Checking In

During my semester research project I’ve had a lot of successes and challenges.  Some successes I’ve had were finding all the types of articles I needed to write about my topic.  Another success that I had was being able to get all of my homework done that went along with my research project due to the fact that I had what was needed for my topic.  Some challenges I had was finding topics that could help me out on my research project right away, I had to dig for many of the articles that I have today.  Another challenge I had was getting the right search string down, sometimes my search string worked just find, and other times it wouldn’t even work at all.  Another challenge that I’m having with preparing for my presentation is picking out which items I want to put in my paper and what I think is important for people to hear about with my topic.  I’m doing a research paper in my English class on self-image for young girls in pageants. I’m having that same successes and challenges working with this paper as well.  There is so much information out there that it is so hard to choose what would be worth putting in the paper and what is worth leaving out of the paper.

Intellectual Property

My definition of intellectual property would be someone's literary work, pictures, designs which are used in books, novels, poems and websites that are published with their names on the work for everyone to see and use as items that will help them out with the information that they need. The definition that experts use for intellectual property would be, "a work or invention that is the result of creativity, such as a manuscript or a design, to which one has rights and for which one may apply for a patent, copyright, trademark, etc." Examples of intellectual property are novels, poems and plays, films, musical works, drawings paintings, photographs, sculptures, and architectural designs. This concept gets manipulated by people copying their work word for word. The writers aren't getting paid for what people are taking from them, so therefore, it would be considered stealing. Also another example of it being manipulated and shared is if a writer gives one person the permission to use their work, and it ends up getting used my many people that have never even asked for their permission to use the original work.

Urvashi Vaid Presentation

My expectations for the event were that we were going to learn more about the LGBT community.  I know that there is a lot of controversy with the LGBT community and that it is a touchy subject for many people.  The information that was presented by Vaid gave examples of true stories and she also presented it with statistical information for Williams NCT.  One thing that I learned was that 6 out of the 50 states approve gay marriage today.  Vaid was personal, professional and also had an academic background and authority on the topic.  She was a lawyer and a writer who is also a part of the LGBT community.  What I took away from the presentation that I could use in my Alternative Viewpoints Paper is with teen bullying in the transgender community.

Google 101

During Google 101 I learned that you can put .gov, .edu, ~,-, and + in the search box to make your search easier and able to find more relevant information with them as well.  I also did not know about the search tools on the left hand side of the Google page when you typed in your search string and hit search.  I've realized that these tips will help me out quite a bit with looking for my online resources.  If I can't find what I need the first time I will use the search tools and tricks right away instead of going around looking on a bunch of other different websites.  I feel as though this will help me out with my research with whatever topic it is that I need to find more information about.

Blogs -- Are they Legitimate Forms of News

In combing through different blogs, while research my topic on mental retardation, I find that some blogs are definitely legitimate forms of scholarship or news.  If you are looking at a blog such as Parenting Special Needs (http://special-needs.families.com/blog/category/420) Kristyn Crow has cited the APA works that shed used to backup her findings while doing her research.  Also, another example of this and she clearly stated that “The information on PKIDs' Blog is for educational purposes only and should not be considered to be medical advice.” (http://blog.pkids.org/tag/mental-retardation/), but she also includes the links to backup her findings.

Then, on the other hand some blogs are just a group of people sharing personal stories, chatting and trying to get advice on an issue to help find a solution.  An example of this blog would be “I Am a Mother of a Mentally Retarded Child” (http://www.experienceproject.com/groups/Am-A-Mother-Of-A-Mentally-Retarded-Child/103616).

So, basically a blog can either be a legitimate for of scholarship or news, but it can also just be a group of people sharing real life personal experiences.  One just needs to research the site and find out which type of blog it is.

Works cited:

Kristyn Crow (August 2011 to present). Parenting special needs. Retrieved from

http://special-needs.families.com/blog/category/420

Emily Willingham.,The information on PKIDs'.  Retrieved from

http://blog.pkids.org/tag/mental-retardation/)

Experience Group. I Am a Mother of a Mentally Retarded Child”. Retrieved from

(http://www.experienceproject.com/groups/Am-A-Mother-Of-A-Mentally-Retarded-Child/103616).

