Original Research

I, myself, have never done original research. I have not had a project or paper where I have had to do research for my own. Original research is different from library research in many ways. One way is that original research often includes conducting surveys, experiments or compiling data. You are observing that population for yourself instead of taking someone elses word for it like you would be doing for library research. You also have to identify assumptions and build a research question for those assumptions.

Library research can guide or assist original research by giving ideas for your own research. For me, it takes a lot of time for me to come up with a topic for a paper or project. But if I do research ahead of time I am able to get ideas from it and come up an idea for my own.

Some cons of library research often include too wide or searches. Too many results are given for a search and most of the time they aren't useful enough to use. They are very broad rather than being specific enough to use for research. On the other hand, that con can also be a pro! By getting a lot of result for your research your results are unlimited. For a person like me who likes to change their mind a lot, seeing different angles of a topic helps me explore my options when writing a paper. I am able to change my mind to a topic that works better for me.

For both types of research, critical thinking skills must be involved. For example, evaluation of sources is very important. You must be able to decipher creditably of authors and their research. You must also have to be able to interpret that information and ask yourself, "Is this information relevant? Will it help in my overall goal? Can I use this information and will it help make my paper accurate?" These critical thinking skills are very important.

In my opinion, creditability is most important in both original research and library research. With so much information out there in library research, you must have a fine eye when telling which is creditable and which is not. On the other hand, creditability is just as important in original research when figuring out who to interview, survey or question when conducting research of your own. You may think you have a creditable source but by not doing your research on them, it could make your whole study inaccurate.

Blog 19: Statistical Information

I found a government document that reported 10-20% of students between 6th and 12th grade have reported using cocaine or another form of it. However, it does not indicate how the data was collected or analyzed. It does, on the other hand, report that  U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics conducted the study. Although it doesn't report the reason for conducting the survey, I believe it was conducted to show how big of a problem cocaine use is among teenagers which will help give the government a better idea on how to deal with it.

U.S Department of Justice, (2005). School Survey on Crime and Safety. Retrieved April 10 2012, from http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs/tables/scs_2005_tab_07.asp
The scholarly journal that I found reported similar discoveries to those of the government document. It reported that 6% of 12th graders have used cocaine at least once in their lifetime. This article also does not report the reason for collecting the data. I believe this is because the article is used to inform rather than just present the facts and in that case, there is no need to report the reasoning.

National Institute on Health, (March 2012). InfoFacts. National Institute on Drug Abuse

Google 101

I learned a lot about Google during Google 101 that I did not know about before. I have always used Google for basic research because it is quick and it gets to the point. I had no idea it was so advanced or that so much could be done with it. I also had never used the "more" button or the other links like it. They are great tools and since then, I have been exploring with them much more. I learned abou the You+ feature that allows you to personalize Google to your own taste and liking.

This exercise has changed my opinion about Google and the way I look at resources online. I realize there is a lot more information that is available to me just be using different tools that Google has offers. I am no longer using the basic Google to find research but rather, I am using all aspects to find that best information that I need. I will use the new Google tool by using the extra features that Google provides. They are a great source and tool for research.

Checking In

So far I feel I have been pretty successful. I have a few more sources to find but I feel pretty good about it so far. However, I am having problems with the presentation aspect of it. I am not a good public speaker and get extreme anxiety when presenting. I am extremely nervous for the oral presentation and I am scared I am going to get a bad grade because of it, no matter how prepared I feel.

Luckily, I have no other research projects going on now or for the rest fo the semester. I am fortunate because I am already taking a heavy class load and the two research projects for this class is plenty! They have become a lot more work than I thought I would.

Intellectual Property

I'm not exactly sure what intellectual property is, but if I had to guess, I would have to say it has to do with using someones original words or thinking as their own. However, according to Wikipedia, intellectual property is a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of executive rights are recognized under the corresponding fields of law. This means that owners are granted rights to their objects. A few examples of intellectual properties that come to mind would be music, books, and artwork. Intellectual property changes when it is maipulated by not receiving credit where credit is due. The creator also does not benefit when intellectual property is manipulated and share. For example with music. When iPod's and MP3 players became popular, sites such as limewire and frostwire developed. People were able to download and share music instead of having to pay the stores or iTunes for the product. Musical artists were no longer recieving their pay for the songs they produced.

