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.