Extra Credit Blog Post

I’m excited to read other’s blog posts on this subject. I’m not so sure that I’ve narrowed down my topic as much as I should. That’s why I’m looking forward to looking at these blog posts. That’s what they’re for, right? So I’m still looking for ideas. That naturally leads to the next part of the blog. My questions. I guess my main questions are the same ones as I had with the rhetorical analysis. I’ve done many research papers before, but not with thesis’ and not with me taking a stance and trying to be persuasive. I’m wondering how much of it is fluff and how much of it is really stuff that I’m needing to keep. I also have questions about the format. What is the most effective, and how I should lay it out in order to give it the greatest impact to my intended audience. As I’ve been thinking about my paper, my intended audience has changed a lot. My topic is South Korean education, and at the start I was going to try to compare it to the United State’s system and analyze the benefits to our economy should we change our education system to match that of South Korea’s. After trying to research that, I realized that that would come up fruitless. Now I’m just analyzing on a broader spectrum whether or not implementing different parts of the South Korean education system would be beneficial. Thus, my audience has broadened just by virtue of making it a more applicable to the general public. While at the start my hope was that the audience would be economists (who would be the audience because I was going to connect it to the economy), lawmakers (who possess the political power to change the educational system), and parents (who, if persuaded, would provide the backup needed to back the change in the education system). However, my goal now in writing more broadly is to attract all who read to come to the same conclusions that I do. I hope to write it in an interesting enough way, with enough background information, that anybody could pick it up and read it and be intrigued, and hopefully compelled to action. I realize that with this, though, will have to come much more thought. I’ve already spent much more time just thinking about how to write the paper than the other papers so far this semester. While the other papers this semester have rather easily just come out of my head straight onto the paper, this one has proved to be much different.

Starting the Research Process

My research process involves reading through many news articles. Since my paper is all about American media in the Chinese market, it has fairly easy to find information on this topic from online news sources. Also, since this topic is quite current, I have been able to find many articles with Kairosis! This has been useful because if I was only finding older information about this issue, my paper wouldn’t have any relevance. One thing that has been a bit difficult is my search for peer reviews.  Since the Chinese SARFT (State Administration of Radio, Film and Television) isn’t willing to release information pertaining to their guidelines, it has been difficult to really understand their system of censorship.  From what I have already been able to tell in the little research that I’ve done, the best way to really understand what kind of content they are censoring is to just look at a list of banned films and to look for patterns.

The way that I have conducted my research thus far has been mostly through “Google News” and the “Opposing Viewpoints in Context (GALE)” through the HBLL Research Starter Guide.  Both have been very useful, but I actually found that the best source material was coming from the HBLL Search Engine.  They seem to pull from a variety of quality sources and eliminate the bad ones (which come in on Google Search). Also, as I have learned to master the art of using “keywords” I have been able to get sources which are super relevant to my topic.

One thing that I could I could improve upon as I move forward with this paper is sorting through and organizing all of the information that I am finding through my research. As we discussed in class, it is important when researching to have some way of keeping track where all of your information is coming from. Whether this be by creating a Google Document to store keep track of which info is coming from which sources or by creating a table in a Windows application like Word or Excel to keep this organized.  I also want to make sure, as a complete my research process and begin writing the actual paper, that I am not plagiarizing in any way.  I want to begin to separate my own ideas from the ideas found in my sources. I need to start now to implement these techniques so that it will save me some time in the future.

Search and Research

In my case, I find research to be more of a necessary evil: something that needs to be done if we want to learn the truth about any given topic, but something I am incredibly untalented at. It’s actually kind of sad how bad I am at finding the right key words to lead me to the topic I’m studying. It’s rather like a video I saw a few weeks ago of a choir director who was so tired of his students singing badly that he recorded himself singing Oh Holy Night, and intentionally made every singing mistake imaginable, and after playing it for his students said that was what he sounded like. The only difference between this story and my own ability to research is that my mistakes and overall lack of ability is not intentional. That leads me into the question of what I will do to improve the research process, both for this paper and for future ones. Mainly my plan is just to work on gaining experience: surely the longer I attempt to find more information through searches, the higher the probability I’ll come across something useful, and hopefully as I spend more time researching I will gain more experience at it and start to recognize what will make good search criteria and what will not.

