Reading for 4/1

1. Information About Annotated Bibliographies (Also read the "Example" and "Samples" on the left sidebar)

2. MLA Style Guide (Focus on In-Text Citations and the Works Cited Page)

3. APA Style Guide (Focus on In-Text Citations and the Works Cited Page)

State of the Project Presentation Feedback Assignment

During our presentation week, you won't have new prompts for your blog posts. Instead, you will be giving each other feedback on your projects so far (in addition to the comments you'll all receive from me).

For your randomly assigned class partner (see below), you'll write a blog comment of at least 100 words. Pick the latest post your partner made about his or her project and start your comment with the words "Presentation Feedback."

Include: At least one specific thing you liked (ex. "I thought your use of statistics from that government organization will be great for proving your points about increased poverty levels.") and at least one specific area for improvement (ex."Since you had trouble finding book sources, try starting with broader keywords and using the filters to help narrow it down. And don't forget the University System catalog and Worldcat, which have many more books you can request.")

Please make an effort to give your classmates thoughtful feedback; something vague like "I liked your presentation and thought it was really good" won't help them at all and won't get you your blog post points.

These are due at the usual time: 10pm on the day after the presentation. I recommend taking notes so you will remember the presentation better later on.

Day 1 Presentations (M 3/25)

1. Presenter: Matthew (Commenter: Erin)
2. Presenter: Glenda (Commenter: Danielle)
3. Presenter: Whitney (Commenter: Alex)
4. Presenter: Gheran (Commenter: Sarah)
5. Presenter: Josh (Commenter: Celena)
6. Presenter: Kelley (Commenter: Morgan)
7. Presenter: Brittney (Commenter: Jessica)
8. Presenter: Michael (Commenter: Jiya)
9. Presenter: Katelynn (Commenter: Sarah)

Day 2 Presentations (W 3/27)

1. Presenter: Celena (Commenter: Josh)
2. Presenter: Erin (Commenter: Matthew)
3. Presenter: Morgan (Commenter: Kelley)
4. Presenter: Jessica (Commenter: Brittney)
5. Presenter: Danielle (Commenter: Glenda)
6. Presenter: Andrew (Commenter: Jeff)
7. Presenter: Alex (Commenter: Whitney)
8. Presenter: Sarah (Commenter: Gheran)
9. Presenter: Jiya (Commenter: Michael)
10. Presenter: Jeff (Commenter: Andrew)

*(Katelynn: Choose presenter for commenting)

Presentation Details:

http://libr1101uwg.blogspot.com/2013/03/state-of-project-presentations-in-class.html 

Blog Homework Due 3/14 at 10pm

In anticipation of your State of the Project presentation, try at least one (1) of the following to get a new perspective on your research question.

1. Try searching in a new database you haven't tried before (ex. Proquest Research Library (interdisciplinary) or a subject database found either in GALILEO or on a library research guide.

2. Try a new search technique, such as multiple keywords including synonyms connected with Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) and using truncation (ex. psycholog*) Read this post for a refresher

3. Find an organizational website that has publications or reports. (You can search in Google for organizations.)

4. Use one of the sources for finding statistics and government data that we talked about in class.

Blog homework (at least 150 words): Which new search(es) did you try, and what keywords did you use? How helpful was it? Did you find any new materials (articles, reports, statistics) that will help you with your research question?

Finding Statistics and Government Information

Statistical Universe (Library database found in GALILEO) - Statistics produced by the U.S. government, major international intergovernmental organizations, professional and trade organizations, commercial publishers, independent research organizations, state government agencies, and universities.

http://factfinder2.census.gov/ - A search system for browsing US Census data (as well as economic census, population data and other surveys). 

http://www.fedstats.gov/ - Statistics from over 100 US Government agencies that can be accessed by topic or subject. 

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ - The US Government Printing Office provides free online access to official publications from all three branches of the US government. 

http://bls.gov/ - The Bureau of Labor Statistics produces statistics relating to labor market activity, working conditions, and much more. 

http://www.usa.gov/ - Official web portal to the US Government. Can be used, among other things, to find government agencies relating to your topic that might produce statistics or other types of information.

Refresher on Keyword Searching + Boolean Operators

Boolean Operators - Fancy way to refer to OR, and AND, which can be used to increase precision in your search.

