Category Archives: Readings

Research paper writing wrap-up and blogging & reading assignments for Thursday and Monday

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Today we discussed writing an academic research paper. Slides from today are available here. The writing prompts are adapted from the book They Say, I Say, available at the City Tech library (2014 and older editions available).

On Monday we will discuss the rationale for documentation and citation. Please read the following: Hauptman, pp. 7-13 (distributed in class; if you missed class you can get it on reserve in the library with this call number: PN171 .F56 H38 2008) and Bugeja and Dimitrova, “What, in fact, causes footnotes to vanish?” pp.33-39 from their book Vanishing Act (download from the City Tech library using the barcode from your college ID to authenticate). Write one 100-word reading response blog post for those articles by 10 a.m. on Monday, April 20. Because I overlooked assigning 2 articles before Break, there is another blog post due tomorrow (not today as the outline was due). Please read the following 2 articles: Fister, The Devil in the Details and Grimmelman, The Google Dilemma and write a 100-word reading response blog post, due by 10 a.m. on Thursday, April 16.

We watched a video showing how to track changes in Word:

 

I’ll try to return your outlines by the end of the week. Questions about upcoming assignments? Get in touch.

~Prof. Leonard

Notes from today, and blogging & reading for Wednesday and Thursday

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Today we reviewed the guidelines for the research paper outline (due Wednesday 4/15) and the research paper draft (due on April 27 – 2 weeks from today!) and played the evaluation game. Two teams (Alessandra, Kelly, Jay; Wil, Jonathan, Adonas) received perfect scores, so we’ll have a tie-breaking round on Wednesday, time permitting. On Wednesday we will discuss writing a research paper. Please read Badke, chapter 10 and Appendix One, pp. 263-286.

Before Break, I overlooked assigning 2 articles that discuss the importance of evaluating information in any format. Please read the following 2 articles: Fister, The Devil in the Details and Grimmelman, The Google Dilemma. Write a 100-word reading response blog post by 10 a.m. on Thursday, April 16.

Remember, your research paper outline is due on Wednesday, April 15 by 10 a.m., preferably emailed to me as an attachment, though you may submit a printed copy in class that day. Questions about this assignment? Get in touch!

~Prof. Leonard

Research topic refinement this week, and reading/blogging for Wednesday, March 18

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On Wednesday, March 18 we will continue discussing developing a research topic, including further refining a topic and developing search strategies. Please bring your topic proposal worksheet in progress to class. I will try to bring extra copies to class, but you can download and print a copy if needed. For Wednesday, please read the following: Badke Appendix 1 pp. 250-260 and review Badke chapter 3, pp. 60-66.

Your blog post for Wednesday takes the form of a research journal. Please write a 100-word post in response to this prompt:

You are working on choosing a topic and developing a research question for your paper. What difficulties (if any) have you encountered as you work on your research proposal?
What strategies (if any) have you used successfully during this work?
What questions (if any) do you have about the assignment?

Questions about the research topic proposal or the annotated bibliography assignment? Get in touch.

~Prof. Leonard

Search engine wrap-up, and reading & blogging assignments for Monday 3/16

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Check out this recent New York Times editorial on the global digital divide – very timely! Today we discussed the mechanics of search, how search engines work, and how Boolean operators [AND, OR. NOT], truncation [education*], and nested searching (Teen or adolescent) can help refine your search results. We’ll spend next week assessing research needs, generating search keywords, and developing and refining topics. For Monday, March 16 please read Badke, chapter 2, “Taking Charge,” and chapter 8, “Learning How to Read for Research.” Be sure to read the study guide & practice/assignment sections carefully.

The draft of your research topic proposal is due on Monday, March 23 and the final is due on Monday, March 30. Please get in touch with any questions about your topics.

~Prof. Leonard

Metadata wrap-up, and reading/blogging for Wednesday, March 11

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Today we discussed metadata in many forms and structures: hierarchical taxonomies, user-generated folksonomies, subject-specific thesaurii such as MeSH, and the revealing patterns created by analyzing our personal metadata, such as that generated by emails. On Wednesday, March 11 we’ll discuss the mechanics of searching, including how search engines work. We’ll also address databases: what they are and what’s in them.

For Wednesday, please read the following:

Badke Ch. 3, “Database Searching with Keywords and Hierarchies”
Liddy, How a Search Engine Works
Your blogging assignment is one reading response blog post.

~Prof. L.

