Notes on Current Grades 4/1

Your current grade is out of 540 points. (The semester total will be 1000)

Assignments included:

Topic Selection Assignment

Mid-Term Exam

Analysis of Personal Information Consumption

State of the Project Presentation

Blog Posts (14 posts out of 18 total for semester = 195 pts)

Blog Commenting (7 + Presentation Feedback = 20 pts)

Blog Post Grading:

• All required posts are included 
• Posts are appropriate length
• Posts address the prompt effectively and use specific details and/or examples for support

Blog Homework due 4/2

What are two key sources that will help answer your research question? Your two sources should be of different types (book, newspaper article, journal article, credible website or other).

Please cite these two sources in APA or MLA format.

Also please include your research question above the two sources.

Notes for Annotated Bibliography Assignment

The annotated bibliography is due at the beginning of class on W 4/10.

Example of a Source in MLA with Annotation (You only need to include the research question once in your bibliography)

Research Question: How is social media changing how businesses and customers interact?

Jones, Steve. “Blogging as a Two-Way Communication Medium” Journal of LIBR 1101. 4.1 (2013): 100-152.

This article by Jones, a media and communications professor at the University of LIBR 1101, outlines how blogging is radically different from traditional media such as radio and television due to its two-way nature; that is, it allows people to consume as well as create information in the form of comments and their own blog posts. I will use this resource to demonstrate how blogging, a key type of social media, must be used differently by businesses than their other promotional channels due to this difference. Instead of merely broadcasting information to their customers, they must include those customers in the conversation and allow for them to share their own thoughts and opinions.

Additional tips

For websites, you should demonstrate why the chosen source is credible and trustworthy in your annotation (by briefly mentioning the organization behind the content and/or the identity of the author, for example).

 

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.