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Researching to Writing 2: Databases and Image searches
The document discusses best practices for research, including engaging in casual research through quick online searches, utilizing recommended course blogs and databases, thoroughly documenting all sources, and saving image files with detailed names and metadata. It emphasizes developing good research habits like documentation to avoid redundant work, using libraries and their resources, and not relying solely on Google for scholarly sources. Proper searching of databases and saving/organizing of sources and images is key to efficient research.
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Researching to Writing 2: Databases and Image searches
- 1. From Researching toWriting 2: Libraries, Databases, and Image Searches
- 2. Discussed this time: ✤ “Casual Research” ✤ The Suggested Course Blogs ✤ Finding Sources ✤ Google vs. Research Databases ✤ Finding Images to Research ✤ Saving and Documenting Images
- 3. “Casual Research:” ✤ A habit of reading and investigation ✤ Employs quick searches w/ Google, Wikipedia, and the dictionary ✤ Often not documented ✤ An excellent way to get started ✤ Furthered with casual reading of high-level material
- 4. Suggested course reading: (fromthe “Course Tools” page) ✤ BAGnewsNotes: www.bagnewsnotes.com ✤ Errol Morris on Opinionator: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/author/Errol- Morris/ ✤ Lens (NY Times): http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com ✤ No Caption Needed: http://www.nocaptionneeded.com ✤ TEDTalks: http://www.ted.com/talks/ ✤ Los Angeles Times Photography: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/ photography/ ✤ The Memory of Photography: http://memophoto.wordpress.com/ ✤ The Bigger Picture (Photography and the Smithsonian): http:// blog.photography.si.edu/ ✤ Sociological Images: http://contexts.org/socimages/ ✤ Politics, Theory & Photography: http://politicstheoryphotography.blogspot.com/ ✤ LIFE Archive at Google: http://images.google.com/hosted/life or add source:life to search ✤ Big Picture (Boston Globe): http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/ ✤ Mechanical Icon: http://mechanicalicon.com/index.html
- 5. Suggested course reading: (fromthe “Course Tools” page) ✤ BAGnewsNotes: www.bagnewsnotes.com ✤ Errol Morris on Opinionator: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/author/Errol- Morris/ ✤ Lens (NY Times): http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com ✤ No Caption Needed: http://www.nocaptionneeded.com ✤ TEDTalks: http://www.ted.com/talks/ ✤ Los Angeles Times Photography: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/ photography/ ✤ The Memory of Photography: http://memophoto.wordpress.com/ ✤ The Bigger Picture (Photography and the Smithsonian): http:// blog.photography.si.edu/ ✤ Sociological Images: http://contexts.org/socimages/ ✤ Politics, Theory & Photography: http://politicstheoryphotography.blogspot.com/ ✤ LIFE Archive at Google: http://images.google.com/hosted/life or add source:life to search ✤ Big Picture (Boston Globe): http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/ ✤ Mechanical Icon: http://mechanicalicon.com/index.html
- 6. Suggested course reading: (fromthe “Course Tools” page) ✤ BAGnewsNotes: www.bagnewsnotes.com ✤ Errol Morris on Opinionator: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/author/Errol- Morris/ ✤ Lens (NY Times): http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com ✤ No Caption Needed: http://www.nocaptionneeded.com ✤ TEDTalks: http://www.ted.com/talks/ ✤ Los Angeles Times Photography: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/ photography/ ✤ The Memory of Photography: http://memophoto.wordpress.com/ ✤ The Bigger Picture (Photography and the Smithsonian): http:// blog.photography.si.edu/ ✤ Sociological Images: http://contexts.org/socimages/ ✤ Politics, Theory & Photography: http://politicstheoryphotography.blogspot.com/ ✤ LIFE Archive at Google: http://images.google.com/hosted/life or add source:life to search ✤ Big Picture (Boston Globe): http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/ ✤ Mechanical Icon: http://mechanicalicon.com/index.html