Access wrap-up and reading/blogging for Monday, March 9

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Today we discussed access to information, especially equitable access by age, educational attainment, and economic status. We used the Pew report, “Who’s Not Online and Why?” as a starting point; see this chart for the demographics of online access, according to the report. Related to our discussion of information access via cultural institutions, here is the list of all museums that offer free/discounted admission with a CUNY ID.

On Monday we’ll hear from group #4, who will report on research and social movements from pp. 141-142 of “The Politics of Research” by Brian Martin.

Metadata (information about information) is our topic for next Monday, March 9. Please read the following for Monday:

Badke, Research Strategies, chapter 4 (our textbook, remember?)

Dye, Folksonomy: A game of high-tech (and high-stakes) tag

Crockford, Graphs by MIT Students Show the Enormously Intrusive Nature of Metadata

Your blogging assignment is one reading response blog post. Questions about the research topic assignment, due March 23? Get in touch!

~Prof. Leonard

Privacy recap, and readings/blogging for Monday, March 2

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Today we discussed how definitions of privacy are evolving in a digital environment. If you didn’t get a chance to read through to the end of the longer privacy readings, please review the following sections: The Future of Privacy: Other Resounding Themes and Big Data and Privacy: Current Situation and Outlook.

On Monday we’ll discuss a topic at the heart of information ethics: plagiarism. Please read the following 3 articles:

Widdicombe, The Plagiarist’s Tale

Martin, Senator’s Thesis Turns out to be Remix of others’ Works, Uncited

Lethem, The Ecstasy of Influence, just the following sections: Contamination Anxiety, Undiscovered Public Knowledge, and the Key through to the end.

Your blogging assignment is one reading response blog post.

Bring your phones on Monday so we can do an in-class activity on plagiarism; I’ll set up tablets if you’d prefer to use that. It is not too early to begin thinking about your research paper topic; the topic draft & podcast assignment will be due on March 23. I’ll distribute guidelines next week. Questions? Get in touch!

~Prof. Leonard

Recap of Monday 2/23, and reading/blogging assignments for Wednesday 2/25

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Today we discussed copyright and fair use and used the copyright slider to determine if particular works were protected by copyright or in the public domain. Next time we’ll start with a quick overview of open access. We’ll spend most of our time Wednesday talking about privacy, how the definition is evolving, and challenges presented by networked digital media. Please read the following:
Price, Big Data and Privacy
Rainey & Anderson, The Future of Privacy
Wu, Why Monopolies Make Spying Easier
Your blogging assignment is to comment on at least one and no more than three blog posts. Be sure your comments total at least 100 words. To comment on a classmate’s post, click on the Leave a Reply link at the top of the post, type your comment, and click Post Comment when you’re finished. More help with comments on the OpenLab is available here.

~Prof. Leonard

Wednesday’s a Monday, and reading/blogging assignments for 2/23

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Today we discussed participatory media and open data. We ran out of time before we could discuss the differences between open data and big data; this article does a nice job with the concepts. I was hoping to discuss some of the participatory open data projects [Buiilding Inspector, What’s on the Menu?] of NYPL labs in class, so explore those projects on your own time if you like. Remember our collaborative writing on participatory media?

What does participatory media mean to you?

What does participatory media mean to you?

 

 

 

 

 

On Monday, February 23 we will talk about copyright and fair use and the open access movement. Please read and view the following:

Center for Social Media, The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education, sections Code and FAQ only

Jeanty, “US Copyright Office Rules that Monkeys Can’t Copyright their Selfies”

Videos: Grey, “Copyright: Forever Less one Day”

Lessig, “Laws that Choke Creativity”

Faden, “A Fair(y) Use Tale”

Your blogging assignment is one reading/viewing response blog post.

~Prof. Leonard

Notes from today (2/9), and reading & blogging assignments for Wednesday 2/11

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Today we discussed the pros and cons of a wide range of analog and digital non-text media. we ran out of time before I could show the trailer to the film Side by Side, so watch it on your own if you wish:

A 2012 New York Times article “Film is Dead?” nicely describes how analog film works, and offers a variety of perspectives on the economic impact of the industry’s move in the digital direction.

On Wednesday, we will discuss alternative media in both print form (zines and the underground press) and electronic form (blogs, wikis, etc.)
For Wednesday, please read the following:
Eland, Thomas. “Critical Thinking, Deviant Knowledge, and the Alternative Press”
Wright, “The History and Characteristics of Zines” (Part I only)
Barnard College, About zines: Definition, Genres, How to Make a Zine
Your blogging assignment is one reading response blog post.

~Prof. Leonard