Urvashi Vaid

Coming into the presentation I didn't know what to expect. I knew very little about Urvashi Vaid and even the topic itself. However, I was pleasently surprised. Urvashi Vaid presented information in a forward manner. She used facts and stories to help support her topic. The information did not differ in anyway from what I had learned or believed, but rather only added to it. The one thing that I really took away from the event was the fact that people think that we are near the end of the gay right's movement. To me, which is similar to Urvashi Vaid's idea, the movement is far from over. Not until the LGBT community has equal right will the movement be over. Urvashi Vaid's backgroud did make her an authority on the topic. She is very creditable when it comes to the topic. She has been apart of the movement for over 30 years and has won numerous awards for her work. She is very dedicated to the subject and has done countless amount of research along with writing books. The presentation made me rethink my Alternative Viewpoints topic. I am taking away from the presentation a new topic. I would like to change my topic for the Viewpoints paper to the struggle for same sex marriages to be passed. I feel I will be able to find a lot on this topic, especially with President Obama's recent address. I was only able to stay for 15 minutes of the question and answer before I had to leave for work. But by that time no one in the class had the opportunity to ask a question, although many other people had.

Semester Research Questions

So far I have completed four of the eight research questions. I have completed questions 1,2,3, and 7. I am needing help with finding a good organization that will educate people about the population and also I need help with the challenges that people have in doing library and original research on the effects of cocaine on adolescents.

The Debate About Blogs

I believe that blogs can be a creditable source of information when there has been enough research put in to finding a legitimate blog. Although the majority of the time the author is sharing his/her viewpoint on a matter, they often back it up by providing additional links that help support the point they are trying to make.

http://www.adolescent-substance-abuse.com/blog/

I believe this is a legitimate blog because it gives multiple references to other stories that support the fact that teenagers have a problem with substance abuse. The blog includes journal articles, newspaper articles and police reports of stories that have all found this to be true. I also believe it is a legitimate blog because it provides other information including where to go when seeking treatment for substance abuse.

Adolescent Substance Abuse. Attitudes Toward Smoking Influence Teens' Choices about Alcohol, Other Drugs. Retrieved March 10, 2012, from http://www.adolescent-substance-abuse.com/blog/

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Research Reflection

This has been a tough blog for me to write, which because of this, it has taken me a while to just sit down and write. Although I have many friend and family who are part of the LGBT community, I don't know much about it. So at this point, I don't even know where to start when it comes to finding a population to learn more about. I think I know the direction to go but I may need some help narrowing it down. I think I would like to focus my research on the psychological problems or grief that comes with being apart of this population but not always being accepted by others. I have known a few people who have really struggled with this acceptance. There are a few things that I assume to be true about this population. The main one being that no matter who you are, acceptance is important. It is one of Maslow's hierarchy of needs to being a happy, balanced person. You must have the respect of others to have respect for yourself. Because of this need and when it is not fulfilled, people tend to have other problems that come from not being accepted. I have learned this from the many psychology and health classes that I have taken, while also through the journey of life. I know that I have had times where I did not feel accepted by the people around me which lead to me feeling poorly about myself. I think the biggest challenge that I will face will be narrowing my topic to a specific issue involving acceptance of LGBTs. I only have the idea of a topic right now and I'm not sure where to go with it.

Getting Ready to Use Academic Search Premier

When I first reviewed the Academic Search Premier features, I was a little overwhelmed. I have never used Academic Search Premier or any other database before for that matter to find information so figuring out which search strings worked and which didn't was a bit of a process. Eventually I got the hang of it and was able to find a lot of useful information. The only fear that I have about using this database is that I will have a hard time distinguishing which information will be useful because I have so many options to choose from. Hopefully with the help of the right search strings I won't have a problem.

