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The biggest issue I had with my research topic proposal was aiming it into the scope of this class. I feel like the best papers you can write are the ones you are actually passionate about and one thing I’m really into anime and other aspects of Japanese culture.  From the beginning I set out to write an academic paper on otaku culture once I was aware of the assignment.  The trick was figuring out how it fit into the class topics and at that point I had no idea how it could be done.  I even put aside a backup topic that had a higher chance of working in this class but one I was less enthusiastic to write about in the case this proposal fell through.  The discussion we had during class and the articles we read on social media however gave me some ideas.  A good portion of the discussion was focused on the negatives of social media but I wanted to make the case for the positives of it.  Then my topic idea hit me in the face; what if I can write about the positive effects social media has on niche cultures such as otaku cultures?  Of course I needed to flesh it out a bit more and the professor really helped me arrive at a proper sounding topic.

hi all,

I found several videos that show how to use Track Changes in Microsoft Word to manage edits in a word document. I picked the one below because it is short and the narrator speaks clearly; start at about 0:48 into the video to get to the most relevant part:

Take a look in Youtube — if you find a better one, feel free to post it! And let us know if you find it helpful or not in the comments.

~Prof. Leonard

Today we discussed the beginning of the research process, including needs assessment, preliminary strategies, and topic development.

On Wednesday, we’ll continue our discussion of the research process and examine how to refine a topic and how to create search strategies. Please read Badke Appendix 1 pp. 223-257, review Badke Ch. 3 pp. 42-48.

Your research topic proposal is due by the beginning of class on Wednesday, either handed in to me or emailed to me as an attachment. If you have questions, do not hesitate to get in touch — and do not wait until Tuesday night. Chapter 2, “Taking Charge,” from the Badke book is definitely worth reviewing if you need practical advice and examples of good approaches to the development of a robust research question.

Slides from today are available here.

~Prof. Leonard

Today we discussed the mechanics of database searching, including Boolean operators, nested searching, and phrase searching. The next time you’re using your favorite search engine, try some of these advanced search techniques and consider whether your results are more relevant than usual. Slides from today are available here.

On Monday, October 22 we move into the course segment on finding information and media. We’ll start with the basics of research process: needs assessment, preliminary strategies, and topic development.
Reading: Badke Ch. 2
Assignment: Comment on at least one blog post

Your research topic proposal is due on Wednesday, October 24 at the beginning of class. I prefer documents emailed as attachments but will accept paper documents handed in at the beginning of class. Please get in touch if you want to discuss your ideas in advance of turning in the assignment.

~Prof. Leonard

Im not sure how long ive been using digital information retrieval systems, but I do remember using computers eventually to look up books when the NYPL’s LEO system started up. The  Liddy article gave amazing insight as to how entered text is taken in, split apart, filtered and sent out, only to return with results in varying fashion. I didn’t take much away from the Berkley article on evaluating websites, because it only makes logical sense to take those things into consideration.