            There is a slight issue with the idea of researching that I am working to get over, as well. The whole idea of some sources being more trustworthy than others does make sense, I suppose, at first glance, but instead of learning to distinguish between the two, I’ve developed the habit of distrusting nearly any information regardless of the source, unless I can prove it for myself. An example of why I’ve developed this habit was given in class today by one of the other students who is researching climate change. He mentioned that he’d found trustworthy sources giving data that were in complete opposition to each other, that there was no way they could both be correct. It’s because of situations like that, where there is obviously a strong bias by the authors (probably on both sides), that I almost always assume that the answer lies somewhere in the middle, and that unless I have the ability to work it out for myself, do the experiments and run the numbers, I can’t possibly know for sure what the actual truth is. On the one hand such a strong sense of skepticism can be extremely useful to weed out biased information. On the other hand it makes it very difficult to form an actual opinion or conclusion.

            Basically my goal is to keep searching for new information and more sources until I get good at distinguishing whether a source is in fact trustworthy or not, and until I’m convinced that a specific viewpoint is correct.

Research

Having never done a research paper before, I have had to try different methods of finding a source and then figure out which way works best. The trial and error method of figuring out how to find a good source was a little frustrating at the beginning, but once I figured out what worked best the research process was a lot less stressful.

My research question deals with rape and there are many topics that could be covered dealing with rape. In order to narrow down the topic of rape, I first researched rape as a general subject and then found a more detailed aspect of it. I found that using the library databases is the easiest way to research. The library databases, I feel, gives me the most credible and accurate information, so as of now the only research I have really done has been through the library databases. I know that my issues paper is going to need more information than that which I can get from the library database, so I will have to search the web more and try to find articles that give more first hand accounts of rape victims to add to the ethos of my issues paper.

Right now in my research process I think I need to be exploring more about my subject as a whole so that I can find a specific part that I want to expand on in my issues paper. I have been focusing my research on more of the statistics side of rape and I think that it is important that I also look at the emotional side and gain some insight from those who have been rape victims. I also think that it will be helpful to look at psychological articles on rapist and rape victims to put information in my issues paper on how to prevent sexual assault.

I just failed my cleaning check ):

Usually my research process would just consist of going on Google and searching my topic. This time around I went through the BYU library website which I found very helpful. It was pretty easy because you just type what you want and it pops up. It can also be a little frustrating because there is so much information and it is hard to narrow down to want you want exactly. Or for instance, there was a lot of information on my subject and it made it harder to narrow my topic because there was so much to choose from. I liked going in with such a broad topic and then finding what I really wanted to talk about. It made it so much more interesting to me because I found things I did not know previously.

         So far the only research I have done has been through the BYU library website because I thought that the five sources that we found for our research homework had to be from there. But now that I know it can be from other places I will begin looking at other sources. I really like the EBCOE portion on the BYU library page because I was able to find specific things I wanted to talk about. Also, I feel like the information I gathered so far I am not going to use because now I have learned about all the sources I can use, which will be better sources for my research paper.

         One thing that I can do to improve my research is to be narrower. At the moment I am researching how environmental factors bring on juvenile diabetes. There are so many different environmental factors that I think I should try to focus in on just one. Also, while I am researching I need to organize my information better. So far I have just copied and pasted the URL into a word document. I want to try to include the author, title, and a brief description at least. It would also be helpful to pick out the information I plan to use so that I do not have to keep going back to the source to try to find the specific part I want. Because now I have to go back to the URLs that I carelessly copied and try to find out what I liked about them. Future paper I plan to be more organized.

Nothing Funny About Researcj :(

No need to tell me, my writing style is crazy! But it seems so natural to me and it hasn’t really ever let me down.

If I’m “heated” about the topic I try to avoid writing about it. Initially I wanted to write about first world problems, because they really are ridiculous. Maybe because I’m an optimist, but we really do have it good. So in this case I chose something that I am passionate about but not very informed about when it comes to something other than, “what’s your favorite trail?” National Parks.

Then I just ask a thousand questions to get me started. It’s not until I ask 1001 that it dawns on me, “what does this have to do with globalization?” Then I feel like I get this great tangent which can be comical, and I fall in love. “Asians love national parks!” “How many Asians visit the national parks (those threatened by oil exploits) annually?” Then I just keep researching these ideas until, meanwhile I keep coming up with fun intros, theses, and catch phrases which give me direction towards possible counter arguments. In fact, I think I look up opposing evidence more than I do for stuff that would support my initial bias. In the course of this issues paper I have already gone from disliking oil companies to accepting their necessity and business ethics.