Assignment 8

Grant, M. (1991, May 13). Crack Kids: Innocent Victims. Time. 137(19), 112-118.

Smith, D. E., Schwartz, R. H., & Martin, D. M. (2001). Heavy Cocaine Use by Adolescents. Pediatric, 83(4), 539-543.

It is easy to see that there is a difference between a popular magazine article and a scholarly journal. I found an article on cocaine in Time Magazine while also using the academic search premier to find a scholarly article. The Time Magazine article, although very informative, is more for entertainment than to be used to gain information for research. On the other hand, the scholarly article is packed with details and information. To me, it also seemed like there were more facts from studies in the scholar journal than there is in a popular magazine which is often aimed at an easier, more fluent read. Also, there were more authors that contributed to the scholarly article than there was to the popular magazine. I think this is because more information and research has to go into that type of article.

Assignment 9: Search Strings

The database I chose to use along with the Academic Search Premier was Alt HealthWatch. However, I received the most relevant and best results for my topic from the Academic Search Premier. I was able to narrow down my topic in both databases using a few different tips. I added a row to make my search string longer and more specific. I also used OR, AND, and * to include all words that I was looking for. I could also have chosen to select a field but I chose not to. Lucky for me, my first search sting was successful and received quite a few results that I was able to work with. I received 113 articles on the Academic Search Premier while only 68 for Alt HealthWatch. 35 articles were available in full test for Alt HealthWatch and 28 for Academic Search Premier. 47 were available through FindIt in other databases and 11 were available in print and the Miller Center. However, only 2 were not available at all and required an ILL request. So far my research question hasn't really changed. I have been able to find words that get the best results for my topic that I haven't had to do much with changing my research question. My biggest challenge I have encountered in composing a research question has been getting started. I was unsure of what direction I wanted to go with my research question since it is such a "touchy" and I didn't know much about the population. I think I overcame this challenge by doing a lot of research and finding a topic that I am interested in.

Your Population

I have found a lot of good information on cocaine and the effects it can have on the body. It is because of this information that my assumptions have changed some. I am more aware of how addictive it can become. Having never done drugs or any substance that can lead to addiction myself, I could not put myself in the situation where cocaine could take over my life. But after reading stories about people who have, I have a better understanding for it. A question that I have now about my population is what kind of rehab facilities are available for people who have been addicted for so long. Although this doesn't directed related to my project, I became curious as to the different types of rehabs after doing some much research on cocaine and how it destroys lives.

So far I have mainly come up with a lot of facts that will support my research project. I have found some stories that will also come in handy too. I have even found pictures of people that show the physical effects of cocaine after just a few years of using.

Encyclopedia vs Wikipedia

After learning about encyclopedias in class and doing a little research of my own, I realized there are both pros and cons when it comes to using encyclopedias and Internet sources like Wikipedia. To start off, encyclopedias are very reliable. They have been edited, revised, and edited again. The information is as current as the encyclopedia's publishing date. The information also comes from people who are very educated and knowledgeable on the subject. They know their stuff! However, there are some cons when it come to encyclopedias. Encyclopedias can be very biased. Only information that the publisher and editor want to see are present in the books themselves. As Professor Wexelbaum showed, a whole section or population of information could be missing based off of the companies preference.

Wikipedia is a search engine that I still have mixed feelings about. My high school teachers drilled into my head that Wikipedia is not a reliable source and never to use it when writing papers. I can see positives and negatives on both sides of it. As for the pros, there seems be information on any topic on everything imaginable. Wikipedia has it all! However, the problem with Wikipedia is that anyone could write information about the subject no matter their creditability on it. I can remember my teacher bringing up multiple searches that had misinformation on the subject.

I am actually having problems location print encyclopedias and E-encyclopedias on my subject. I'm not sure if I am looking in the right spot, or using the wrong words, or if there are none available on my topic, but I plan on asking Professor Wexelbaum for help next class period.

