From this class, I learned how to research on the internet more efficiently. At the beginning, I had questions about finding articles more efficiently, and in class, we talked about how to use the library website more efficiently. The databases turned out to be very useful in my other classes. They made research so much easier. I was able to find articles that were specific to my topic. Learning how to use key words in these databases was very helpful as well.
Another thing that helped was the discussion on websites and resources that are credible. I can tell what is a good source and what is a bad one. I was worried that this would make my research harder, but the resources on the school website were available, so it wasn't that difficult.
Knowing the difference between books that are for leisure, and scholorly journals was also helpful.
While I still think that some leisure books can be good sources, I understand that scholarly journals are written by proffessionals who have experience in the topic they are writing on, not some journalist that followed a proffessional. I also understand why this would be a better source.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Sunday, September 16, 2012
week 3
So this week, we learned about plagarism and how to properly cite things. I think we also talked about how to find a credible website, but I'm not sure. The days are starting to blend together. We used Trun-it-in.com in highschool, and I must say that it was terrible. It made writing much more difficult. I never meant to plagarize, but when I was writing on a common topic, it was easy to say something that had been said before.
It was good to learn about the ways to cite things. I wonder if I should cite things that I know, but aren't necessarily common sense. I always hated going to find a book just to have a citation. If I paraphrase it, do I have to cite it? ugh, this is so complicated!
It was really helpful to know how copywriting works. I knew that lots of companies were strict, and don't want people stealing their stuff, but I didn't realize that they were that sensitive. I think it's a little ridiculous actually. Suing a kid for using your logo? We all know that Disney characters belong to Disney. Chill out. But maybe that's why we know Disney so well, because their so strict. I guess I just have to be careful.
It was good to learn about the ways to cite things. I wonder if I should cite things that I know, but aren't necessarily common sense. I always hated going to find a book just to have a citation. If I paraphrase it, do I have to cite it? ugh, this is so complicated!
It was really helpful to know how copywriting works. I knew that lots of companies were strict, and don't want people stealing their stuff, but I didn't realize that they were that sensitive. I think it's a little ridiculous actually. Suing a kid for using your logo? We all know that Disney characters belong to Disney. Chill out. But maybe that's why we know Disney so well, because their so strict. I guess I just have to be careful.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
week 2
It was interesting to learn how to find different sources using the different things the library had to offer. I think the Wikipedia talk was the most interesting. Wikipedia is a great thing because it provides useful information. I understand why schools don't want you to use it for research, but I think they should come up with some other way to easily access credible information.
When I'm writing papers and researching, I usually don't care about the topic and so, I have no desire to do more work than is necessary. Although credible info is available on the internet, I don't want to spend unusual amounts of time searching for it. In class we talked about looking past the first page on search engines, and there were lots of good things to find. However, in reality, I wouldn't want to look that far. Wikepedia is the very first thing that comes up, and that is how I learn about the topic. When it comes to papers that I don't like writing, or (just don't care about) I want quick answers. In the end, I just want to get the paper over with.
This would be different if the topic I was researching hadn't been reseached before. Then it would mean that any information I find would matter. But when the topic is something that has been covered before, then I feel like I just have to find the correct answers. It becomes a chore instead of a learning experience. Thats why I'm so lazy with research!
I'd like to say that I don't directly cite wikepedia as a source. I look at the sources section at the bottom of the page. It's like the author of the page did most of the work for me. I'm fully aware of how easy it is to screw up information on wikepedia.
We also talked about how to find scholarly journals. Those are the best sources for information, but once again, they require some effort to find. Maybe there should be a Scholaryly journal website that is as convienient as Wikipedia.
oOne more thing: We talked about articles that are used for entertainment, and those that are used to inform. The book STIFF was used as an example to illustrate how some information in entertainment writing is not always reliable. I must say, I was a little annoyed that people were saying suff about this great book. The author is an excellent writer and it was clear when she was giving an opinion and when she was stating facts ( not to mention that her bibliography was incredibly long.) STIFF rocks. You should all read it.
When I'm writing papers and researching, I usually don't care about the topic and so, I have no desire to do more work than is necessary. Although credible info is available on the internet, I don't want to spend unusual amounts of time searching for it. In class we talked about looking past the first page on search engines, and there were lots of good things to find. However, in reality, I wouldn't want to look that far. Wikepedia is the very first thing that comes up, and that is how I learn about the topic. When it comes to papers that I don't like writing, or (just don't care about) I want quick answers. In the end, I just want to get the paper over with.
This would be different if the topic I was researching hadn't been reseached before. Then it would mean that any information I find would matter. But when the topic is something that has been covered before, then I feel like I just have to find the correct answers. It becomes a chore instead of a learning experience. Thats why I'm so lazy with research!
I'd like to say that I don't directly cite wikepedia as a source. I look at the sources section at the bottom of the page. It's like the author of the page did most of the work for me. I'm fully aware of how easy it is to screw up information on wikepedia.
We also talked about how to find scholarly journals. Those are the best sources for information, but once again, they require some effort to find. Maybe there should be a Scholaryly journal website that is as convienient as Wikipedia.
oOne more thing: We talked about articles that are used for entertainment, and those that are used to inform. The book STIFF was used as an example to illustrate how some information in entertainment writing is not always reliable. I must say, I was a little annoyed that people were saying suff about this great book. The author is an excellent writer and it was clear when she was giving an opinion and when she was stating facts ( not to mention that her bibliography was incredibly long.) STIFF rocks. You should all read it.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Week 1
Its very good to know that there are all of these resources available from the library. It's a lot to take in, though. I am probrably going to forget how to do most of the things online. That's ok. It's good to know they're available.
I dont know how many times I have had trouble writing papers due to the lack of credible information. It always seems to happen when the paper is due the next day. I have a paper due next week in Sociology. I have to write about non-verbal communication and the databases have lots if information that I can use. Now, I just have to learn how to type in certain key words that can get me information that I need.
I dont know how many times I have had trouble writing papers due to the lack of credible information. It always seems to happen when the paper is due the next day. I have a paper due next week in Sociology. I have to write about non-verbal communication and the databases have lots if information that I can use. Now, I just have to learn how to type in certain key words that can get me information that I need.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)