It isn’t until I start putting pen to paper, or finger to keyboard, that I actually start to develop a real position. When I started writing that oil companies should be allowed access to national parks it evolved into “considering the profit margin generated around national parks (tourism), more emphasize should be put into bettering parks over oil drilling.” Then I research and learn about these aspects of national parks and write again. This process continues until, well, forever. The drawback to this is that even when I am writing my final drafts I am seeing more things to consider that I sometimes get tempted to change my entire stance on the discourse. After following this pattern during the last week I am now looking at research for and against the claim that the oil industry should not be transnational. Now as I research this I will be able to refine the specifics, or find a stronger position to take on it. Usually by the end I am not writing about what I initially planned. But something more refined and probably seems to make it way on to my papers.

Getting Learned Through Research

            I think that I am fairly decent at researching. I had always struggled with researching information for my different essays in high school until I took a USU concurrent enrollment writing class. In that class, I was exposed to Academic Search Premier and EBSCOE. Before then, I had always been dependent on Google to find sources and information. I look back on it now and realize that the sources I use to find back then may or may not have been the best sources. The instructor in that class required that we got all of our sources from USU’s research center. Throughout the trimester I was lucky enough to become well acquainted with a scholarly search engine and be able to get past all of the different quirks it had and still be able to find really good articles that could relate to my topic.

            I think that finding good articles and studies can be the most time consuming and frustrating part of writing an essay, but I also think that I can find it enjoyable if I can find some way to get legitimately interested in the topic I am writing about. I usually break my research into steps. First, I get onto google and look up ideas for what is out there in the news and see what directions I should take on my topic. After I have found how I can narrow my topic and thesis, I move onto Academic search premier. I try to keep in mind what my argument is and what points I am going to use to support it. I specifically look for what I have in mind and then it just takes time to find the right sources.

            On my current issues paper, I haven’t found that many sources that I will use but I have been spending lots of time looking for ideas for what exactly I will do my essay on. I’ve been spending lots of time on Wikipedia because I’ve found that it always the very basic information that I need to start outlining my essay without all the added fluff. After I am done with Wikipedia, I will set up an outline and then look for specific types of sources depending on exactly what I am going to write on.

            To improve my research habits and style, I think that it would be a really good thing for me to keep better track of the stuff that I research. As I begin writing my own articles, I’ll think of an idea from an article that I read and then come to realize that I never saved the specific article that I’m thinking of so I have to try and retrieve that article or hopefully find another source that has the same information. Not keeping proper track of my sources is probably one of the most frustrating things for me.

research

My research process is to look through the Google and other research sites to see if any of the information is relevant to my search. I will use key words such to find articles. After finding articles that seem relevant to my search I will look at them more in-depth by reading the abstract or the first and last paragraph. I then usually record the quotes from the source and book mark, record the URL, or email myself the article. Research can be frustrating but it also is extremely useful. It helps me understand my issue more fully and I try to find information to use in my paper. It also allows me to see what information is available to use in explaining my issue in writing. The research process allows me to learn about my topic in depth so I will be able to fully explain it to others.  It can sometimes be easy but most of the time research is hard because sometimes topics need to be made broader or narrower to allow me to find the right amount of sources that are the most relevant to my topic. Research helps me to make an educated opinion about an issue and allows me to share that opinion by sharing the data behind it. So far I have conducted my research by searching Google and Google scholar. In addition to using the byu library databases such as the Gale Virtual Reference Library, Opposing Viewpoints in Context (GALE), and Academic Search Premier (EBSCO). Using these sources I have been able to find many helpful sources that I have been able to bookmark and email the URL to myself. I also read the abstract or the beginning of the article to see if it would be relevant to my topic. I can improve my research process by putting documenting relevant quotes from my sources into a word document so I will be able to easily look them up in the future. I can also make sure to use a variety of sources and not just articles and newspaper articles. I could also look up books to see if any of them refer to the harm long horned beetles have on vegetation. I will also make sure I understand everything the article is referring to and use key terms found in relevant sources to see if I can find additional sources to back up my claim. I will also be flexible on what my view point is so that as I learn about my issue I can make an informed opinion

#datresearchtho

So far my research process has been really mind-opening. I have heard about this class from my friends, and I knew that we had a research/issues paper that we were going to have to write. One of the pieces of advice that my friend gave me was to pick a topic that I liked, because that would make the writing of the 8 to 10 page paper so much easier and interesting. I’m glad that I listened to that advice. I picked to write about South Korea, a place which I love. I am thoroughly interested in everything Korean, and so doing the research is not tedious or frustrating, but interesting, and I am always learning something new. Even when I find sites that are dead ends and really don’t get me going anywhere, I still enjoy reading the articles and I enjoy learning more about Korea. Thus I haven’t encountered any hardships in researching, plus there are an abundance of journal issues and studies done on the South Korean education system. It’s wonderful!

