Group Members: Orany McDowall & William Maldonado
Here is a link to our site:
https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/digitalonline-tools/
Digital & Online tools for the modern college student
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Author Archives: Orany M
Process Documentation
This YouTube video is a documentation of the steps involved in created a hanging indent for a works cited page in MLA format. What is great about this form of documentation is that it is easily understood and very direct. In addition this video record preservs knowledge thanks to the aid of the internet. Most of us if not all, have been in the situation where we needed to refresh our minds on formatting a works cited page for a research paper. Luckily this knowledge is preserved and readily available for access. Another Good feature about this process of documentation is that the message is clearly brought across directly and quickly to the viewer. In this video there is commentary, direction aswell as images all packed in one and because of this it’s safe to assume that one day, video records may become the number one form of documentation. Last but not least, because the video documentary is educational, the creator gives permition for reuse which further benefits the academic community.
Documentation and Purpose
In the excerpt on Documentation by Robert Hauptman, the various applications of documentation are explored. These include: acknowledgement, attribution, tracing, validation, protection and commentary which are sometimes inter-related. Depending on the nature of the work and by what type of individual, whether an expert in the field or a just a mere mortal such as myself, the purposes for documentation and citation varies. For expert researchers, most if not all of these applications may be used in his or her work for reasons such as giving credit to those that influenced his or her work, aswell as for an attribute or proof for a new discovery.
With the existence of copyright law and what it means to owners of intellectual property, the purpose for documentation by average users may be differ from experts. For fear of being accused or threat of a suit, non-expert researchers may use documentation mainly for the acknowledgment and protection purposes.
Internet search vs Library database
Initially the first tool used to gather information for my research was the school’s library database. I guess some of Badke’s teachings are rubbing off on me. In using academic search complete(ebsco) I was surprised that the database only yielded a handful of results on my topic about Fair Use on regards to higher education. But using copyright in the boolean phrase was the total opposite. The phrase I used to search was, “Fair Use” AND “Higher Education.” Outside of Google scholar using the internet search engine for research had not occurred to me until this blog prompt. To my surprise using the words “fair use and higher education,” I was stunned by the amount of useful links to academic information sources. I think was because the topic of fair use is highly popular and has a great deal of controversy surrounding it. In addition some key Google scholar source links which I used for my research came up first in the results page. Although Academic search complete came up short against google search in terms of quantity, we can argue that the database has information that is always reliable. For another database engine I used known as Lexis Nexis, which was flooded with newspapers and case studies with the same phrase. All in all I think that the internet search engine has it’s place in research in some cases. Now in the database side of things, you have to know how to properly utilize a database and also choosing the right one to look into.
Research Journal
From the in-class activity, the use of Google scholar for advanced search created new possibilities for source hunting. One of the most interesting features of this search engine is that you can link college library databases to the search engine(up to 5) allowing for a wide range of results. In addition, the advanced search setting is more user friendly than the college’s academic database search engine. I say this because I was able to find much more relevant search results faster using Google Scholar. However both of these resources far outshines regular internet searching where the information is not as reliable and it can be difficult to find the sources you want when only using keywords. Google scholar makes life a bit easier with the available setting features, giving you a fusion of internet and database search all in one.
Research question refinement
Given the large amount of topics covered in class, it was a bit difficult to choose which topic to research. It wasn’t long until I found a topic though, but then the hard truly hard part is refinement. From what I learned from Badke’s book, a solid research question is the beginning of a great paper. So although I’ve manage to refine my initial question, I can’t help but feel that there is more that I can do to improve it. In addition I feel that I might over refine the question. Or maybe I’m just over thinking it since zeroing in should make researching the topic easier.
Search techniques
I must admit I never gave any real thought to the inner workings of search engines even as a student of computer science. The reading of chapter 3 by Badke reveals technical details in reference to search engines and how they work. Half way through the chapter where Badke talks about how Boolean logic can be used with keyword search reminded me of a statement reiterated in a few of my CST classes. This statement said that, “A program is only as smart as its programmer.” In this situation database searching using kewords requires applying proper logic for maximum efficiency, as it is a algorithmic program tool. I must admit, it’s really easy to forget this when it comes to Google. Google spoils us when we interact with Google search as if it’s human. The stunning thing here is that it actually provides useful information relevant to us most times. So when Badke says, “Garbage in, garbage out” is not exactly true outside the realm of database search. Because so many people use Google I believe the search engine links certain questions such as, “How do I cook a bowl of rice?” to pages or websites where someone actually answers this question through its data processing.
MetaPower
The reading of chapter four of Badke’s book Research Strategies, an eye opening account is given about metadata and the power of controlled vocabularies. Before reading this chapter I used to think that keyword search was the ultimate way in which one could search for information when researching for a paper. I was stunned to learn that it had many flaws which contributes to why searching for information on a research topic was so difficult in the past. Instead of struggling through trial and error on using keywords in a database search engine, it is better to use controlled vocabularies or subject headings to find what you are looking for, because it encompasses every set of data related to what you are looking for. It would be nice if this powerful tool or way of searching could be implemented to the WWW because it would make life much easier. I may be too quick to judge because the increased use of the electronic tagging system known as folksonomy might just become the WWW’s “controlled vocabulary.” The only difference is that it won’t be controlled, as it is user created which is very cool.
On the other hand the reading Graphs by MIT Students Show the Enormously Intrusive Nature of Metadata by Crockford revealed how simple pieces of metadata from an individual’s email activities can reveal a whole lot about who they are. This was where I realized that metadata could be used for so much more than just searching for information. Despite all the positives, metadata can be used for the bad just as much as the good. Truth is that any invention that wields power faces this same problem. Look at the internet for example, it hosts a wide variety of positive features that I can’t even begin to list, but of course there are those who would use it for various malpractices. Knowing this do we stop using the internet? No, we be the responsible people that we are and use it for good.
We can side-step the corruption
In the reading The Politics of Research by Martin there is a clear picture of how researchers are influenced by corporate interests, government and so on. As a result there is a limit to who quality research is available. Because of the existence of these powerful groups, knowledge become corrupt to the point where it is controlled. Just like in ancient civilizations where the librarians kept and controlled the flow of information and in turn putting a choke on new discoveries, the same thing is happening today. The only difference is that the librarians are now powerful groups and government, who often have the power to dictate the flow of information and what knowledge is shared with citizens. As bad as this may sound, it is not obvious to most because everything is hidden in plain sight and the root all of it is money. Where there is money, there is power; Where there is power, there is control. Until we can find ways to work around the corruption, we- the people will always get the squeeze. The approval of Net Neutrality is a good step in the right direction.
Go public or go home
In the reading The Future of Privacy: Other Resounding Themes by Lee Rained & Janna Anderson there are many point of views about the future of privacy. One of the themes that was right on the money is where it says, “Living a public life is the new default…It’s not possible to live modern life without revealing personal information… .” If we take a step back and look at social networks like Facebook, instagram and twitter etcetera it’s clear that the very foundations of these services are built on giving up personal information to enjoy the full experience that is offered. In a more extreme case as mentioned in class, certain apps require that you give up information in order for you to even use it. So in a sense you don’t really have a choice, you either go with the public flow to enjoy what modern inventions has to offer or live like an island spending tons of energy “trying” to be private.
The new generation of the human race live and breath being public, and so it has become ingrained in us to the point where we only feel threatened when government enters the equation. Privacy has always been our right, we just never use it.
