Epistemology represents the study of knowledge. This applied to a philosophical context means understanding how an individual learns something, what the basis for genuine knowledge is, and what that knowledge signifies. Many interpret knowledge as true, justified belief, meaning a claim can be justified, the claim is true, and the individual believes in the claim. Over time such exploration of thinking has led to the formation of two main branches of philosophical epistemology. These are Rationalism and Empiricism. Empiricism states that the input from senses (experience and observation) helps a person find true knowledge. Rationalism on the other hand, emphasizes reason instead of the use of the senses to justify claims and beliefs. Outside of philosophy, epistemology is used to understand how people acquire knowledge and learn like Genetic epistemology. When so many areas of study can be examined via the lens of epistemology, it makes developing a personal epistemology integral to learning and acquiring knowledge.To discover and understand one's own personal epistemic beliefs, one must explore the information out there and attempt to verify these claims, and believe in what is learned and identified via the process. People find knowledge through various ways. From reading books to going online, data is streamed from a multitude of avenues and thus becomes an ongoing journey to attempt to assimilate some of this endless knowledge in a way that promotes further learning and personal growth development. Now...

One study noted the effects of internet search on the personal epistemic beliefs of students and stated, "Internet search experience had negative relations with uncertainty, complexity and source of Internet-based knowledge; however, it was positively related to justification of Internet-based knowing" (Chiu, Liang, & Tsai, 2016, p. 286). The negative aspect can be seen when people examine information from sites like Wikipedia or blogs. Although the information seems factual, there is no formal aspect of how the knowledge was acquired to verify its validity.
Therefore, as a student learning in the new age of digital technology, there must be a set of epistemic beliefs and procedures that help the individual sort through the 'false' and 'true' information available. These beliefs often come from the interactions a person receives while socializing, in school, and through education. Teachers for example, help students develop their personal epistemic beliefs via their teaching methods. The more developed a teacher's epistemic beliefs are, the more a positive effect it will have on the student (Pamuk, Sungur, & Oztekin, 2016).

Because knowledge has a major belief component in it, people wishing to develop their epistemic beliefs, must believe the information they are processing to…