Monday, February 27, 2012
Research Reflection- LGBT Population
An LGBT population I think I should learn more about is the gay population. In society there is a stereotype that all gay men are really feminine. They are into fashion, they talk with a higher voice, and anything else that is not socially acceptable for men to do. I know that this is not true about all gay men but it is difficult to ignore the stereotype when that is how many people identify gay men. I find the topic difficult to understand overall. Last semester I took a class in communications and we worked on a group project with the topic of legalization of gay marriage. I am strongly opposed to this because I was raised in a Christian home and have never really changed my thoughts, they have really became stronger as I have gotten older. Two members of my group were gay. I was weary at first, but it really turned out to be a great experience. I did not change my opinion but the whole thing really taught me a lot of things. So, I do not believe that being gay is a choice. I know this is a very harsh opinion but it is what I have grown up believing. Even though my group project taught me a lot of things I still stand by my opinion. I think the most difficult thing I will encounter while researching is to not let my opinion get in the way. I feel very strongly about this topic but the point of my research is to learn and inform others about the topic, not try to persuade them to think how I think. I will just have to be open to learning new things.
Using a Subject Specific Database
This is the search string I decided to start with when searching different databases for articles on my topic:
minnesota AND (homeless* OR refuge* OR abandon*) AND (adult* OR mature) AND (support OR help OR provide)
The subject specific database I decided to use was the Cambridge Social Science Database.
When I used my initial search string I did not find very relevant results in either database. For ASP I adjusted my search string to create more results. It only gave me four results and none of them were relevant to my topic. After playing around with my search string, I finally got more results when I used the following one: homeless AND minnesota AND (support OR provide OR help). With this search string I found eight results that were relevant to my topic and three had the full text option and the other five had the find it option. While searching the Cambridge Social Science Database I found many results. A lot of them were irrelevant to my topic. I changed my search string to minnesota AND homeless* AND adult* AND (help OR support OR provide). I still had a huge number of results but I was able to find a four articles that were relevant to my topic. Of these four none of them were in full text but they all provided the find it option.
Since working with these databases I do not think my research question has changed at all. It has taken some time to find information that I want but after change my search string a bit I do find articles that have some very valuable information. I think the hardest thing has been taking the time to modify my search string to find things I am looking for. I cannot use the same search string for each database. It takes some time to figure out the right keywords and synonyms to use. After I figure that out though I do find some really good information.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Scholarly Journal and Popular Magazine
The first article I found is from a scholarly journal called the American Journal of Health Promotion. The second one is from a popular magazine titled, Modern Healthcare.
Both of these articles gave a lot of useful information on my topic. They had some similarities and differences in their structure and content.
I will first discuss their similarities. They both were written formally. You could tell each author knew what they were talking about and had a lot of experience with the subject, but at the same time it was not difficult to understand. Each article talked about health concerns for homeless people. Another similarity in their content is that they both started out with a list of statistics to introduce their topic so the reader can better understand the information. They both had a title and listed the author as well.
Even thought there were some similarities between the articles, I think they had a lot more differences. I will first discuss their differences in structure. The scholarly journal was about 10 pages while the popular magazine article was a little more than one page. The scholarly journal had an abstract and containe headings. The popular magazine article had neither of these things. The scholary journal had a list of references at the end, while the magazine did not. As for the differences in the content I did not see as much. The journal article was written to show the results of a study conducted and was very in depth while the magazine article was just giving facts on a certain topic and did not go into great detail about it. I could see that the magazine article was maybe written to catch a person's attention while the journal article was soley written to inform people of results.
I think overall both of these articles are very useful to my research. They are both very different, but valuable information can be taken from both of them.
Both of these articles gave a lot of useful information on my topic. They had some similarities and differences in their structure and content.
I will first discuss their similarities. They both were written formally. You could tell each author knew what they were talking about and had a lot of experience with the subject, but at the same time it was not difficult to understand. Each article talked about health concerns for homeless people. Another similarity in their content is that they both started out with a list of statistics to introduce their topic so the reader can better understand the information. They both had a title and listed the author as well.
