"The Curious Researcher 3"

Chapter three of "The Curious Researcher" is a great aid to research.  It continues in a more focused way, Chapter two's topic of researching one's topic.  It really focuses on not only note taking but quoting and finding things easily.

It can be a difficult thing to take effective notes while reading through a source.  Naturally, I want to just write down exactly what is written, no thought needed there.  Ballenger expresses the danger of this.  If we just write down whatever was written, we're not really understanding what we've read.  To understand things, we must work through them in our minds (or on our paper) so when we write a rough draft, we aren't later lost in our own research notes.

This strategy of pondering with notes helped me get straight A's during Chemistry and Physics in high school, so I am more than happy to take notes when reading.  Not only did it help me get good grades, but now I can simply review my notes and remember much of what I learned.  This, I think, is the key to researching properly: to understand, not just to memorize.  Something Bartholomae wrote about in "Ways of Reading."

Another great reason to take "pondering notes" is it can help prevent plagiarism, a very easy crime to commit.

Finding proper sources at the library and on the internet can be difficult.  Sometimes, when a topic is too specific, the sources become too scarce.  Ballenger addresses this in his last section.  The librarian Terry who spoke on Friday was an amazing help with library research.  She opened my eyes to the many tricks we can use to find our sources.  Ballenger says that just broadening the topic a little may mean the difference of finding useful reference material.

I will certainly use these strategies in the future.

"Polygamy in America" an impression

Within the first paragraph, the author has drawn you in.  Right away, I am filled with questions.  Why are they gathering?  What's the occasion?  What's the purpose?  This is a very affective way to open a paper.  Something I'd like to emulate in my own.

I knew polygamy was still around, but I had no idea it was so prevalent in America.  The author gives a basic history, in no dull way, of the development of polygamy in America and how it has returned with full force.

Although the topic is a bit unusual, I enjoyed reading it.  It is unusual in the fact that many people like to think polygamy is a small cult practice somewhere far from home, nothing to worry about.  Really, as the author shows, there are very large groups from central to western US, and they aren't backing down.

As far as the author's writing style, I enjoyed that any time he opened a new topic, a question would develop in my mind.  It would quickly --not too quickly-- be answered.  This kept me steadily curious in this article.

Bartholomae

It took a little longer than I expected to finish the excerpt by Bartholomae.  In this reading, the author is writing, I believe, the introduction for his entire work.  Through examples from multiple essays, Bartholomae plans to guide his audience in methods of constructive reading.

I found this excerpt informative and full of useful examples -- plenty to read, for sure.  Throughout his intro, Bartholomae brings up the point that it's more important to read for understanding than just memorize all the facts.

Many times we want to just memorize what we've researched and write it down in our paper.  It doesn't matter if we understand it or not, just that we can recite it.  Reading with pen and paper for notes can improve our understanding and memory of the books, articles, and such that we read for our research.

This excerpt was a little dry, but I really don't expect introductions to be gripping.

Morning, before class

It's now almost 9 AM Friday morning.  Class is starting soon, but I'd rather wait in the comfortable library. I've been pondering my topic a lot lately.  At first, it was so difficult to narrow down my three topics, but now all is clear to me.

Unit 1 requires an exploratory essay.  In Unit 3, I will be taking a stance and researching to support it.  For a long time, I wondered how any of my topics could fit with both Units, but now I can.

My topic will focus on modern technology in exploration.  In Unit 1, I will explore what new discoveries and technology is available to aid modern exploration, how it has helped, and what is expected in the near future.  In Unit 3, I will take a stance on the controversial statement that modern technology is destroying modern exploration, and how. if it's true, it is doing so.

"The Curious Researcher 2"

Part 1 of Chapter 2 in Ballenger's "Curious Researcher" expresses the pros and cons of both library research and internet research.

I've always preferred library research to internet research.  One reason I do is due to the difficulty finding valid sources online or knowing which are invalid.  Ballenger addresses this problem with helpful tips on refining keywords to produce a more focused search.

I agree that many students prefer online research to the library just because it is easier.

On my first library research day, I had trouble knowing where to start.  There were so many books, and I was still unfamiliar with the organization.  A librarian helped me get comfortable with the search engine for the library, and Ballenger enforced that knowledge with his book.

Now I feel a bit more confident searching for my topic.

Research Wed 26 of January

This is great.  I just found a book in the library entitled, "New Spaces of Exploration: Geographies of Discovery in the Twentieth Century."  It sounds like a great first research on the subject of Modern Exploration.  I'll have to check it out.