So far I have just been doing research on the BYU databases and on google, just trying to get information in general about the education system that they have in Korea. While doing so I have really had my eyes opened to it, and it has been great. I generally save all the URL’s in a google drive, so that I can access it problem free from work, school, the library, or even my smartphone. It is great, and then I put a small explanation/summary of what the article is about. It makes going back and looking for specific pieces of information so much easier.

One of the things that come to mind when I think about changing my research process is just keeping an open mind about my research topic. Having lived in Korea for two years, I saw first-hand the Korean education system. Thus I have an emotional connection to it and it is sometimes hard for me to go at it with an open mind. I feel like I have maybe brushed off a couple of articles that maybe don’t represent the same viewpoint that I have, where I should be reading those and really trying to understand what argument is being made, why it is being made, and if it really is more viable/understandable than my current position is. That is the biggest roadblock that I have seen to my research so far. Other than that though, it is going great! I love my topic, and I look forward to writing this paper!

My Research Process

My research process typically consist of going on google and typing in key words that includes my topic, not caring too much about the topic. That process is all I’ve ever known but now I discovered the google scholar and the Harold B. Lee library since I’ve been at BYU. I really like the google scholar because it provides peer reviewed articles that allow me to know that these articles are a creditable source.  The Harold B. Lee library seems really complicated for me. I think it’s because of the format. It seems like that it’s so much information with abbreviations and keys that I don’t know the meaning to. I find the research a bit frustrating but that’s not to say that I don’t enjoy it. I like to be challenged. That’s certainly what this issues paper is doing to me. This is very useful because I can no longer just read something that I got from a couple of sources and write a paper on it but I actually have to quote, cite sources and do actual research. I finally get to research a topic that is based on my interest which I think makes all the difference with the way I organize and conduct finding sources.

The way that I’ve conducted research so far is by categorizing my issues paper into different questions or things that I want to include. I’m providing information for each question, sub topics, and counter arguments. I want to change my attitude towards the research paper. I’m use to just finding what I want with ease, but I noticed that I actually have to do research and know all about my sources while putting it in an organized manner. I have so many ideas of how to approach my topic but I’m not sure if I’ll be all over the place and loose the reader. I learned that my topic is too broad and I need to narrow my topic to get better sources. Something that I want to do better is once I have found a source looking for other related sources that the article has referenced. For example Wikipedia is a great source to find resources. I want to use those related links more often. Because of my topic I’m going to be trying to persuade a stakeholder to my argument so using creditable authority is important. Using sources as CNN, Forbes or .gov sites would help me to have authority in my article.

The process in my mind as I research...

My research has not progressed very far besides emailing myself a few articles this morning. My topic question still needs some work before my research will get interesting. I have considered talking about how the most traveled to places are effected environmentally and economically, but then I realized after talking with my classmates that it seems like an attack on tourists, which I have no desire of doing. All the research I did before class today was on the environmental effects in popular tourist attractions, and everything I read was on negative effects in these places. I decided this was not something I would love writing about for 8 pages.  I then talked with my teacher, and she suggested some ideas, such as narrowing it down to one specific place or how tourism effects culture. I have really considered researching Brazil, since it has recently held the World Cup and soon the 2016 Summer Olympics. I researched how Brazil is being effected so much environmentally as well as economically. Most of my research this morning has been on Brazil, and I found very intriguing view points on EPSCO. The tools on the library website are fantastic and I am not worried about the research part. Researching is very interesting, and I don't mind doing it at all. I have learned and gained exposure to many things in just 40 minutes of class. My only worry is how I will develop a question to answer in this research paper. On a good note, this is my chance to improve my decision-making skills, and find more things to be interested in. 

One thing I need to improve in my research is finding great specific key words to research with. I imagine this will be easier once I am sure of my research question. I also need to consider who my audience is, or even better, who I want to be my audience. In this case, my best audience for this type of topic would be anyone who travels, or anyone who attended the World Cup and anyone who will be attending the Olympics in 2016. 

My next research paper needs to be much more thought out in terms of a question to answer throughout the essay. I didn't do well at thinking about what I was really interested in and how I could make it a good issues paper. This is a learning experience, and I am glad it is happening now.