Before class on Tuesday (Feb. 14), I would like you to take time to find as many credible sources as you can for your current essay, and for this exercise, you must locate them through the resources available via Penrose Library. (You’re welcome to continue using the resources we used in class like Summon@DU, Penrose Books, Access World News, Academic Search Complete, and Credo.) Once you have found at least five sources that you think will work effectively, read through them and then reflect on them in your comment to this post.
Start by explaining how you found these sources. What worked (or didn’t) as you used these library resources? Next, give an overview to the kinds of information, insights, testimony, or evidence they provide you. How will these sources help you make the argument you’d like to make? How did they enhance (or even alter) your emerging argument? Then, explain why you think they’re credible sources and how you think your intended audience would view them. Conclude your comment by giving us a sense of what your next steps are as you begin to draft this essay for our upcoming peer review workshop (which is on Thursday, February 16).
Also, please note: If you run into any problems, please email me ASAP and I will help you over the weekend. Good luck!
Through the resources of the Penrose Library, I was able to find many credible sources. It was necessary for me to go to great lengths to find what I needed. In fact, I mainly just narrowed the search to articles, typed in my key words, and found what I was looking for relatively quickly. I have read through my sources and they all appear to be extremely knowledgeable and viable. The sources range from my local newspaper, “The Tulsa World,” to NPR, “The Washington Times,” “The Washington Post,” and from credible Archives like, “The American Journal of Bioethics,” and “Reproductive Health.” While the more local sources provide me abortion information that is specific to Oklahoma’s politically conservative and stringent anti-abortion legislation, the more general sources provide me with basic information regarding the abortion debate. In particular, the article entitled, “Rethinking Roe v. Wade,” offers a particularly interesting insight. Rather than defending abortion measures based upon the grounds that the fetus is not a person, the author argues that we argue based upon the grounds that, “no human has the moral right to use another human being’s body against the latter’s will to sustain life” (Rethinking Roe v. Wade). Also, in a more religiously centered article, “Abortion in the United States’ Bible Belt,” the argument is based more upon the fact that translating religious norms into public law is sustaining gender inequality. This conservative legislature prevents women from having control over their own body. Thus my sources so far have provided me with a wide variety of potentially useful information. My next step in terms of drafting my essay, is to integrate this information into a cohesive argument that is injected with my own opinions and point of view.
ReplyDeleteThe beginning of my search began by searching “extreme partisanship.” From here I got two book sources which both seemed like they would be extremely helpful. “A Second Civil War” and “Middle Ground” which are both books that contain the exact title of what I am looking to write about. I ordered one of the books so hopefully it will be here by Monday to help me write my draft. After this search I tried another keyword search with the words “political polarization.” This got me thousands of results from which I had to sift through. After going a little deeper I found two articles that were both experimental surveys looking at how people let their political behavior be influenced by what is going on in the country. Both the articles had some heavy mathematical references but I think that they will make due. Finally the rest of my sources included two newspaper editorials with opinions from average Americans, there was an essay arguing that polarization can help prevent corruption and finally there is a speech by former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates requesting for less polarization. I believe that my intended audience will view all of these sources as credible scholarly sources, except for the two editorials, because I am including them to add a more relatable, average outlook on my subject. The sources I have looked through are changing my argument slightly, especially the one arguing that extreme polarization can actually prevent corruption. I plan on taking these sources and sorting out an outline on how to start writing my essay, and determine what sort of style I would like to write in. I may try to look for a narrative, which could be hard to find with this subject.
ReplyDeleteTo find sources I started with Summon@DU. I originally started by searching the words “achievement gap” and then narrowed it to more recent sources. Although this still brought back an overwhelming number of sources, I was able to find an article that gave a comprehensive overview of what the education gap has looked like over the last few years. From there I narrowed my search to “achievement gap in Colorado.” This brought me a few articles that more specifically related to this issue is Denver. These articles included a statement recently released by President Obama discussing how some states (Colorado included) are going to grow from No Child Left Behind, and an article about the organization called Mi Casa that works towards increasing the access to the technology that has become a factor in widening the achievement gap. Next, I typed in the specific high schools that I am focusing on: Cherry Creek High School and Abraham Lincoln High School. Through this I was able to find articles containing statistics and stories about these two high schools.