I found another one that may be useful.  "Explorers: the Most Exciting Voyages of Discovery, from the African Expeditions to the Lunar Landing."  This could be really useful in the research of modern explorers.

I'll also check out the National Geographic magazines they may have on modern exploration.

"The Curious Researcher"

I really enjoyed reading the first chapter to "The Curious Researcher."  It was very comprehensive and easy to read, so I had no difficulty learning a great deal.

This chapter really helped me with my topic.  Before I read it, I barely had an idea of what to pursue, but now, I've been able to narrow it down, so I can prepare for Wednesday's statement.

Ballenger emphasized curiosity when researching -- very valuable advice.  Since reading it, my curiosity on the subject of modern exploration has only increased, and it has been directed to three broad topics.

What kind of modern technology has helped us explore impossibly-difficult-to-explore places?  Two places come to mind instantly: deep ocean and deep space.  These two places have, for most of our history, been beyond reach, but thanks to our advances in technology, we can now investigate them a little further.  What technology we use, how it has evolved, and how we can use it would be easily researchable.

Another question I've had is: Who are the explorers of today?  We can all name explorers of the past.  Leif Ericson, Christopher Columbus, David Livingstone, Captain James Cook, and John Muir popped into my mind without any research at all.  Why can we do that with past explorers but not with modern ones?  This would be an interesting topic to research.

Of course, there is also the controversial topic (kudos to Torii) that modern technology is actually killing exploration, since it has become so easy to just type the name of some ancient structure or some far off place in Google and find photos, research, and anything one would want to know.  Most people don't need to explore anymore; we can just stay put and let eccentric people do the exploring.

All three questions Ballenger would, I believe, call researchable and interesting to our reader.

One great comfort he gave me in this chapter was that we don't have to find a topic and try to squeeze as much info as we can into it, which would have been my tendency.  It is much more important to focus our paper on the most interesting and researchable to keep our audience captivated.  This is what I hope to do.

"Porn" an impression

It was difficult for me to think objectively about this passage.  I have a strong disgust of pornography, so to separate myself from my initial emotional response was important to be able think logically about this one.

I have to disagree with the author on a few points.

He says in his passage that pornography is only "socially negative" and not really that bad for the culture.  I disagree with this idea; I see it as a great evil in our world.  It disrespects women and feeds sinful, covetous desires in men, the same desires that can lead to adultery and rape.

As far as the actual topic of this paper, I believe its conclusion is illogical.  That the internet is progressed because of pornography seems strange and impossible.  I was shocked to hear such an idea.  After some time of head-clearing, I analyzed the structure of his argument further.

If in fact the internets advancements are made because of the "need" for porn, then those who design our faster internet are just sitting in a room trying to figure out a way to get perverts their thrills faster.  What?  That's ridiculous!

Not only does it sound silly, but it also does not follow a logical formula.  It is a cause and effect statement. The author states that the cause is porn and the effect is faster internet.  My opinion is quite the opposite.  I believe that faster internet has caused the spread of pornography.  It's as simple as that.

"The Aftermath of Katrina" an impression

I just finished reading the paper "The Aftermath of Katrina," which tells of the events of the hurricane Katrina disaster of 2005.  At first I was a little confused by all the references of agencies and the many parties involved in the efforts to solve the issue.  After probably the third page, though, things were clear.

I agree with the author's statement that this natural disaster could have been handled more efficiently.  That it took so long and cost so much makes little to no sense.  The author states clearly that FEMA was too slow in its response, were short staffed, and could not properly assess the problem.  These seem like pretty lame excuses.  Also, Federal Government got involved and probably slowed the process even more.

I cannot form an opinion on the author's claim that the government responded to Mississippi's needs more quickly due to rase and class.  I would need more information to support it.

In all, I agree with much of what the author says in his paper, but at the same time, I would add that sometimes, having the government involved only makes the problem worse.

Topics to consider

I have to come up with some possible topics.  This will be my first time doing something like this, so I can already tell it's going to be tough; especially since I tend to be a little indecisive to begin with.

It would really only takes a curiosity in something, I suppose.  There is certainly a lot I do not know about the world.  That might be why I can't settle on something.  I would love to research on several things.

I've always had an interest in deep ocean and its exploration.  Researching that may be extremely fascinating, especially since I know very little about it, but that may be too broad a subject...

I'll need to settle on something that will have plenty of reference material.  For now, just keep thinking.