merriam-Webster	I am preparing for GRE exam. I need to look up online dictionaries for examples and detailed definition of vocabulary.
Mayo Clinic	easy to understand, can look up basic information that can help guide you toward academic aritlces
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy	The articles on the website are written and peer-reviewed by professors in the field (for example, the article on Intellectual Property is written by a UW professor, Adam Moore, who teaches INFO 450) and the language used in these articles is accessible and easy to understand. They are comprehensive summaries of arguments in various denominations of philosophy which I find very helpful for papers and just understanding material.
piazza.com	Allows student interaction outside of the classroom.
Investopedia	It gave me simple and accurate results.
Bookshare	Free downloadable books
Dictionary.com	I have a lot of reading assignments. It helps me find English words I do not know.
Crash Course (on YouTube)	It gives me the basic knowledge I need to know in an easy to digest, funny, and entertaining way. This enables me to either a) have a foundation to base my knowledge I learn in class off of or b) work out basic confusion I have from my classes.
The British Encyclopeadia website	For a couple of school related essays
Yahoo Answers	As informal as it is, I find the best explanations for homework problems there.
ALISON	This helped me improve my keyboarding skills while I did research papers, and I like the wide variety of topics it offers.
Business Insider	I use this to inform myself o the ongoing change and development in the business world.
The National Archives at Seattle	I am able to a chess some documents relevant to my research online, or contact archivists to pull boxes of documents for me prior to arrival.
Udemy, edX	For online courses
StackExchange	I use a lot of different resources, so it was hard to pick one. I think I have used stack exchange the most because I can look up specific questions I have and get a variety of answers and examples. Often people also explain why you would do it one way or another which is very helpful to a beginning coder like myself.
Udemy, W3Schools	To gain more knowledge about the subject
Codecademy	To learn HTML and CSS.
SweetSearch	Taught it in high school.
StackExchange	Technical solution or programming knowledge
Yahoo Answers	steps are shown, not just the answer
Investopedia	I have a concentration in finance, so this website is really helpful because it explains concepts in an easy to understand way.
Twitter	Lots of reviews and links to info and resources related to a particular topic; up-to-the-minute reviews/reflections
YouTube crashcourse	watch videos about varying topics
Dictionary.com	The online Webster dictionary is very helpful for my English classes, especially when used as a thesaurus.
MIT OpenCourseWare	It's free courses from MIT. I want to stay current/ stay in "student mode" before entering graduate school, and this feels like a way to learn and keep my skills sharp for free.
Merriam Webster	Thesaurus helps to write papers
arXiv	new papers are published here every day
StackExchange	I code a lot, and I run into trouble frequently. This link is the best website to use to fix my specific troubles, it explains my problems very well and contains pretty much every issue in basic programming.
stanford iOS course on itunes: http://web.stanford.edu/class/cs193p/cgi-bin/drupal/	Useful for learning iOS programming
Wolfram Alpha	It is useful for quickly computing things, and wolfram also has online references for various math concepts.
Canna Law Blog	I've been working on an academic paper regarding the legalization of cannabis, and a reputable blog about Cannabis Law seemed to be a good place to start.
Facebook	It allows me to keep in contact with friends.
Facebook	I can get information about friends and the news at the same time.
Google Scholar	most comprehensive yet accurate search engine
Canvas	to do assignments
Pinterest	To look up resume examples.
The Microsoft Website	To figure out how to make pivot tables
Purdue University Online Writing Lab	This website helped me a lot with writing assignments, from how to built a good structure for my paper to citation styles and guides.
SpanishDict	Because it offers a literal translation, which is awesome if I just need to look up a word, or it offers phrases if I need to make sure I am using something correctly, and it uses three different translation sources so that I can decide which response is the best.
Reddit	Reddit, along with google, helps link me to a variety of sources across the internet, in addition to interactive help in finding it and answering questions about it directly
Yahoo Answers	It usually provides all of the work and so lets me see where I went wrong in my thought process.
Dictionary.com	I use this resource as a means to double check the words I use within a paper (to make sure it is the exact word I want/need within the context of the paper)
UXPin	They have free ebooks which are very informative and relevant to what I am doing.
Encyclopædia Britannica	Because it is easy to use, organized, concise, detailed
MarvinSketch	This helps with with my understanding of structures in chemistry.
USA TODAY	I use it to search for news articles relating to the week's reading topics
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)	The CDC contains information related to the medical and public health fields. I have some confidence that the information provided is based on sound research.
Medium	I generally use Google, Google Scholars, UW Canvas, and UW library for my work. I go to medium just for blogs, and a good read that may be relatable to my field of interest.
dblp	This is a free online bibliography for computer science literature. Much of my academic research involves finding relevant publications, so I use this database to find journal/conference papers. Unfortunately, this is only a bibliography and most of the full-text papers are only available through restricted-access libraries (like the ACM DL).
Thesaurus.com	It helps me avoid repetition in my writing and word ideas better.