ReplyDeleteI think these sources will help from my argument in many facets. Firstly they will provide information in my paper about the education gap on both a national and a state level. They will also provide specific statistics to help understand the gravity of the concept. By having facts about these two high schools, I can support my argument on a very specific scale. I think these sources are credible because they all come from large journalistic sites such as the New York Times or the Denver Post. Although the audience that would be reading them would be someone already interested and mildly educated about the achievement gap, I think these sources provide enough background information to be understood by a wide audience. My next steps are going to be to refine my argument based on my research, and then beginning to form my paper around my evidence.
The databases and summon features on Penrose online were extremely helpful to me in finding sources to begin supporting my argument on the importance of social media in creating social change. I began by searching for terms such as "social media and justice" and then searched narrower topics using terms like "social media and egypt". By attaining news articles and scholarly articles written on these topics, I believe I can incorporate them as very convincing pieces for persuasion in my essay. In trying to convince an audience who may not see the value of social media in society or its place in achieving social justice, educating them on events that have occurred and how social media was important to them, such as the movement against corporal punishment in schools headed by Marc Ecko, is important. I also sought to add articles that showed social media's importance to commerce, such as one drawn from the Association for Career and technical Educations bimonthly online publication showing how social media is creating new jobs.
ReplyDeleteI think the combination of scholarly articles discussing the significance of events and news articles aiming to shed light on recent events are two credible tools that will be useful in generating a strong argument to my audience.
Based on the articles that I have read, such as those stemming from movements in California and Hong Kong, I can argue for the way that social media has begun to fundamentally change the way in which political change is created. Moving beyond lobbyists to large numbers of citizens armed with a message or several aimed at creating change at a larger state or national level. Also how social media through the internet has allowed people to communicate fairly anonymously and be able to form and share opinions without immediate censorship or consequences from a government.
The resources provided through the Penrose research center were very beneficial to me. Not only did they help me find sources on the aspects of Racial profiling I had already started to address, but they also led me to find specific examples. When I began my research on racial profiling I was somewhat concerned as it was not an issue that I was very knowledgeable about. The Penrose database for scholarly articles initially gave me many articles on the general political issues of racial profiling. After refining my searches with the help of a research librarian I was led to specific events of racial profiling, such as the Rodney King incident. These are the types of specific examples that used along with the more general issues of racial profiling that I believe I can use in order to make a strong paper with a believable appeal to logos due to my strong evidence.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to finding scholarly information on the more general issues of the ethics of racial profiling, I also managed to find articles from police journals and about the RAND racial profiling algorithms. These sources give a much more direct approach to racial profiling, and address how police departments themselves look for discrimination by using algorithms. The information I found on RAND algorithms also led me to another specific example I could use in my essay, involving a case of racial profiling in traffic stops that was confirmed by the RAND algorithm in Cincinnati. At this point in my writing process I am consolodating the information I have found into the most useful and rhetorically effective examples possible. I hope to focus on appealing to pathos through specific examples that are emotionally moving, then supporting with an appeal to logos through more factual and logical facts.
My search for sources began with a search for "same sex marriage denver" under only journal articles. I found an article called "
ReplyDeleteReligion, Reason, and Same-Sex Marriage" which defends the position of opposition to same-sex marriage. This could be helpful to me in writing my paper because not only will it help me understand the other side of the argument, but referencing it in my paper will also provide me with a bit of ethos. I also found another article under the same search entitled "Registered Domestic Partnerships, Same-Sex Marriage, and the Pursuit of Equality in California" which gives an overview of the issue of same sex marriage. The article touches on some arguments that have been made on either side of the debate and provides examples of California policies as an example of how policies permitting same sex unions are developed and implemented. After changing my search to include newspaper articles, I found a Denver Post article describing a decision in Federal Appeals Court that ruled California's Proposition 8 unconstitutional, which may lead to a Supreme Court ruling on the issue.
A search on EBSCO helped me find an article called "Same-sex marriage offers few new benefits." This article explains that because of the Defense of Marriage Act, state level legalization of same-sex marriages, same-sex couples will not have all of the same benefits of heterosexual married couples. This has helped me refine my argument to state that action is needed at the federal level in order to really make a difference. Through the library catalog, I found a book online called "Same-Sex Marriage: A Reference Handbook." The book tells of the history of the issue, worldwide perspectives, court cases, legislation, and national opinions. It could certainly provide me with plenty of information to use in my paper.
My next step in drafting this paper is to search through my sources for specific information I can use for my argument. From there it will just be a matter of writing it.
