Author Archives: lpypec

Here is the link to our group’s website for Super Research Man!

https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/superresearchman/

Chris, Lukasz, Marc

In class we learned how to use advance searches, search catalogs and article databases to help us find sources for our research paper.  I knew already a lot about these different searches, but I did learn new things about using searches such as these.  For example, I learned about Google scholar.  I heard of Google scholar but never actually used it for any of my papers.  I always used regular Google because I believed it worked just as fine as Google scholar.  However, that is not true.  I already knew about catalogs and article databases from my English class, so there wasn’t anything different about it.  Using these new search engines will help me find proper sources for any paper I might have to do with any of my other classes.  This is definitely going to help me.

The first thing I would do in writing my draft is to use my outline as a blueprint. We have always been taught to use outlines so we can make our drafts much easier to write. This has helped me a lot because it helps organize my thoughts. I will also use my annotated bibliography as a reference to my sources. It will help me cite the sources based upon what I read in them. Not to mention the paragraphs he wrote about each source will help determine which one to use. With these two types of blueprints in my possession, I would be able to create a draft much easier than if I didn’t have them in the first place.

When I first used Cuny+, I had some difficulty using it because it wasn’t working well.   After a while I was able to find some information on my topic that I believe would be great from my research paper.  While I was searching, I managed to find a book that the City Tech library has, which is great for me.  =)  After looking through other search results, I found plenty other articles and searches that would be great for my paper.  The phrases and key words I used helped me find information really easy because of my topic.  I used the key words ‘digital media’ and ‘text media’ which is basically what my research topic is going to be about.  The difference was the speed especially, but other than that, the two sources were different because they had different information on my topic.  The similarities were that they helped answer my research question which is perfect for me.

Google scholar is a great way to find information on my topic.  It is way better than google and yahoo because those two search engines don’t give me good scholarly sources than google scholar.  Google scholar is like the search engine for more precise information on topics that people really want to research.  Normal Google sometimes gives you searches that have no relativity to your topic.  While google scholar gives you more precise and factual information.  The difficulties from a regular search engine and google scholar are different.  In google scholar, there are articles that may seem to be good for you research topic, but you can get fooled by their topic.  For example, if I see a link that I think would be good, but it then turns out to be not what I wanted or a book that you can’t read online for free.  I think that is what is different in the search engines.

Digital Media has made getting news and information much quicker than 40 years ago.  Now, we have cell phones, tablets and computers to help us get the news and information quicker.  However, it is what we can do with these devices that help us get the news.  Videos, blogs, websites and even photos help us get information quicker.  However, I believe that digital media will help students and other researchers and professors get factual material.  During my research, I encountered several problems such as finding information that is actual fact.  It sounds easy but it isn’t.  There are some information that can be factual but can also be opinionated.   Websites like wikipedia.  I did have some successful strategies to helping me find factual information such as putting correct keywords.  I do have some questions about my research such as how can I tell if videos and podcasts are factual as well because they can be opinionated just like websites.

Badke tells us that we have to take charge when it comes to writing a research paper and finding research for your paper.  However, we should not rush.  Badke tells that research is not within us, but out there for us to find.  I found this chapter interesting because I tend to rush my research.  I found it interesting that Google and other search engines are academically weak, while libraries are not because they know what kind of research we need for our specific topic.  Badke also makes it sound like finding research is like a battle that we have to win all the time.  If I see it like this, then I can find my research much easier because I do not know when to quit.

There are many search engines on the World Wide Web.  The most famous is the ever popular Google.  However, according to Badke, he states that search engines are usually updated quickly depending on the type of keyword it is.  Wikipedia is always on the top of the search list because it is updated every single day.  That is why whenever you search for most things, Wikipedia pops up as the first or second search.  However, searches that haven’t been updated for a long period of time can at times be in the top of searches.  This can lead to false information so we have to be careful.  The reason being is that every topic is updated as time goes on.  Using search engines has helped finding information much easier, however, we have to be careful what the searches give us.

Tags are new in digital media.  By tagging certain keywords we are able to find anything on any website and search engine.  This is useful if you are searching for topics for your research paper or if you are searching for something you want to learn more about.  However, there is a possibility that you won’t be able to find what you are searching for.  The reason being could be many reasons.  One reason could be you entered a keyword wrong or the keyword is too vague for the search.  Another reason could be that the information you are looking for is tagged with different words than the words you try to search for.  However, tagging helps us find information about anything much easier.

One of the biggest lies mostly everyone says is that they have read the Terms of Service, when in fact mostly everyone never read it.  The reason we do not read Terms of Service is because it is long and let’s face it boring.  However, because of this, we do not know when we are doing something illegal that concerns copyright.  Besides the laws that we already know about copyright, there are some that we do not.  The Plagiarism reading by Maurice Isserman, he states that there is no line that tells what is plagiarism and what is not.  Even if we do or do not know, it is still something we have to know about when we go to school or if a person wants is planning to do something with writing.  Copyright is to protect information and to make sure no one steals an idea someone has.  The consequences of plagiarism is severe, but there are still people who do it because they do not want to do any work.  Copyright and plagiarism is something that will happen and we could stop it, but it is highly unlikely that it would.