Plagiarism in Presidential Speeches?

Debate Coverage


Original Speeches

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:

Arguments and Opinion: 2/25

Opinion: A belief or point of view that is formed without consulting available evidence (for example, formed on the basis of instinct or emotion)

In contrast, a good argument includes:

    A position on a particular topic

    Reasons to support that position

    Evidence that supports those reasons

    A consideration of other possible answers

    A logical, organized structure

Turning an Opinion into an Argument

"You can turn your opinions into arguments by researching the subject in question. Look for evidence to support a particular point of view - but also look at any evidence that contradicts your own opinions.

Being aware of counter-arguments will help you to clarify and sharpen your own ideas. You may also decide to change or adapt your opinions in the light of new evidence." (Univ of Bradford)

Why This is So Difficult: The Confirmation Bias

Definition: A tendency of people to favor information that confirms their beliefs or hypotheses. People display this bias when they gather or remember information selectively, or when they interpret it in a biased way.

The effect is stronger for emotionally charged issues and for deeply entrenched beliefs. For example, in reading about gun control, people usually prefer sources that affirm their existing attitudes. (from Wikipedia)

"Researchers are sometimes guilty of confirmation bias by setting up experiments or framing their data in ways that will tend to confirm their hypotheses." (from Skeptic's Dictionary)

When Arguments Go Bad: Types of Logical Fallacies

Ad Hominem

Attacking your opponent's character or personal traits instead of engaging with his or her argument.

Appeals to Emotion

Manipulating an emotional response in place of a valid or compelling argument.

Anecdotal

Using personal experience or an isolated example instead of a valid argument, especially to dismiss statistics.

Black-or-white

Where two alternative states are presented as the only possibilities, when in fact more possibilities exist.

Appeal to Authority

Using the opinion or position of an authority figure, or institution of authority, in place of an actual argument.

False Cause

Presuming that a real or perceived relationship between things means that one is the cause of the other.

Strawman

Misrepresenting someone's argument to make it easier to attack.

Review for Mid-Term Exam, 2/20 In-Class

The format:

• Multiple-choice
• True/False
• Short Answer

Major themes covered:

• Evaluation Criteria, the CRAAP test

• The Research Process (characteristics of good research questions, etc) 

• Different types of information sources (books, journal articles, magazines; primary/secondary/tertiary; special collections, etc)

• The Information Cycle

• The UWG Library Catalog

• Databases (interdisciplinary and subject-specific)

What to study:

• Class Handouts and In-Class Exercises (Find these files in CourseDen if you can't find your copy)
• Evaluating Information - Applying the CRAAP Test
• The Research Process
• Database Searching with Academic Search Complete
• Database Searching 2
• Presentations from Class (Find in CourseDen)
• The Research Process
• Types of Information Sources (and the Information Cycle)
• Course Blog Posts
• Recap: Finding Articles and Books
• Library Basics
• Scholarly vs. Popular Reading Assignments

Recap: Finding Articles and Books, In-Class 2/13

Book Searching Tips in the UWG Library Catalog:

Not just keyword searches. Use the drop-down menu to limit to Title, Author, Journal Title or Subject. Or click "Advanced Search" for more options.

After doing a search, use the limits on the left side of the screen to narrow your search:

• Format (different type of source ex. Book, Electronic, Microform, Video, Journal)

• Call Number (sorts by the discipline of the book)

• And More

Click the "Sort" drop-down menu in the center and order by "Date Descending" for the most recent results first

Once you've found a promising book

Click on the title to see the book details. For print books, click Google Preview to look inside the book or view the Table of Contents. Make sure the status reads "Not Checked Out" and note the call number (you can text or email the call # to yourself)

Read the call number to see if it is located on the 2nd or 3rd floor. Here's an example:

LB1044.87 .C735 2012 

First step: the letters at the beginning. Find out where the LB section is. (Those letters tell you the category of the book; LB is "theory of education," if you wanted to know.)