    OR expands the search by telling the computer to retrieve records with any of the search terms used.
    AND narrows the search by telling the computer to retrieve records with all of the search terms used.
    NOT is also sometimes used to exclude or eliminate a particular term

Truncation - Using a special symbol (usually *) that allows you to search for multiple variations of a word (ex. psycholog* will return psychologist, psychology, psychological, etc.)

An example of generating good keywords and alternatives

Topic: how women are portrayed in the media

women	or	girls	or	female
portray*	or	depict*	or	image*
film	or	television	or	movies

Example:

( women OR female) AND ( portray* OR depict*) AND (film OR movies)

Note: If you are typing the whole search into one line, use parentheses as shown above. If your search system (database or library catalog) has multiple lines, you can use them as shown below:

State of the Project Presentations: In Class 3/25 and 3/27

Assignment: Give a presentation of 4-6 minutes where you share the progress of your research project so far. Please address the following: 

1. What is your topic? What led you to choose this? 

2. What is your narrowed research question? How did this evolve during the first few units of the course?

3. Where have you been doing your searching and what types of information sources have you been using?

4. Do you have any particular search tips that have worked for you? (ex. keyword synonyms, narrowing, subject terms, different databases, etc.)

5. What has been challenging about your research so far?

6. Have you found enough information to take a specific stance on your research question? (Remember that research questions are approachable from at least two sides--in other words, someone could take another view. If so, what is your stance? If not, what do you still need to do to answer your research question?

You by no means have to be done with your research by the time of this presentation, but you should have some promising sources of at least 3 different types (ex. books, journal articles, credible websites, etc.) 

Presentation Days: 3/25 and 3/27. Order will be determined by a signup sheet in class on Monday, 3/11. 

You will also be responding to your classmates' presentations and giving them feedback both in class and on your blog (full details to be distributed next week).

Total: 50 points

Information Overload, 3/6

Reading for 3/11

Carr, Nicholas. "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" The Atlantic. July/August 2008.


Filter Bubbles (In-Class 3/11, 3/13)



Main Talking Points:

• Information vs. Affirmation = "Who wants to hear the truth when they can hear they are right?" (Confirmation Bias)
• Information diet? Become an information omnivore. Seek out alternative viewpoints, immerse yourself in diverse news sources, to avoid "traveling the same mental routes every day."
• Recognize that "clicks have consequences."
• Filter bubble phenomenon - black-or-white fallacy?

Analysis of Personal Information Use, due 3/13

This assignment is due at the beginning of class on Wednesday, March 13.   

Please submit as a Word document either in a physical copy or emailed as an attachment to awalsh@westga.edu

Now that you have been thinking about different types of information and how it is distributed and accessed, you should be formulating ideas about your own information consumption habits.  For this paper, you will reflect on the way you view information: both how you accessed it before taking this class and how those views might have changed.  Consider all that we’ve covered in LIBR-1101, including in-class discussions and activities, blog homework, and other assignments, and reflect on the following questions.

1.      What sources do you receive information from on a regular basis? (ex. search engines, news programs, even people!) Do you have any strategies in place to organize or filter the information you receive? (At least 250 words)

2.      How has your approach to seeking and accessing information changed? What changes in the way you use and access information will you make in the future? (At least 500 words)

Possible areas for reflection:

Have the types of information you seek changed?

Are there different types or sources of information you would seek for different purposes? If so, what are they?

Are you more skeptical about the information you come across on a daily basis?  Less skeptical?

Do you think about who produces the information you access?

These are just possible areas to explore. You do not have to answer all of these questions. If you have other ideas, that’s great.  If you want to talk to me about them before you begin your paper, just let me know!

Requirements for paper:

Carefully written, avoiding grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors

At least 750 words long (not including the questions) and double-spaced

Ideas are articulate and thoroughly explained using specific examples

Total: 75 points

Blog Homework Due 3/5 10pm

Experiment with at least three (3) of the following social media tools. Try at least one that you have not used before.

(*For some you likely already have an account. For others, you might be able to browse without signing up but you will likely have to register for a free account before you can use all of its features.)

Twitter.com
Facebook.com
Delicious.com
Stumbleupon.com
Reddit.com
Newsvine.com

For the social media tools you pick, use them to search for information relating to your research topic.

1) Which tools did you try? Were they useful for finding information on your research topic? Why or why not? Are they useful for your everyday life and interests?

2) For what purposes do you personally use social media? Do you prefer to use any different social networks or communities?