I began first searching through the Penrose online articles for homelessness in Colorado. It came up with a lot of article that helped me to narrow my focus and ideas to be really focused around racism in regard to the effects race has on wealth disparity. I then looked into race homelessness in Colorado and found that there was a higher percentage of white families and a higher percentage of African American individuals. From there on I was looking mainly in the same articles until I could figure out some of the causes of such so that I would be able to investigate that further. I also wanted to investigate the most extreme alternative. This was a lot harder to find useful sources. Every search attempt I had just came up with a lot of opinion pieces with no information. Finally, when I looked for power in Colorado I got something useful. The information I got added a focus on the idea of causes of homelessness. I think that these sources will be credible because the majority of the information is either statistical or explanatory of something involving the current political system in regard to homelessness. Both of these things are seen as factual which I think will come across as credible. The next steps I will take will be in finding a way to integrate and elaborate on what I have. I think that I will need to draw a solid conclusion from the facts as well as tie a few of them together more fully. I may need to do more research after creating a first draft, but at this point I have enough to work with that I need to begin before I know what else I would need.
ReplyDeleteIn my effort to locate accurate sources of information on immigration, specifically of Hispanic people to the US, I noticed that being more general was actually more helpful. Doing an initial search for information with broad terms allowed me to narrow the search efficiently so I could find useful sources. I also ended up looking in a Psychology data base which gave me information about stereotypes that people have against Hispanic people, which I think is a crucial part of an affirmative case for immigration. The sources that I found have helped me formulate the type of argument that I want to make and have helped me realize different aspects of the immigration debate that I will most likely include in my argument that I would not have thought of otherwise. Also, the information that I got helped me think of ideas for how I could make my argument into more of a story, similar to that of Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace. The sources that I am using are from newspapers and other periodicals to Universities and Journals, so there is a wide range of information from the more personal to the more quantifiable, which will be able to satisfy the informational needs of any reader. Next, I am planning to collect information from the sources that I believe will be most helpful to me in supporting the argument that I am trying to make.
ReplyDeleteI used the Penrose library resources moderately only because they did not have very many resources on my subject. I first searched ‘Super PACs’ in both the articles and journals tab and the books tab. Through this search, I found the book “Attack of the Super PAC’s,” which I hope will give me some good basic knowledge about the topic and an explanation of one effect of my main topic, Corporate Personhood. From there, on Penrose, I searched ‘Corporate Personhood.’ This search yielded more results, more specifically, the Court Hearing held on March 10, 2010 regarding Corporate Spending in American Elections After Citizens United. This resource will be very helpful for me because it gives me opinions of real senators and politicians that I can use to support my argument. Using another search resource, Google, I was able to find many more helpful resources from multiple points of view. These include the book Corporations Are Not People: Why They Have More Rights Than You Do and What You Can Do About It, an NPR interview with Yale law professor John Witt, a New York Times editorial, and the actual court decision Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. These resources will help me obtain all of the supporting points that I need, however, I will still search for more just in case.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I have changed my topic. I could not find enough information on SOPA that was credible or accurate. My new topic is one close to home, issues with mental health of veterans in Colorado Springs. The direction I plan to go is still a little up in the air. I might look at lack of help, or attempt to bring some of the resulting social problems to light.
ReplyDeleteI have found five sources using the Penrose library search. I first found a document from the Mental Health Weakly Digest from last year, reviewing a seminar in Colorado Springs with the world renowned expert Dr. Van der Kolk. This significance of this source to my essay is the frontiers in trauma treatment that the Dr. explores for the military and medical communities of Colorado Springs. The next article I found explores the heath care in Colorado Springs available to military veterans in 2006. I hope to find a more recent evaluation to compare the advancements being made, or if there are not any significant ones, I would like to address that.
In attempting to look at the social repercussions, I used another Penrose avenue to find a scholarly article on suicide in the military in Colorado Springs from summer 2011. I could not find anything of use in the Penrose books. Which is quite frustrating as we live so close to the Springs. From EBSCO Host, a search venue that I usually enjoy from high school was surprisingly difficult for this topic, but I was able to find an article on the Fort Carson Murder Spree, the trend of murders committed by soldiers prior to 2009. This article will prove very helpful to my essay as it was written for Rolling Stone, and I can exploit that ethos in evaluating it and using it in support of my essay.