MIT OpenCourseWare	MIT OpenCourseWare offers free online courses for a variety of subjects. The Engineering Systems department is particularly relevant to my major and the programming courses are useful for getting me caught up on the programs used in the research lab where I work.
Chegg	it helps me for doing my homework
Google Scholar	In order to find relevant research sources for scientific research papers for class.
Wolfram Alpha	Helps me with math
www.apple.com/itunesu	This helps me learn some fundamentals of programming to help me through my work at the UW.
Pauls Online Math Notes - Lamar University	Good summary if information and easy to access
Master Organic Chemistry	Clear and thorough explainations
Wall Street Journal	It has lots of articles to read
Dictionary.com	I was in a psychology course that had a lot of words I have never seen before. I use dictionary.com to look up definitions and other useful informations.
PubMed	-PubMed gives me information about my research topic.
PubMed	To find reliable science/research literature
Symbolab	Helps me find the answers for problems in stufgling with and provides the step by step process so I can understand how the answer was found and help myself learn to do it on my own.
PubMed	Free online resource of published articles and journal entries
Pinterest, Dribbble	I am a design major so obviously I look at images for inspiration.
King County GIS Center	To obtain geographic data from Seattle and King County
W3Schools	for website designing. it is easy to use
Yes, news websites	It adds current relevance to it.
The New York Times	The New York Times is my go-to resource for domestic current affairs affecting my schoolwork. It provides coverage that is comprehensive, in-depth, and well analyzed.
Facebook	There is a group on Facebook for people in my major and we post questions and even books, spreadsheets, course materials (google drive) and I can message people through Facebook to compare answers.
Microsoft Virtual Academy	it has served AS the best plACE TO LEARN ABOUT IOT.
Yes, thesaurus.com	As a historian- we write...a lot. Sometimes a thesaurus is great to mix up the diction used in our writing.
TED talk	The talk communicated ideas for my ethics presentation for HCDE 231.
Pluralsight	They have many free courses available to students that teach everything from software engineering concepts to language tutorials.
online english/ german dictionary	It helps me learn new words in German, which I have been taking.
Chegg	step by step problems
IRC (online chat rooms)	Programming questions / debugging
Google Scholar	The focus on academic research.
WikiAnswers	Easy, has all answers to my questions
Ncbi.gov	I use it to look up articles that I need that's related to my classes
Code School	Learn Coding
yes, I use the app called 'imiwa?'	I find this app very helpful because it is an easy to access Japanese/English and English/Japanese dictionary. If I were to type in a Japanese word I do not know, it tells me the meaning, how to write it and how to write it in Kanji with stroke order steps and has Kanji decomposition. Also the app gives me a lot of examples of how to use the words in sentences.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/	To help me when I need definitions for words I do not understand in my course readings. I also need it to find synonyms and words to add to my class essays.
Chegg	Gives a detailed solution guide that helps me understand its application
ProQuest	ProQuest compiles newspaper articles, magazine articles, and most importantly, it gathers scholarly journals which are peer reviewed.
Crash Course Video Lectures by Vlogbrothers	Entertaining, efficient, and engaging content delivery that enhances my test preparation. I am fond of online courses. These are free and I would utilize them outside of coursework studying.
DanceSafe	Lots of basic facts about drugs with references cited that I can use for essays and class projects
Dictionary.com	Useful for looking up definitions, finding synonyms
JSTOR	to find articles for my research
HyperPhysics	Also helpful with physics. Explains concepts very well and is relatively easy to navigate.
Dictionary.com	a lot of the texts i read use advanced language that i dont understand. this site is also good for a thesaurus when im writing papers
CNN	For my SOC 270 class, it is important for me to keep up with the current news and social issues
HyperPhysics	Concise explanation of physics concepts
Public Library Database	For school related esaays
Reddit	It's like the junk food version of reading a book.
Reddit	Besides being an inescapable diversion for mindless amusement, the r/linux, r/apple and r/programming subreddits can be quite helpful for assignments and education in general. Basically, it can be used as a centralized hub of all things I find interesting, so it's a compelling resource.
Journal of Marketing Research website	This was a valid and relevant source of research based articles for one of my courses
SpanishDict	I am finishing up language requirements for graduation and this site is extremely useful for more difficult verb conjugations
Quizlet	To help study for exams.
Scribd	For books
Google, Yahoo, Course Hero	it is relevant and organized. Very easy to follow/use.
Yahoo Answers	It helps you quickly find answers to homework problems from many classes.
Mathworks	Help with MATLAB
Yahoo Answers	sometimes they have helpful explanations for math problems I'm working on
Microsoft tutorials	Free tutorials to learn the use of Microsoft Office products
online news articles	I helped my do research for certain topics for an english class
PubMed	Scientific literature for homework help
Yahoo Answers	Similar to stock exchange, I use this for my math problems. When I'm stuck, it explains my problems and how to do them.
http://www.thesaurus.com/	Useful when writing papers
the pulse	it is easy to use as it is an app on my phone and helps me keep up with current news
Udemy	I use Udemy for their tutorials on coding, design and other tech things.. SEO, data design.
