The document describes a student's search for information on laws prohibiting using a cellular telephone while driving. The student began their search on the Indiana University East Library page, where they found the LibGuides A-Z Index and searched under "C" for criminal justice resources. This led them to the ProQuest Criminal Justice database. The student performed several searches on distracted driving, refining the searches to focus on cellular phones and texting. While many of the initial results were older, the student was able to find some more current resources within the last year by adjusting the publication date limiters. The student found the ProQuest database easy to use and providing useful tools for citations and navigating search results.

1. Is using a cellular telephone while driving really that serious
that there should be laws prohibiting it?
Rob Miller - I103 – SP2014

2. To seek answers to that question, I began
my search on the Indiana University East
Library page:
http://www.iue.edu/library

3. There I found a list of “Top
Library Resources” which could be
used to search for information.

4. I decided to start my search in the
LibGuides A-Z Index listing.
To enter it I simply clicked my
computer’s mouse on the hyperlink.

5. The LibGuides A-Z index listings hyperlink directed me to an alphabetically
organized resource list. As distracted driving is a law enforcement topic, I
decided to look at what resource databases were available under tab “C” in
hopes of finding a criminal justice link.

6. Under the “C” tab I was presented with a long list of databases and freely available
resources that began with the letter “C.” As the database lists were arranged
alphabetically I simply scrolled down the list until I found the “Criminal Justice” link.
I simply clicked on the “Criminal Justice” hyperlink to progress forward.

7. The link led me to the search area in the ProQuest Criminal Justice database. There I initially
performed an open search for the term “distracted driving.” While partially filling in the search
term a drop down menu appears, as part of a auto-complete feature, displaying various search
options pertaining to the boundaries which are being typed. I simply clicked my computer’s
mouse on the phrase I liked and searched the term by simply clicking on the search magnifier.

8. The results of this basic search found 376 resources for consideration. As this was a
limited search with a fair amount of results returned, I decided to see if I could slim the
results down just a bit further.

9. I then performed an advanced search by simply clicking the “Advanced” search
option. This allowed me to enter more specific search parameters. I entered
“distracted driving” in the search box, and added the limiters “cellular telephone” OR
“texting” to make the “distracted driving” search more specific to those terms.
Additionally, I was looking for full text documents and made it part of the search
terms.

10. This advanced search allowed me to narrow my search results down
significantly while providing me with more resources most specific to my
research needs. As a result, I was able to narrow my results down to 34 results.

11. Looking over this results page I noticed that the very first return discusses “Traffic Safety”
with an abundant amount of highlighted areas indicating a match for the advanced search
parameters. I decided to click my computers mouse on the “Full text – PDF” option to view
the material.

12. The “Full text – PDF” option directed me to this three page full text document. A review of
the document found some important points regarding distracted driving and my topic.
The only negative side to this document is its age and the current accuracy of the statistical
information provided in it.

13. I returned back to my results page to begin looking over the remaining results to
see if there are any which could be of value to my research. I came across the
third return which was titled, “Cell Phones and Police Agencies.” Although the
text is a bit older (Jan. 2004), I decided to take a look at it anyway so I clicked on
the “Citation/Abstract” hyperlink to take a quick peek.

14. What I found again was some very valuable information regarding content and information,
but again the age of the resource brings me some concern. I like how this abstract points
out some very important statistics to use for my project, and although the information is out
dated it also provides direction toward another credible government source (the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration) site where I can go look to find the most current
statistics needed.

15. To this point the biggest thing I have found with my search is the age of the resources being
found. I then decided to tweak my search limiters a bit more to try and discover more
current information. To do that I simply went back into the “Advanced” search option and
adjusted the Publication date so it would find the relevant documents published within the
“Last 12 months.” I then hit the “Search” button again to see what I could find.

16. This search returned a much narrower amount of results but a more current
resource article. What I found was of the “7 results” only two of the articles would
even be considered valuable for me to review. The first article titled “Watch out
for distracted drivers” seems to be the most valuable and very current (Aug 2013).
I decided to click on the hyperlink to see what I could view.

17. Clicking on this link
took me to the
Citation/Abstract page
for this document. It
took me there because
there was no document
available to view, BUT
this page points me in
the right direction that I
can turn to view it.
As I scrolled down the
Citation/Abstract page I was
provided with all of the valuable
information necessary to find
this article whether it be in a
library or on an online search.
Here I see that this article was
published on the National
Safety Council website starting
on Page 4 of the Aug. 2013
publication.

18. One last thing I would like to discuss about the ProQuest database is its ability to
generate citations on certain document. Here I will use the “Full text – PDF”
document titled Traffic Safety to demonstrate how this works. From the
document page simply click on the “Cite” feature near the upper-right hand
corner of the screen.

19. A box will appear on
the screen with a
generated citation that
I can simply copy and
paste into my
resources/bibliography
page of my paper.
Additionally there is a
dropdown box which allows me
to select which style of citation I
want to use. This nice feature
saves me on time while
producing a proper citation.

20. Opinion
After using the ProQuest database to search for resources, I felt that the
database itself was very functional, simply, and resourceful. It was very
simply to navigate around especially when it came time to jump back a
few screens to change some search parameters or add some limiters. I
have found through this search that my topic isn’t really a very simple
subject to find information on immediately since distracted driving
relates to a multitude of actions – it takes some digging and forming of
clever words or phrases. The database’s ability to allow the user to
throw in some limiting terms can really help in finding the type of
information being sought, but also I found that if you make the search
terms too specific you could also miss out on some other valuable
resources or information which can get you pointed in another
direction. The database has many great tools built into it which can
help any student or researcher when completing research or a paper.
To me the citation tool is valuable in so many ways as improperly citing
something is always something I worry about. I found ProQuest to be a
valuable tool which I will continue to use.