Category Archives: Class Activities

1. What three things that you learned this semester about doing research have been the most useful to you (or are likely to be the most useful to you)? Please explain why for each of those things.

Three things that I learned so far during this semester are how to use a database correctly, search more effectively, and develop a well organized research question.

2. What is one thing that you wish we had spent more time covering in class or that we failed to get to in class? Why do you wish we had gotten to that?

I wish we could of had more Google days.

Throughout this semester I’ve learned many things about doing research. Three things that I feel that will be most useful to me is searching with the terms And/Or, learning about the many databases of information there are, and using concept maps to organize and branch out our ideas.

One thing that I wished we had spent more on is weaving out which databases are the most efficient.

1. What three things that you learned this semester about doing research have been the most useful to you (or are likely to be the most useful to you)? Please explain why for each of those things.
2. What is one thing that you wish we had spent more time covering in class or that we failed to get to in class? Why do you wish we had gotten to that?

1) One of the three things that I found most useful to me was the “and vs or” tip. It really helped me find more specific searches instead of just typing every little bit of information I could find into the search bar. It is something that I’ve begun to use everyday when using Google and I can actually see the difference in my search results. Another thing that I found useful were the library databases. At the beginning of the semester, I did not expect to use the databases this much but was surprised at how much information it provided. Without this class, I probably would not have known what they were or how to use them. I can see myself coming back to them for future research references. The last thing that I found extremely useful in this class was the importance of going back to our work and revising it constantly. Usually I just hand in work as soon as I’m done and put minimal effort in looking it over but because of the constant revision we had to do with our research question, it allowed me to appreciate the importance of proofreading. Many of these things have benefited me in this class and can be used outside of this class as well.

2) I wish we spent more time discussing the company itself. I know that this was a research class and we were learning how to use Google efficiently for research but I did enjoy the videos from the Google representatives when they explained how things worked. Google is such a big company and there is a lot to learn about it. It was really interesting learning how the workers came up with the aspects of the search engine and how they are still working to make it better. Maybe there should be a class dedicated to the history of search engines!

1.  The things that have been most useful for me this semester are the focused research question, using the databases, and the and vs. or for basic search. Before I was not aware that the primary objective of a research question is not to just sum up information from various sources, but rather use this information to come up with a conclusion of my own. The research question must therefore be very focused and specific, and this class has taught me how to do this. The databases were helpful because I probably would not known how to get the most out of them by using all the different features they have, to find the exact article or book that I am looking for. The basic searches were also very helpful, seeing as how I now know what keywords to use and how to use them so that I can get the best possible results.
2. I wish we had spent more time on going over the differences between peer-reviewed and non-peer reviewed articles, because at times I could still feel myself get confused between them.

1. Throughout this entire course I certainly learned many new and useful things. One of the first things that will be most useful to me is knowing how to use databases very well. Before coming into this class, I probably would never used the database. However, now I have learned how to use databases well enough to gain useful and reliable sources with great quality. Another thing that will be useful for me is knowing how to find peer-reviewed articles. I am certain that it will help in the future when I need peer-reviewed sources to write papers for other classes. The third thing that will be useful for me is the knowledge of Google. I always used Google before but after this course I can use it much better to my advantage in many ways because I learned so many new things about this search engine.

2. One thing that I wish we had spent more time covering in class and learning more about was comparing Google to other search engines like Yahoo and MSN so we can better see the differences and similarities.

The 3 things that were most useful to during this semester on how to do research was using AND/OR to target a specific info I wanted out of it. Another thing was how to evaluate source whether they were scholarly or not. Lastly, was how to use the advanced search on databases and such to make my search more refined. These were one of the few that were most useful for me to use during the whole semester.

• I wish we could of discussed more about peer-reviewed articles and such, I didn’t really fully understand how to identify it till I found out that there was an option for it.

1. What three things that you learned this semester about doing research have been the most useful to you (or are likely to be the most useful to you)? Please explain why for each of those things.

Narrowing down on a topic was a useful research skill. I was reminded that, instead of trying to discuss everything, focusing on a smaller, more specific topic  is easier to research and find information about. Learning to evaluate sources was also another helpful skill. It helps in knowing whether or not the source would be good to use for a paper and what kind of source it is. The BEAM was helpful as well. It makes it simpler to know how to use the source.

2. What is one thing that you wish we had spent more time covering in class or that we failed to get to in class? Why do you wish we had gotten to that?

I wish we looked at other search engines other than Google and maybe compare them. I remember a librarian at my high school showing us a site that compared search results of different search engines.

• Most important things I learned this semester :

1. How to be more efficient in choosing the sources, and using library databases that will supply me with peer reviewed journals rather than sources that can be made by the public.

2. To always check the authors background information before citing or even using their work.

3. Developing a topic that will not be a yes or no answer or compare and contrast, but searching information before hand in order to create a research question or topic that will give a strong essay.

• I wish we had to spend a little more time on how  the usage of databases, it was a little brief.