This week’s reading covers research design, methods, collecting data, and the basics of understanding data. It will be covered, along with other material in Quiz 5, which will be due at the end of Week 14. Three groups have presentations on the reading: Subject Samplers, Data Dealers, and Reliable Researchers.
This week’s assignment makes sure you can conduct two additional types of searches for secondary research: subject searches and citation traces. I discussed exactly how to conduct the searches in a previous semester’s class. I encourage you to review that before you finalize your post. It will be available here soon. Many students misunderstand the type of searches expected for this week.
Learning Activities:
1. Reading: Duesbery & Twyman, Parts 6 & 7
2. Review Examples:
- Blog Post with an example created during a previous class
- Usability Example
- Encryption Example
Assignments:
- Week 12 Blog Post
- Presentations on Parts 6 and 7 by:
- Subject Samplers,
- Data Dealers, and
- The Research Designers.
Week 12 Blog Post — Last Two Search Types:
- Conduct at least one subject search, refined for less than 100 results.
- Conduct at least one backward and forward citation trace.
- Create an appropriate blog post to document the searches.
Your blog post should:
- Use appropriate categorization, tagging, and visuals.
- Remind us of your search topic
- Tell us if these searches proved helpful.
- Document a subject search:
- What database did you use?
- What source, identified with a full APA citation, led you to a subject term to use?
- What subject term did you use from that source?
- Was the search useful?
- How many results did it turn up?
- Was the search generally useful?
- Why were the results useful or were not useful?
- Document a citation trace:
- What database did you use?
- What source, identified with a full APA citation, did you trace? (It must be a different source than the one used in the subject search.)
- How many sources cited it?
- How many sources did it cite?
- Was each search useful?
- How many results did each turn-up?
- Was each search generally useful?
- Why were the results for each useful or were not useful?
- NOTE: You can use Google Scholar for this IF you check at least one other potential databases first to see they will not work. For full credit, discuss that search and why the databases didn’t work in your post.
Other than noting the two sources you used in these two searches, you do not need to list any sources you found. However, you are welcome to do so. You can also use this post to draft an annotation for any sources you list.
TIP: Sometimes databases don’t have “Subject Terms” and have have “Descriptors” instead. In that case, the Descriptors are what you should use for Subject Terms.