I didn’t understand how to use Access World News, so I found another source through Summon@DU, but I hope to finds an actual book this week to use.
I am hoping to find a way to connect all of my evidence, not in a way that forms an essay, but in a way that supports my own dialog on the subject. This way I am writing about my own rhetoric on this social justice issue, and not on others’.
Before I even started to look for credible articles, I went to the research center in Driscoll. I wanted to learn more about the information databases and the different available resources before I tried to find articles. If I had not done this, I most likely would have simply typed my topic into the summon search box. The research center was incredibly helpful. We went through many of the resources including summon, google scholar, E-journal finder, and the EBSCO academic search. This last resource, the EBSCO academic search proved to be the most helpful by far. The website was extremely organized and had so many promising articles that it really wasn't necessary to try any other resource. Nonetheless, we did try to find articles using databases like google scholars. Google scholars is a massive database the compiles not only the articles that can be found using DU subscription services, but also free internet articles in scholarly journals. The main problem with Google scholar is that is very difficult to narrow down the results, because there are so many, and the filters are very limited. Because of this, nearly all of the articles I found were from EBSCOhost. I am going to focus on animal rights for this paper. More specifically, I want to focus on whether or not animals deserve rights similar to those that humans receive. I have determined, from the articles, that this should be based on whether or not animals are conscious. However, this is much harder to determine than it initially seems, simply because there appears to be an almost infinite amount of ways to judge animal consciousness. For example, it can be judged based on factors including empathy, emotion, the theory of the mind, ability to use tools, brain-size, development of the cerebral cortex, development of the basal ganglia, and the ability to work together. However, out of all the articles I read, none of them seem to take the other side. None of the articles deny animal consciousness, and therefore all of them argue that animals should be treated in a humane fashion. This contradicts the biblical idea that humans have dominion over animals. It also contradicts the biological theory of survival of the fittest. Why should we treat another species in a humane way, when it doesn't benefit the fitness of our species? These are all questions that I will have to consider.
ReplyDeleteI must admit from the beginning, I was a little surprised at how difficult it was to find credible information on the history of the Mormon pioneers and their trek West (which included movement through Colorado) before they settled in Utah. What was more annoying was the fact that anytime I did manage to find a resource it was housed in the special collections and would refuse to let me request the book. Despite my difficulties I was able to use Penrose and its resources to help provide me with some new focus on my intended topic. Summon@DU wasn’t too helpful for me as it mostly looks at recently published articles and since much of my information is tied to a historical background there was little it could give me. However I was able to find an interesting articled titled, “Polygamy and Mormon Identity” in reading this article I was able to get a feel for just how significant polygamy was for the Mormons and just how hard they fought to protect it before being forced to give it up in the past. I was also able to find an article on Proposition 8 which is what inspired me to tie the LDS church to the gay rights movement, as they were a primary backer of the movement despite California being distant from the church. I was also linked to a Time Article on EBSCO that talked about the perceptions of various members of the LDS church throughout the Prop 8 period. The final thing that Summon did was remind me of a film that I had previously seen entitled 8: The Mormon Proposition while this film was not available from DU I have seen and re-watched it on Netflix. Using Credo I was able to locate an extensive article entitled Mormons, in this article I will primarily focus on a section entitled Nauvoo, a city founded by Joseph Smith, where he was later killed before the Mormons started their trek West. I also found a book entitled, Nauvoo: Kingdom on the Mississippi, both of these books will really help my argument because it represents the height of intolerance towards the members of the Mormon church as they were actively expelled from Illinois because of the beginning of Polygamy. Finally, I located a book entitled Brigham Young: Search for Sanctuary, which talks about the dangers that the church faced because of their lifestyle, and a book titled Gay rights and moral panic: the origins of America’s debate on homosexuality, which provides a reference for the modern day rights movement and the primary players in the debate.
ReplyDeleteIn writing this paper the next steps that I intend to take are to digest all of the information and start lining up facts and points of view in order to structure my argument. Before I write I’ll try to figure out where I really want to take the piece so that my voice and ideas are prevalent throughout with miniscule interruptions from the credible authors that I have located.