 

A-H call numbers are shelved on 2nd floor; J-Z on 3rd

Find the LB section and then look for the numbers immediately following the first letters: 1044.87 (Read it as a whole number with two decimal places: 1,044.87)

Then look for the next group of numbers and letters (.C735) (By letter alphabetically and then the number as a decimal: .735)

and finally the year (2012)

For ebooks, read it instantly by clicking "An electronic book accessible through the World Wide Web; click to view"

Finding more books that are like it:

In the catalog:

In the book details page click "Subjects" to find more books like it. Also look at the "Similar Items" on the right side.

In the library:

Since the books are grouped by subject, so the ones next to it on the shelf will cover similar topics and you might find them useful.

Databases- Where You'll Find Journal Articles  

Database - a searchable, organized collection of data. In this class we are talking about article databases, but in addition to scholarly sources they also have magazines, newspaper articles and other published works.

GALILEO (our virtual library) -->  Database (ex. Academic Search Complete) --> Journal (The Journal of Neuroscience) --> Article ("Reduced CHT Expression Impairs Attention" by
Vinay Parikh et. al.)

General/Interdisciplinary databases - contain some information about all topics (ex. = Academic Search Complete, ProQuest Research Library)

Subject-specific databases - focus on one topic and include more specialized information (ex. = Sociological Abstracts, MLA International Bibliography)

Also impotant: Vendor (EBSCOHost) vs. Database (Academic Search Complete)

Where to find databases?

From library homepage:

1. GALILEO & Databases (best if you know the title of a database, or want to browse all the databases by type or subject)

2. Research & Citation Guides (best for browsing a subject and finding the most relevant databases)

Library Basics

(Intended to supplement the "Library Website Scavenger Hunt" completed in class)

Which libraries allow you to check out books with your UWG ID?
• Obviously you can use it here at UWG.
• You can also get books from the other 35 University System of GA libraries sent here to you. You just search it, request the books, and the other library will send them here for you.
• You can also use your UWG ID in person at any of the USG libraries to check out
books

How many computers can students use in the library?
• There are over 50 computers on the main floor for you to use, and 24 more in the Mac Lab on the 3rd floor
• There are most computers scattered about on the 2nd and 3rd floors
• The Main Floor Library Classroom becomes an additional classroom during the
evenings and weekends.
• We have 50 laptops you can check out to use within the Ingram Library and
Starbucks

What equipment can you checkout to use in the library?
• Books your professor puts on reserve (kept behind the main Checkout Desk. You can use them in the library for a few hours. This way everyone can use the books instead of one student having them in his or her dorm for 3 weeks.)
• Laptops and scanners
• White board markers, erasers to use on our glass white board
• Group Study Rooms
• DVD players
• Flip Camera

How many books are in the library?
• More than half a million books!

How many periodicals (magazines, newspapers, journals) do we have access to?
• Over 68k periodicals and about 67k of those are online!
• From off-campus, you need a password to access our subscriptions
• The password changes each semester and you get it from inside your Library
Account

When can you get research help in the library?
• Reference student assistants are at two different information desks on the main
floor whenever the building is open
• You can get drop-in help from a Reference Librarian by stopping at the Reference
Desk from Mon-Thurs 11-5
• You can get help 24/7 365 days a year (including holidays) through our chat
reference service (westga.edu/library/chat)
• You can GoPro (westga.edu/library/gopro). This means you make an apt with a reference librarian to meet with you one-on-one to discuss your research.

Add My Course Blog to Your Reading List

In this class, homework assignments and other important class news will be posted on the course blog (libr1101uwg.blogspot.com).

One good way to keep up with the course blog is by adding it to your Blogger.com reading list.

1. Go to Blogger.com, sign in (if necessary) and click the “Add” button on the left side of the screen below "Reading List."

2. Type libr1101uwg.blogspot.com in the "Add from URL" field, and then click "Follow." This will allow you to quickly see my latest posts when you log into Blogger.

You also could bookmark the url, add it to an RSS reader, or simply type in the web address.

Class Blog List

Hi all,

Please leave a comment on this post with your name and the web address of the Blogger blog you have created for this class.