Assignment: What "LGBT population" do you think you should learn more about over the course of this semester? Why? What do you assume to be true about this population? Where did you learn this from? What do you think will be the most difficult challenge that you will have in doing research on the population or issue that you have selected?
I think I should learn more about LGBT pre-teens and teenagers because they are the age group that I interact with most often and I may also have children some day so I would like to be educated on the subject. Some assumptions I have about this population is that something usually happens in their life to trigger LGBT behaviors, they are usually pretty moody (but that's probably true about any teenager), and there has been an increased amount of teenage suicide related to LGBT issues. I have learned most of this information from the internet, media and just society in general. The biggest challenge I will have in doing research on this population is formulating an unbiased research question just because of the many societal biases that everyone has been subjected to.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Assignment 9: Search String
1. What subject specific database did you choose?
I went to Google and typed in "scholarly databases" and the first hit was JSTOR so that is the database that I ended up using.
2. Which database provided more relevant results for your topic?
I have found that almost all databases I have tried out have brought me relevant results, mostly all of which have been useful to me. But the most useful so far has been the Academic Search Premier.
3. How are you able to narrow down results in Academic Search Premier? How are you able to narrow down results in the subject specific database?
In Academic Search Premier to narrow your search you can choose full text, scholarly journals, document type, number of pages, what type of images you are looking for, dates published, periodical type, language, cover story, quick image view, and full PDF text. With JSTOR you can choose item type (article, review, misc, pamphlet), date range, language, and discipline and/or publication title (i.e. African Studies, Astronomy, Business, Music, Philosophy, etc.)
4. If your first search string didn't work, what synonyms did you use?
My first search string worked.
5. How many relevant articles did you find from Academic Search Premier? How many from the subject specific database?
With Academic Search Premier there was 1005 results, most of them useful to my project. With JSTOR there were 46691 results and many of them were not relevant to my search.
6. Of the relevant articles that you found, how many were available in full text? How many were available via Findlt through other databases? How many were available via Findlt in print in our collection? How many are not available at all, and required an ILL request?
539 were available in full text. I don't know what Findlt is... But there were very many that were not available at all.
7. Since working with databases, have your research question(s) changed at all? Why or why not?
Yes, my search question has changed several times because I realized from using the databases that my the question I was using was not going to get me any results. I have had to change even the whole main idea behind my question but they have all defiantly been changes for the better.
8. What has been your biggest challenge in composing your research question? How do you think you would be able to overcome those challenges?
Probably one of the hardest things for me is revising my question in such a way that will get me proper results when I make it into a search string. I think the best way to overcome this is to practice and do a lot of revision. I know I will get it in the end.
4. If your first search string didn't work, what synonyms did you use?
My first search string worked.
5. How many relevant articles did you find from Academic Search Premier? How many from the subject specific database?
With Academic Search Premier there was 1005 results, most of them useful to my project. With JSTOR there were 46691 results and many of them were not relevant to my search.
6. Of the relevant articles that you found, how many were available in full text? How many were available via Findlt through other databases? How many were available via Findlt in print in our collection? How many are not available at all, and required an ILL request?
539 were available in full text. I don't know what Findlt is... But there were very many that were not available at all.
7. Since working with databases, have your research question(s) changed at all? Why or why not?
Yes, my search question has changed several times because I realized from using the databases that my the question I was using was not going to get me any results. I have had to change even the whole main idea behind my question but they have all defiantly been changes for the better.
8. What has been your biggest challenge in composing your research question? How do you think you would be able to overcome those challenges?
Probably one of the hardest things for me is revising my question in such a way that will get me proper results when I make it into a search string. I think the best way to overcome this is to practice and do a lot of revision. I know I will get it in the end.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Assignment 8: What is Old Age For? and Interventions for Preventing Falls in Older People.
The frist article I read was the one called "What is Old Age For?". I found that in this article the author talked about the elderly with respect and compassion. In the other article the authors were very straightforward and did not bother themselves with emotions. It was just the facts and nothing else. The article by William Thomas may not outright say it, but he certainly does imply that elderly people know more then us and have much more wisdom then us. They are to be respected.
The structure of the first article was much like any other article I have read, it was nicely formatted and well organized. The second article did not have any structure at all, in fact it was almost just a litany of facts.
Citations:
Gillespie LD; Gillespie WJ; Robertson MC; Lamb SE; Cumming RG; Rowe BH (2009) Interventions for preventing falls in elderly people. Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14583918
Thomas, William (8/5/2005) What is Old Age For? Retrieved from http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/respecting-elders-becoming-elders/what-is-old-age-for
The structure of the first article was much like any other article I have read, it was nicely formatted and well organized. The second article did not have any structure at all, in fact it was almost just a litany of facts.
Citations:
Gillespie LD; Gillespie WJ; Robertson MC; Lamb SE; Cumming RG; Rowe BH (2009) Interventions for preventing falls in elderly people. Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14583918
Thomas, William (8/5/2005) What is Old Age For? Retrieved from http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/respecting-elders-becoming-elders/what-is-old-age-for
Monday, February 20, 2012
Assignment 7: Getting Ready to Use Academic Search Premier
The Academic Search Premier seems like a really good database to use if you are going to be doing a research project. Nearly all of the information I have found so far while using it has been accurate and helpful. This is the first time I have used the database but I will defiantly be using it more often for any kind of research. I have used the Miller Center database and that is a good one to use too, I had to use it for a Communications class last semester and it is fairly similar to the Academic Search Premier, you just type your subject in the search bar and it brings up tons of information on that subject. I am a little apprehensive to use this new database though because it seems a little complicated; I still need to figure out how to use it to its full potential.
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