Even thought there were some similarities between the articles, I think they had a lot more differences. I will first discuss their differences in structure. The scholarly journal was about 10 pages while the popular magazine article was a little more than one page. The scholarly journal had an abstract and containe headings. The popular magazine article had neither of these things. The scholary journal had a list of references at the end, while the magazine did not. As for the differences in the content I did not see as much. The journal article was written to show the results of a study conducted and was very in depth while the magazine article was just giving facts on a certain topic and did not go into great detail about it. I could see that the magazine article was maybe written to catch a person's attention while the journal article was soley written to inform people of results.
I think overall both of these articles are very useful to my research. They are both very different, but valuable information can be taken from both of them.
Shelter environment and placement in community affects lifestyle factors among homeless families in minnesota. (2006). American Journal of Health Promotion, 21(1), 36-44.
Harlin, T. (2011). Making lemonade: Revamping care of homeless when funding is cut. Modern Healthcare, 41(8), 24-24.
Getting Ready to Use Academic Search Premier
Academic Search Premier can be a very useful tool. I think it will be very helpful when doing research for our projects. I really liked how there is a lot of different options to narrow down your search. After playing around with it a little bit I can see how it would be useful to find specific things that I could be looking for. The database also seemed very large. There is a lot of information that can be found in it.
I am some what familiar with this search database. I used it in high school while taking College Reading and Writing. We had to do a research project similar to this one. It was a few years ago though so I don't remember much about it. Back then I used Academic Search Premier to find scholarly journals. I don't think I have used any other database for research that I can recall.
When thinking about how to use this database for research I do have some concerns. It can be very difficult to sift throught articles to find specific information I may want. Hopefully I can learn how to narrow down my searches to target more specific information. Also, a lot of scholarly journal articles can be very long which can make it difficult to find certain information I may be looking for. To resolve this issue I will just make sure I skim the article before reading it and I will try to determine if it contains what I am looking for.
I am some what familiar with this search database. I used it in high school while taking College Reading and Writing. We had to do a research project similar to this one. It was a few years ago though so I don't remember much about it. Back then I used Academic Search Premier to find scholarly journals. I don't think I have used any other database for research that I can recall.
When thinking about how to use this database for research I do have some concerns. It can be very difficult to sift throught articles to find specific information I may want. Hopefully I can learn how to narrow down my searches to target more specific information. Also, a lot of scholarly journal articles can be very long which can make it difficult to find certain information I may be looking for. To resolve this issue I will just make sure I skim the article before reading it and I will try to determine if it contains what I am looking for.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
My population
After doing some more research on homeless adults in Minnesota I think my assupmtions have changed. I didn't realize all the different reason a person could become homeless. Before I assumed it was becasue a person had no job and was to lazy to try and find one. After reading, I found that that is not the only case. A person's house could have burned down, natural disaster and war could force them away, along with many other things that have nothing to do with being lazy.
After doing this research I still have some questions and a lot more research to do. I want to find out a little more about why people have these types of attitudes towards the homeless. I also want to find out more about other parts of Minnesota, not just the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. I also want to know why homelessness is much more prevelant in big cities versus rural areas.
So far I have found a lot of basic information about my population. I have found what homelessness is, what the causes are, what the concerns are, different attitudes towards the homeless, and what people are doing about it. I also found some more specific information about homelessness in Minnesota. I found some demographics on the Twin Cities area, some history on homelessness in this area, and what Hennepin County has done to help the situation.
After doing this research I still have some questions and a lot more research to do. I want to find out a little more about why people have these types of attitudes towards the homeless. I also want to find out more about other parts of Minnesota, not just the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. I also want to know why homelessness is much more prevelant in big cities versus rural areas.