- 7. Suggested course reading: (fromthe “Course Tools” page) ✤ BAGnewsNotes: www.bagnewsnotes.com ✤ Errol Morris on Opinionator: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/author/Errol- Morris/ ✤ Lens (NY Times): http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com ✤ No Caption Needed: http://www.nocaptionneeded.com ✤ TEDTalks: http://www.ted.com/talks/ ✤ Los Angeles Times Photography: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/ photography/ ✤ The Memory of Photography: http://memophoto.wordpress.com/ ✤ The Bigger Picture (Photography and the Smithsonian): http:// blog.photography.si.edu/ ✤ Sociological Images: http://contexts.org/socimages/ ✤ Politics, Theory & Photography: http://politicstheoryphotography.blogspot.com/ ✤ LIFE Archive at Google: http://images.google.com/hosted/life or add source:life to search ✤ Big Picture (Boston Globe): http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/ ✤ Mechanical Icon: http://mechanicalicon.com/index.html
- 8. Finding Sources: ✤ Check the suggested course readings often. ✤ Don’t think you can Google your way to a paper. ✤ Get familiar with the OC Library--both the building and the webpage. ✤ Use article search databases like Proquest and EbscoHost ✤ Document, document, document
- 9. Proquest vs. Google: ✤ Credible sources ✤ Keywords chosen by humans ✤ Full text of articles
- 10. Searching Proquest: ✤ (Screen shot from OC homepage)
- 11. Document Everything: ✤ Immediately after you’re done with this video, make a “working bibliography.” ✤ Accessible—everywhere you work ✤ Thorough—all info needed to find the source again and to remember what it said ✤ Part of your research habit
- 12. Accessible: ✤ Inside of your Dropbox ✤ In your email account ✤ On your student “X” drive ✤ On another cloud storage space (Google, Amazon, Box.net, etc.) ✤ On a thumb drive
- 13. Thorough: ✤ Every time—honestly, every time—you find a potential source ✤ In the same document (probably a Microsoft Word or text file), record this stuff: ✤ The URL (if off the web) ✤ The author ✤ The title ✤ Why you like it ✤ Optional (though suggested): A quote or two you’re sure you want to use ✤ Keep it simple, keep it accessible. This is your system. Make sure it makes sense to you.
- 14. Your Research Habit: ✤ Keep it real. ✤ Make your work count. ✤ Don’t make yourself do it twice (or three times, or four times). ✤ Don’t go halfway just because you don’t know where to start. ✤ Consider keeping a working outline as you go.
- 15. Finding Images: ✤ Google Image Search is not very useful, especially if your topic is vague. It’s helpful when searching for a specific image. ✤ Be creative. ✤ Keep track of the course readings—they help in surprising ways. ✤ Dig for references to images in your other sources. ✤ When you save images, save reference info too: ✤ Source ✤ Photographer, if you can find it ✤ Year, if you can find it
- 16. Saving and DocumentingImages: ✤ Keep image files together with your working bibliography and working outline ✤ Use detailed file names. I suggest this: “phototitle photosource datefound.jpg.” For example: afghangirltoday nocaptionneeded 18oct11.jpg.” This ensures that I know where my images are from, so that I don’t have to try to find them again later. ✤ Don’t make yourself do the work twice. ✤ The basics: right-click on most photos to save them. Choose “Save As...” from the menu and save the file in your accessible research space. Give it a detailed name. ✤ Ask me for assistance.
- 17. These “Librarian” people? ✤ Librarians are amazingly well-educated, amazingly helpful, and mostly bored and lonely. ✤ OC librarians are available via phone, email, web chat, and (of course) in person. ✤ While we’re on the topic: “books” are amazing.
- 18. Final points: ✤ Get in the habit of “casual research.” ✤ Read the course blogs for ideas. ✤ Document, document, document. ✤ Don’t do the same work twice. ✤ Ask if you get stuck.