Developing a good research question and topic

It took me a long time to find a topic that i would like to do research on for my research proposal topic project, i didn’t have a clue on what i wanted to write about at the time. We discussed so many things in class but i didn’t know what topic really caught my attention to write about for this project, but one thing that i agreed on was privacy and the invasion of it. As Badke mentioned in his book about brainstorming and good note taking, i started to write things down about privacy and how it is today and are we safe when we search the web. I wanted to write something that interest me outside of class but still relates to the lessons that we discuss in class, so it hit me. I’m thinking about writing about profession sports and the use of steroids, if an athlete is using or taking drugs should this be for the public to know about? And if it is for the public to know isn’t it an invasion of privacy when it comes down to that person’s medical history? I ask myself these questions all the time when i hear about someone using steroids and doing drugs and they decide to let the public know when it should be kept confidential.

When i sat down and thought about these things i thought about how hard it was to come up with a good question to help me develop a topic for my paper but when i read in badke’s book about note-taking and searching the web it really helped me out a lot, sometimes you just have to take time out to analyze things and think hard about it to help you develop a good research question and paper.

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Developing a good question

I decided that I would write my research paper on cyber bullying. It’s a topic which, besides the recent headlines, ” Rutgers student…committed suicide after sex video went viral”, I knew very little about but it does encompass digital media and social networking. In following Badke’s advice, I familiarized myself with the subject. Wikpedia, of course, was my “goto” guy for this task. I understand that Wikpedia is and it’s content is open to anyone and thus it’s content has the potential to be inaccurate. I simply use Wikpedia as a tool to point me in the right direction. I made good use of the Wikpedia reference section. As I delved deeper into this topic, much of the data suggest that there is a distinct difference between cyber bullying and traditional bulling both in application and effect. It is in this area that I would like to focus my research. Possible questions are: Is cyber bulling more detrimental then traditional bullying?, Why is cyber bulling more damaging than traditional bullying? Has social networking created a new, more dangerous school yard? Feedback is more than welcome!

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Reasearch Paper

Finally I got to sit down and start gathering my thoughts on a research topic. I realized that a proper research paper like the one that Badke suggests is much more time consuming than the wrong type most of us have been doing thus far. The difficulties I found in starting the paper aren’t so much in choosing a topic as it is in narrowing it down to a good question that analyzes an issue. I chose a topic from the many that we have been discussing in class but they all are so broad and have too many ways that they can be approached. I think my next approach will be to just see where is there more research material that I could find for using as references, but i feel that once I have a specific issue from a topic chosen that it will aid me in concentrating my efforts better. I feel that in reality I can’t proceed until i have a good question or issue i want to analyze.

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research post “no iterations”

My question dictates use of information for users that need critical thinking about peace and war. Economics in digital reporting can foster a theory that is unjust for users knowledge, because their monopolies of new stations seek top news that have more profits. And non-for-profit companies can theorize to ethically improve news based on the user, because their theorist value reports that are missed giving a better communicating report. How will “Democracy Now” change the lives and critical thinking of people? How hard is it to focus the research question around facts that would solve a problem for misguided audiences who watch news. I’ve been studying the theory in the interviews and stories on “Democracy Now’s” interactive website to help solve the big problem. It seems to me that hard facts and bloody cases about Afghanistan politics and American politics are never missed and peace is very is to locate.

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Notes from today, and reading/blogging for Monday, March 19

Today we discussed the research process, including needs assessment, preliminary strategies, and topic development. As you know, your research topic proposal is due next Wednesday — please get in touch if you want to discuss your ideas.

On Monday 3/19, we’ll continue our discussion of the research process, including refining a research topic and creating search strategies to locate relevant, accurate, current information. Please read Badke Appendix 1 pp. 177-195 and review Badke Ch. 3 pp. 34-41.

Starting now, some of your blog posts will take the form of a research journal. For Monday, please address these questions in one 100-word blog post:

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?

Slides from today are available here.

Enjoy the weekend — and again, don’t hesitate to get in touch with questions about the research topic proposal.

~Prof. L.

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Something Old Something New

As I was reading chapter two of Badke, I realized a very frighting thing. Some of the information that Badke was conveying was new to me. I’ve written more then a few research papers both in high school and in college and, I truly hope i’m alone when I say, I’ve never argued a point or answered a question. I wasn’t taught that way and I didn’t do it that way. I clearly remember gathering massive amounts of information (pre-internet era mind you) making notes, categorizing, organizing, then finally writing… the exact same thing that I had just spent weeks reading, categorizing and organizing. (In may own words of course) The “data as a tool” method seems far more intriguing and educational.

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Notes from today, and reading & blogging homework for Wednesday, March 14

Today we discussed the mechanics of searching, including how search engines work, various alternative specialized search engines, and advanced search strategies such as Boolean operators, nesting, phrase searching, and truncation.

For Wednesday, March 14, please read Badke, chapter 2, and comment on a classmate’s blog post (comment on a maximum of 2-3 posts; your comments should equal 100 words). We will discuss the research process, including needs assessment, preliminary strategies, and topic development. We’ll spend some time brainstorming and refining topics in class. Remember that your research topic proposal is due on March 21; please do get in touch with any questions you may have.

Slides from today are available here.

~Prof. L.

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GIGO

 

Search engines are a great tool for picking what we want from the mass of information that we call the internet yet we also must have a pretty good idea of what we are looking for. Improperly worded requests will usually result in a mass of things from left handed wrenches to gingerbread lollipops. As Badke states with the wrong technique or terminology you get the wrong results. This goes back to the old computer adage “garbage in, garbage out”.  Keywords are what make or break a good an efficient search and something we must be cognizant of when we move around the web. So when we’re looking for those pearls of wisdom or that shocking new article. Let’s make sure we speak the right question to the oracle of the web.

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KeyWords

Reading Badke’s Chapter 3 brought up the question “Do you remember the first thing that you have ever googled?” Keywords is the key to getting the search results you want. As Badke state, if you use the wrong search technique or poor terminology, you won’t get the results you want, even though you know it holds the answer. According to Badke, the good part of keyword searching is that it is quick and helps you narrow down you search. The bad part is the words are capable of having different meaning. We must practice our vocabulary and wording to get the results we want.

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Search Engines

Search Engines are a compilation of databases of information managed by millions to billions of people throughout the world — at least that’s how I thought they basically worked for everyone. That is until it was presented in class that there were “specific searches” for different people throughout the world when they enter with the same word combinations just basing on their past internet history searches, not everyone gets what they search for which makes one wonder. Are search engines designed with a completely different purpose from what and how they simply started? or  is it gradually going through an albeit mild transition of selectivity? This also brings up  awareness on how reliable and consistent search engines can be.

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