Washington State Department of Licensing	Needed to find out how getting a license works
The Microsoft Website	To look up how to make pivot tables
Yes, many - maybe code academy is the next most useful	Helped me learn and practice R to do statistical analysis for my research
Yes, blogs mostly	Since it is free, they are a lot of people participating, automatically creates more perspectives allowing me to think critically with a lot of information.
Java API	I need it to code in java because sometimes I might not know what specific methods should I use
Udacity	They have free courses which help me in learning more about concepts in programming and design
Google Scholar	I can find many related and academic articles by using Google scholar.
Code School	It was free and relatively well presented than others
Grey Literature Database	I use this resource to supplement UW library resources. It contains reports that are generally not indexed by academic search engines.
arXiv	This is a free library of scientific articles. I use it to read relevant research papers.
News articles	It was needed for my homework for EPI 201 and ECON 200 and for my ENGL 131 class.
www.investopedia.com	I like to read about investing, and this site teaches many aspects of investing.
Microsoft Academic	I used the Microsoft academic search after a friend sent it to me. This site returned only academic papers, so I could easily assume the papers' legitimacy.
Code Academy	To start learning basic coding language out of curiosity
W3Schools	They provide easy to understand tutorials and also have an interface that lets you practice to make sure you have a full understanding of what you're trying to learn from their site.
EasyBib	I use it to do citations for English papers.
free ebooks	use them as additional textbooks to complete reading resources
Webscience	-find information for my research topic
library	it has lots of stuff.
http://interactivepython.org/runestone/static/thinkcspy/index.html	To learn how to program using Python language
www.theregister.co.uk	The register provides in-depth industry news for scientists and technologists. It allows me to keep apace of industry trends which inform my schoolwork.
Yahoo Answers	This helps me to answer questions, especially textbook problems.
Wolfram Alpha	It helps me with math that I've forgotten how to do
Google Scholar	To find articles about a topic I need to write about
yes, JSTOR	JSTOR is a collection of mainly scholarly articles that are excellent resources to use in an essay.
Medium	Learn about design trends
Social media	To learn about the realities of engineering
www.guidetojapanese.org	This website is very helpful when I'm studying Japanese grammar. It thoroughly explains the grammar and also incorporates new vocabulary into each section.
Symbolab	When it works, it helps me see if I'm doing math problems correctly.
npr.com	Great podcasts
medium.com	I find the blogs about UX design and HCDE useful to look at.
W3Schools	used it to learn PHP
http://www.tellingstories.org	It provides a more comprehensive library of oral histories for my research endeavor.
Web MD	good place to find basic info to help guide research
www.instructables.com	Due to my interest in DIY projects, I find this website very inspiring by seeing how others solve problems or create things, so that I can apply those ideas to my own projects.
4chan.org	Yeah, I know. /g/ can be a useful reference point for various going-ons and concepts in the tech world. I use such discussion to divert me towards more serious educational resources and books. Also, mindless entertainment.
EdX	This gives me a lot of sources, more than I could ever possibly find by Google or Yahoo, and I'm always one search away from many reputable links
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/	I use the OWL to double check Chicago citations, especially for more tricky government documents.
Online Design Magazines like Smashing Magazine and UX Magazine	They are really helpful to understand concepts, look up ideas, and get examples of what other people are doing
http://docs.unity3d.com/ScriptReference/	It is an API I use for lots of coding projects. It provides faster creation of programs than coding everything by hand
Yahoo answers	To find answers to readings quizzes
sparknotes	I can read plays in a quick and easy to understand method
twitter #a11y feed	useful to see what new stuff is happening in the community
government websites	Using info from government agencies such as the CDC or WHO gives me a good first start on a lot of public health research.
Quizlet	notecards have been premade for courses taught
Yahoo Answers	Sometimes, I have a question, but I can't reach my instructor in a timely manner, so I check to see if someone has asked the same question as me before.
www.statmethods.net	This resource provides guides to coding in R for my stats class.
The CDC website	To learn about a the current biology on a disease
Yes - News websites	Helps me keep up with current events and follow social policy issues
Thesaurus.com	Lots of information when needed instantly.
chemwiki.ucdavis.edu	Provides additional information and links to learn more about the concepts that I may not be the most confident about
Facebook.com	I use this source because this is how I'm connected to many friends and family members so I can easily ask them for questions.
Google math forum	I can find many related questions and solutions which helped me to solve my confusions.
Udemy	Free of charge
Google Scholar	I use this to supplement UW library resource searches. The search algorithm sometimes points me to different literature.
GitHub	This is a place for users to host open-source computer programming projects or to share their work. I use it to download specific tools for my own research or to study software development techniques.
www.cnn.com	I read articles about business on cnn money.
code academy	-learn about Java
www.nature.com	Most uptodate research publications and general direction of research field