Finally, I would have to say that using Wikipedia is more appropriate in my research presentation at this time because I have yet to locate an encyclopedia. Wikipedia had a lot of information on my subject that I thought was very useful. I was definitely able to find information that I can put into my research presentation project.

Locating a Book

For my research project I decided to focus on substance abusers. Since this topic is much too general, I narrowed it down to the question, "What are the long term effects of cocaine users who start at an early age?" I feel that I will be able to find a lot of information on this subject because substance abuse is a hot topic these days. For the project, I am going to be looking for both specific and general information. Although I understand the basics of cocaine and it's effects, it is not enough to write a research paper on. To find books on my topic I decided to start at our library's website. I used the advanced search to focus on key words that I felt would get me the best results. A few of the words I used were, cocaine, teenagers, effects, and long term. With these words I was able to narrow my search down but at the same time still have plenty of books to choose from. Once I found a few books that I thought would work, it was off to the basement! I was actually unable to find one of the books that I was looking for but I found another one that I thought would work just as well. I also tried looking for an EBook. However, I did not find one that I thought would work for my topic. I'm still undecided on the whole EBook subject. I like having an actual book in my hand and sometimes my eyes start to hurt after looking at a computer screen for too long. I also dont have a mobile device that would allow me to read from it. However, if I found an EBook that would work I would maybe try it out. I next went on the Great River Regional Library System website to see what books they had to offer. I feel like their search is very similar to ours, although I do like the Miller Center's better. I used many of the similar words that I had in my previous search but I feel like I got fewer results that would work for my research project.

What Do You Assume to Be True About Substance Abusers?

It took me a long time to come up with a human population to write a research project about. I did not feel comfortable writing about a particular minority, religion, or ethnic group. I decided on a topic that was nonspecific to any of these groups but could include them all. I eventually settled upon substance abusers as a vulnerable human population I would like to research. I chose substance abusers because it is a population that I do not understand. I have never taken any kind of drug in my life nor do I plan on it. I am aware of the reasons why people turn to drugs and become addicted to them. However, I feel that there is no situation in life where drugs can make it any better. They destroy lives of the users and everyone else around them. For the most part, I assume people turn to drugs to get away from or briefly block out something they are dealing with whether they know it or not. I do not believe that there is one person who plans on becoming addicted to drugs. Rather, it happens over a period of time where that blocking out stage becomes less and less and it takes more substances to cover up the pain. I guess this assumption is something that I never really learned, rather just assumed to be true because to me, there is no other explanation to it. I cannot imagine any other reason why people would put themselves in that situation unless that was the case. The most difficult challenge that I think I will face will be trying to put myself in the abusers' shoes. I feel this will be necessary in order to learn more about the situation and see it from an unbiased point of view.

What is Critical Thinking?

To me, critical thinking is the ability to take a deeper look at thoughts, ideas and surroundings by having an open mind to explore all aspects of the subject. This does not mean that one has to be an expert or even have previous knowledge of the matter, but rather be open to all ideas of it. According to Dictionary.com, critical thinking is the disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence. I feel that my definition and that of Dictionary.com are very similar. Both are commonly united by the idea of exploring the subject with an open mind to achieve a deeper thought. Although critical thinking may seem like a complicated idea, according to the definition given by Dictionary.com, there is no particular process that one must engage in to think critically other than clearing the mind and be accepting to new and inovated ideas. I think there is a connection between critical thinking and IM 204 Research Strategies. Both subject matters involving thinking outside of the box to get what you want. With critical thinking, one is forced to think in a different way that may be difficult and uncomfortable from what they are used to. With IM 204, one uses other resources to find information that they normally may not use. Personally, I stick to the basic when it comes to research. My motto has been, "if you can't find it on the internet, you can't find it anywhere." I am excited to learn of other ways to research and to think outside of the box when it comes to applying new information.

Critical thinking link from Dictionary.com
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/critical+thinking