Semester Reseach Project

In reviewing the questions for my semester research project on Mentally Disabled individuals I feel that I have found information to answer most of the questions.  However, I am having difficulty finding up-to-date statistics on the mentally disabled adults in Minnesota versus the United States.

LGBT population

The “LGBT population” that I chose to learn more about was the transgender population.  I chose this population because I find it interesting that the people want to change their sex to correlate with what gender they feel they are mentally.  Therapy should be recommended by most mental health professionals for those who suffer from internal conflicts regarding their gender identity or those who feel discomfort in their assigned gender role, especially if they desire to transition.  I believe that this is true because I feel like it will help them out, and make them feel more comfortable with the changes that they choose to make.  I believe that it would also make them feel better about their choice if other people in their lives are not there to back them up on the decision that they choose to make with their own life.  The most difficult challenge that I believe I will have in doing this research on the population is finding all of the correct and up to date information.

Databases

The subject specific database that I chose was Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition. The database that I chose, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition was the database that provided me with the most relevant results.  I was able to narrow down my results in the Academic Search Premier by typing in my search string and choosing Boolean/phrase, full text, and scholarly journals.  Also I was able to narrow down my results in Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition by typing in my search string and choosing Boolean/phrase, full text, and cover story.  My first search string ended up working for me with no problems.  I found four relevant articles on the Academic Search Premier, and I found one relevant article on Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition.  All of my relevant articles that I found were only found in full text.   My research questions have not changed since working with the databases.  My biggest challenge in composing my research question would be deciding if the question will have enough detail to answer it.  I think I would be able to overcome that challenge if I kept researching and finding all of the right evidence.

Magazine vs Scholarly Article

The magazine article I found was called “Reversing Retardation” Discover; Sep 2007, Vol. 28 Issue 9, p20-20, 1p, 1 Color Photograph.  The scholarly journal I found was called “Molecular Investigation of Mental Retardation Locus Gene PRSS12 by Linkage Analysis”, Indian Journal of Human Genetics; May-Aug 2011, Vol. 17 Issue 2, p65-69, 5p, 1 Diagram, 2 Charts.  I liked the scholarly article better because it gave me more information on what I’m researching.  The magazine had good information as well, although it just was not what I was looking for.  If I could choose I would probably pick the scholarly article over the magazine, even though they were both good.

Academic Search Premier

My impression of the Academic Search Premier features is good.  I think it will be very helpful in doing my research paper.  I have not used the Academic Search Premier for any other class yet.  I also have not used any different databases to do research for any other of my classes.  My fear of using this database is not knowing if the material I will be getting is correct or not.

Your Population

While reading a bit more about my population of mentally disabled, I didn’t’ find that it changed my assumptions that much.  I kind of had an idea of what it would be like, because I’ve lived next to a group home for a while when I was growing up and interacted and worked with them, so I had an idea before I started.  My question that I have about my population is who does it affect more men or women?  Also why does it affect one sex more than the other?   The most interesting thing that I have found out about my population is how the population has been referred to has changed multiple times over several years.  Many of the names they found as an insult so they have to keep changing it.  Now they refer to people with mental disabilities as having an intellectual disability or intellectually challenged.  I also found out what the IQs was that helped doctors confirm whether you are intellectually challenged or not.  The classes of intellectual disabilities are profound mental retardation, severe mental retardation, moderate mental retardation, mild mental retardation, and borderline intellectual functioning.

