Questions and Answers week 2

YOU DO NOT NEED TO RESEARCH THESE QUESTIONS! Don’t give an answer to the question, just tell me what type of resource you would use to look for the answer.

1. I have to do a paper on biogeography but I don’t really know what that is. Where should I begin to find out?

Because background information is needed in order to start the research process, it would behoove the student to start with secondary sources. This will allow a better understanding of the topic and its significance. The best place to start would be a textbook about biogeography which is found in the publication cycle.

             

2. A professor is writing a grant to the National Science Foundation to get funding for a research project on the effects of DDT in ground water. The NSF needs to know that this study is based on previous research. Where will the professor get the kind of information that will convince the NSF to fund the project?

As a professor that needed support for a grant from NSF, I would use a primary source from primary journal articles on the publication cycle because support is needed for my research claims and primary sources are used to back those claims up, provide historical perspectives and supply evidence for theories and research.

3. I heard on the radio that there are killer bees coming north from Central America. How do I find out if they are in Washington State yet?

This would be part of the, “Next day,” stage of the information cycle. This information is new to the person since it is known they just heard it on the radio therefore the next step would be to get a deeper context than what the radio can provide and secondary sourced information from print and online articles provide a better context for the migration path of killer bees.

4. I have heard that there was a man who was president of the United States for one day. Where would I find out who that was?

Secondary sourced information is all that is needed for this question because background information and an understanding of the significant event is inquired. Found in the last step of the information cycle, textbooks, biographies or encyclopedias are great sources for finding that information.

5. My instructor wants peer-reviewed articles for my research paper. Where can I find them?

Information from months to years after the event would be best. This primary source can be found in academic journals because these are peer-reviewed and written by scholars and subject experts.  

6. Where can I find some firsthand information (primary sources) about the Black Power movement in the Pacific Northwest during the 1970s?

Apparently this would be gathered from primary sources because it is not new information that just presented itself. This is many years after the fact and books, primary sourced newspapers, memoirs, speeches and interviews are going to be more accurate information and provide better historical context.

7. I need to know everything I can about honey bees. Where should I start?

Need to look in secondary sources like textbooks and encyclopedias which is in the last stage of the publication cycle because those sources provide a factual in-depth information on the topic of bees.

8. Where would I look if I want to know what outfits Justin Bieber has been wearing lately?

This would be a first-hand account in the of news now. Searching through social media sites like Twitter and Facebook would give you this trivial information. Since first-hand accounts are about the who, what and where, there is no other information needed beyond this. Just surface information.

Third: REFLECT in about 100 words, write a paragraph that tells your reflection on how this exercise relates to your own experience with information seeking, and to your plans to find information in the future.

This exercise was surprisingly confusing. I felt like I could be right on several of these questions but as it turns out I second guess myself and change my answer which is a similar process when I complete research in my classes. It’s frustrating because there are tons of different information out there written by many individuals and trying to sift through the mess can be tedious which is what this assignment felt like to me. For the most part, I know how to conduct research and fact check my sources. I feel my only struggle in research is making sure I am using the right keywords to find the right articles that I need.