What have I found on my research question?

I was recently asked "What have I found on my research paper so far?". Despite having done little research at this point, I have still found some useful information. A couple of weeks ago I looked up a couple books int the library that had something to do with my topic. I scammed through both books briefly, but I did not read the whole books.T hose two books will definitely come in hand when I start seriously researching my topic. I have a lot of info to continue researching about. There's so many resources out there on my topic that I have yet to conquer. I did have to refine my research question once. My original research question was too broad and vague. I had to specify the question in order to get the information I wanted.

Filter Bubbles

After reading about filter bubbles, I think they are harmless. I don't really see the disadvantage of filter bubbles. They help narrow searches when trying to research a topic. I think it's actually pretty amazing that websites can kind of guess what you are going to search for. Only disadvantage of filter bubbles are that some websites with filter bubbles will have a lot of ads and might cause your computer to catch a virus. That's in a very rare case. A problem that filter bubbles may cause for academic searching is that the topic you are trying to research may not show up in the filter bubbles. And you may have to refine your search topic or topic question.For some people that is a big deal, for some people that isn't a big deal. The filter bubble tips that were provided were very informal. I will definitely use those tips to pop my filter bubbles. I have popped facebook and google filter bubbles unknowingly. Whenever you delete history on google or any website you are popping a filter bubble. And on facebook I have restricted content available to the public. So I choose what people can and cannot see.

Skill Application

I was recently asked how I could use the skills I have learned in this class and apply them to my other classes. I have learned many skills so far such as how to use the Ingram Library database and Gil finder,blogger, and how to cite a book or chapter. Obviously, I can use these skills in many ways to help me in other classes. I can use the Ingram Library to search for books that I can use for research papers in other classes. And I can use the Gil finder which is an even better research engine tool to refine my searches. I also learned how to cite a book or chapter of a book. This will help me when I have to create my bibliography pages for my research pages in english and other classes. No more losing points for not doing my bibliography! last but not least, I have learned how to use Blogger. At first, I thought Blogger was stupid and useless. Now that I am getting the hang of it, I think it is actually a very useful tool that I can use to communicate with my classmates. We can share documents and I can comment on their documents, and vice versa. I will definitely use Blogger in my other classes, if I get a chance too.

Ingram Library Comparison

Finding a book in the Ingram Library was very different than finding a book at my high-school. The Ingram Library has the online database which is very easy to use and convenient. In high school if i wanted to find a book, I would have to go to the librarian and ask for the call number. Then, she would look the book up the book on her computer. Very tedious task. The Ingram Library has a lot more options than my high school library when it comes to options. It was hard to find books on certain topics at my high school. With the search bar on the Ingram library website, it feels as like I can find every book there is on any topic. One thing that did surprise me about the Ingram Library were all the different search engines it had on the database. These other search engines are very useful. Such as the GIL Universal Catalog!Finding a book on my topic wasn't hard at all. Narrowing down my searches was the most difficult part.

Book Research Homework

I looked up two books in the library. One was called "The Mentally Retarded Offender", the other was called "Mentally Disordered Offended". I chose the book The Mentally Retarded Offender because it gives a more in-depth look into the judicial system. It doesn't just tell me what a Mentally retarded offender is. This book gave a look into how one qualifies as a mentally retarded offender. I will use this book extensively to research how one qualifies as being mentally disabled instead of just an ordinary prisoner.

Kj and Thomas' Ethnography Assignment

Thomas and kj library ethnography from thiggin1

Thomas and kj library ethnography

KJ and I looked up the book Cat in the Hat in the library last week. These are the steps we used to find the book.

Interview 9/05/12

I interviewed one of my teammates who is a senior. He had to do a research paper on the effects of marijuana on your body's overall health. He stated that is was very hard to find factual information. He said his professor only let them use information from work that was peer-reviewed. My teammate also mentioned that he used Google's scholar tab. Many people are unaware of that feature of Google. It is a research database that only contains peer-reviewed and scholarly work. The scholar tool can be very helpful when trying to find authentic information on a certain topic. He also stated that he used Galileo. This a well known database that has legitimate information on pretty much every topic. Everything on there is peer-reviewed! I'm pretty sure every college student has used this database at least once. One thing that surprised me is that he said the professor wanted them to cite every website they looked at. Even if they didn't use information from that website. Sounds crazy to me. If you didn't use information from the website, why should you have to cite it?

How Will I Refine My Research Question?

I will refine my research question by making the question more specific and less broad. My original question was just way too broad. I asked what makes someone become a psychopath? That is very broad. By refining the question, I can get better info on what I am trying to research. Which is how do sports play a role in the overall psyche of someone. I can ask if a person plays a sport does it make them more outgoing and social with other people? Does playing sports hinder someone from becoming a psychopath. I can also look up statistics on how many convicted "psychopaths" used to play sports. The reason I am trying to incorporate sports into this research topic is because I am a sports management major. This will be a tough task but i can do it!