Encyclopedia vs Wikipedia

After learning about encyclopedias and Wikipedia, there are some pros and cons to them both.  The pros to the encyclopedias are that they give you correct information, and you shouldn’t have to second guess yourself about them.  They are the go-to reference books for general knowledge on any given subject.  Encyclopedias may contain everything from broad knowledge to a catalogue of specialized knowledge for an individual or group.  The cons to encyclopedias are that they may not be up to date.  Information could be out of date.  Another con to encyclopedias is that they may not have been looked over good enough and may contain some wrong information.  Also looking for encyclopedias can be a hassle for some people, and having the encyclopedia not be on the shelf at the library could be a problem.  Wikipedia also has many pros and cons.  A pro to Wikipedia is that it is right at the tip of your fingers.  All you have to do is grab your computer, iPod, or phone and you can have information in seconds.  Another pro to Wikipedia is that they contain information to many topics, pretty much any topic that you would like to research they will have some sort of information about it.  A con to Wikipedia is also that the information could be wrong.  Many people can go through and edit its page on that subject, which then will lead you to the wrong information.  Allowing people to go through and edit the page is another con, because you never know if they are right or not.  While looking on the school’s library website I could not find any encyclopedias on my topic.  I also could not find any E-encyclopedias on my topic as well.  I was unable to locate and read an encyclopedia entry on my topic so there for I will not be able to use it on my research presentation.  However, I did find a Wikipedia entry on my topic that I will be using for my presentation.  It touched on the topic of mentally disabled adults and I found it appropriate for what I’m researching.

Books on Mentally Disabled Adults

The topic that I have chosen to research is Mentally Disabled Adults in Minnesota.  For this topic I have chosen to find some general background information, along with specific information on the adult population in Minnesota that is mentally disabled.  I feel that you can’t research one without looking into the other, because there are many points that can be talked about it my research paper.  To find information on my topic, first I started to look on the internet for any EBooks on the topic, but was not successful when typing in “mentally challenged adults” for the topic information or any information available in the OPAC or at least that I could find.  However, I did find many books that were all in the library, but was not successful with my first try, because I had some struggles, but the second time around I got it.    The way I searched on the website was with the website suggestion of “Mentally Disabled Adults” and “Books on Mentally Disabled Adults” and for both searches I was brought to a page that stated “Sorry, no posts matched your criteria”.  Both the Great River Regional Library System OPAC and the Miller Center Library OPAC gave me the same results.  I couldn’t find any books on either of the websites, because both stated that there were none to be found, which I found to be weird, because I figured that there would be a book on Mentally Disabled Adults if not on both of them, at least on one the websites.  My preference would have been to read an EBook, since I feel an EBook would just be easier because it would be available on your computer anytime and you wouldn’t have to try to remember to bring a text book along and you wouldn’t have to worry about returning the book to the library when done.  I did not find an EBook on my topic so therefore, I was not able to experience what it was like, but for my classes where I have had the articles to read online, I found it easier to follow along then a text book.  Also,  I  do not have a mobile device that I could read an EBook on, but if I could find one I would more than likely be able to use my iPod touch that I have to read it. 

What Do You Assume to Be True About ____________?

The “vulnerable population” I would like to learn about would be the mentally disabled individuals in Minnesota.  I find this topic interesting, because I have lived next to an adult mentally disabled group home for quite a few years in my home town and would like to better understand their situation, as to what types of mentally disabled adults are allowed to live to group homes.  Do they have to have a certain skill level to be able to care for them selves whether making meals, handling their daily schedules, working outside of the home, managing finances, etc. before being accepted into a group home.

I assume that the population of adult mentally disabled individuals living in adult group homes is pretty big.  Also, I believe that most are in group homes and not cared for by their family members. 

In the small community where I grew up, we have several adult group homes that have usually had a waiting list of someone wanting to get into the home.  And, I have learned this from people I’ve talked to my whole life.  The most difficult challenge that I will have in this research I believe is finding the right/correct information, because I think there is very limited information available.

What is Critical Thinking?

Critical Thinking to me is the ability to think clearly and rationally.  I’ve heard this term before in many of my English classes in high school and college English classes. 

An “expert’s” definition of critical thinking is analysis, evaluation, inference, explanation, and self-regulation. 

From “In a Nut Shell” at the following URL http://www.telacommunications.com/nutshell/cthinking2.htm

Yes, the experts give you a particular process that you must engage in.  You start with analysis and end with self-regulation in the critical thinking process.  The connections between critical thinking and IM 204 Research Strategies is that you have to look for and understand what it is your writing about, and figure out what is true and what isn’t true.