So far I have found a lot of basic information about my population. I have found what homelessness is, what the causes are, what the concerns are, different attitudes towards the homeless, and what people are doing about it. I also found some more specific information about homelessness in Minnesota. I found some demographics on the Twin Cities area, some history on homelessness in this area, and what Hennepin County has done to help the situation.
Encyclopedia vs Wikipedia
Encyclopedias and Wikipedia can both be useful sources for information. They both have some pros and cons.
Pros of encyclopedia: information is more reliable and it gives a broad understanding of a topic
Cons of encyclopedias: earlier encyclopedias are very biased, no credit given to those who assisted with project, information can become outdated very quickly
Pros of Wikipedia: quick and easy to access, free, lots of different kinds of information, information is easily changeable
Cons of Wikipedia: because anyone can change it information can be unreliable, writers of information are anonymous
When I was searching for an encyclopedia on my topic I found one titled, "Encyclopedia of Homelessness". I found this by using the advanced search on the library website. My search string was homeless AND encyclopedia. I also found an encyclopedia on domestic violence and another on health and aging. I did not find these articles useful but I could possibly use them later. I did not find any E-encyclopedias on my topic.
I then went on to find a Wikipedia entry on my topic. I searched homeless AND Minnesota with no results. I then searched homeless AND adults and had no results as well. I ended up settling on an article titled, "Homelessness in the United States".
After reading both of these articles I went on to compare the two. They both were very interesting and each had their own unique benefits. The Wikipedia entry provides its readers with a basic definition along with demographics, historical background from the pre-1960s to the 2010s, causes, public attitudes, assistance programs, a list of crimes by and against the homeless, situations in major cities, possible sources of income, health concerns, and a section concerning women. It also had a long bibliography that seemed to have some credible sources.
The encyclopedia I found was two volumes. It contained a lot of the same information as the Wikipedia entry but it expanded on this information and was much more in depth. It had everthing you could think of and more. What I liked about this encyclopedia is that it had infomation about the Minneapolis St. Paul area, which is more specific to my topic. The encyclopedia also had the author of the articles listed along with a list of suggested readings following each article. I liked the list of further reading because it gave me specific places to find more information about my topic. I think the encyclopedia is more appropriate because it gives more information and lists the authors of the article.
Pros of encyclopedia: information is more reliable and it gives a broad understanding of a topic
Cons of encyclopedias: earlier encyclopedias are very biased, no credit given to those who assisted with project, information can become outdated very quickly
Pros of Wikipedia: quick and easy to access, free, lots of different kinds of information, information is easily changeable
Cons of Wikipedia: because anyone can change it information can be unreliable, writers of information are anonymous
When I was searching for an encyclopedia on my topic I found one titled, "Encyclopedia of Homelessness". I found this by using the advanced search on the library website. My search string was homeless AND encyclopedia. I also found an encyclopedia on domestic violence and another on health and aging. I did not find these articles useful but I could possibly use them later. I did not find any E-encyclopedias on my topic.
I then went on to find a Wikipedia entry on my topic. I searched homeless AND Minnesota with no results. I then searched homeless AND adults and had no results as well. I ended up settling on an article titled, "Homelessness in the United States".
After reading both of these articles I went on to compare the two. They both were very interesting and each had their own unique benefits. The Wikipedia entry provides its readers with a basic definition along with demographics, historical background from the pre-1960s to the 2010s, causes, public attitudes, assistance programs, a list of crimes by and against the homeless, situations in major cities, possible sources of income, health concerns, and a section concerning women. It also had a long bibliography that seemed to have some credible sources.
The encyclopedia I found was two volumes. It contained a lot of the same information as the Wikipedia entry but it expanded on this information and was much more in depth. It had everthing you could think of and more. What I liked about this encyclopedia is that it had infomation about the Minneapolis St. Paul area, which is more specific to my topic. The encyclopedia also had the author of the articles listed along with a list of suggested readings following each article. I liked the list of further reading because it gave me specific places to find more information about my topic. I think the encyclopedia is more appropriate because it gives more information and lists the authors of the article.
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