I had a hard time finding articles on the garment industry and how they mistreat their workers, specifically in the U.S. Summon@DU didn’t come up with any useful articles when I searched “garment industry and illegal workers” so I tried a few other phrases but nothing really came up. Then I tried Credo with the same phrases and again nothing I was looking for was located. I then just did a google search on garment industry and immigrant workers in San Francisco because I wanted to focus my paper on the mistreatment of workers in the United States, and a few articles came up but none exactly fit was I was looking for. By this point I considered a new topic so I started searching “homelessness in the U.S.” and “mental illness and homeless in U.S.” in Summon@DU and a lot of informative articles came up. I also searched those terms in Credo, as well as “homeless statistics” and “personal homeless stories” and more useful articles were produced. After reading through multiple, I decided to focus my paper on the problem of homelessness in the U.S., its causes and possible solutions. I found a lot of statistics regarding homelessness, but I did not find any personal stories, so I am still in search of those. The sources appear credible because they cite their facts with references like “according to The Department of Housing and Urban Development.” The articles provided me information on how many people are homeless, where homeless people congregate, how people come to be homeless, what kinds of people are typically homeless, and I found an article on how Sweden keeps its homeless rate low, which I can use for ideas to help lower homelessness rates. I also found a website, Health Matters, which provides solutions for different health issues, and they have articles on practices that have helped reduce homelessness in certain cities. My next step is to find some personal stories on being homeless, and then I am going to write up an outline for my paper before I begin writing.
ReplyDeleteI primarily used summon@du because I like how I was able to narrow my search to scholarly journals plus I just have more experience with it. I was actually quite impressed with my search. At one point I guess I was kind of expecting the same thing when researching about achievement gaps. But my research through the summon@du search engine really helped me think of different questions such as “is there more to the achievement gap than just solely economic reasons? Why do even minorities living in upper class neighborhoods still score lower on test on average?” I think one of my most valued sources will be the article “Subgroup Achievements and Gap Trends- Colorado.” I like it because it’s filled with logos. Nothing but just pure facts. The article breaks down Colorado test scores amongst Blacks, Whites, Hispanic, and Asian students who have scored, advanced, proficient, or unsatisfactory on the CSAP which is a Colorado standardize test. Because its so thorough and is not swayed by the author I can use this data when developing a strong argument. For the most part most of my sources rely heavily on the facts. Sometimes people argue that to many facts can be overwhelming but I think when you overwhelm the audience with facts in an issue regarding children it cant do anything but provoke the audience to want to act. There’s something really personal and relatable about issues regarding children so facts really do help develop the argument. I believe my sources are credible sources because they actuall documents created by university professors and organizations that specialize in this type of research such as the CEP (Center of Education Policy). Right now I want to approach the topic with a different perspective. This is an issue that has been discuss for years especially in Colorado so I want to not just summarize all this quantitative data but analyze and bring a new idea to the table.
ReplyDeleteWell when approaching this research paper I knew to effectively reach my audience that I would need to establish a common ground. To do this I wanted to talk about what it really meant to be in a democracy. I am using a book that I still have from my FSEM by Robert Dahl that talks about the criteria for a true democracy. i would say nearly every citizen in the United states believes in Democracy so establishing what it really means will help me develop my argument.
ReplyDeleteAs for my outside sources, I really found the summon@DU helpful because it allowed my search inquiry to be very specific and it pulled up very recent journal articles and books that explain exactly how campaign finance works and how it has changed over the years. This will go to support my ultimate argument that the best candidate is not always elected primarily because he/she never got the chance to run.
I think that sources I have found will be seen as credible by the audience. Peer review journal articles are one of the most credible sources so I feel that using their analysis as support will strengthen my argument. Also, these books and articles cite a lot of monetary facts and statistics that provide strong examples of how campaign finance and its reform has restrict the politic process from its citizens.
As I move to draft this essay, I plan to go over my sources to make sure that I still feel I can make a strong argument because if I don't believe my argument is strong form the start then there is no way that I can transcribe the argument to be anywhere near the level of persuasiveness desired. I will then try to decide on how I want the paper to flow and what support to put where. Then start chugging away and polish it up for Thursday.
I found that the online databases provided through Penrose were hugely helpful in the formation of my argument regarding a social injustice. I chose to focus my essay on gentrification in Portland, Oregon. I began my research by just searching the databases tab on the Penrose homepage. I started by just looking for information on gentrification in general, compiling expert’s various definitions on gentrification and how the problem commonly develops within communities. The search engine provided a huge number of results. It was helpful to be able to refine the type of media that I wanted to look at, since different forms of media provided different types of data. For instance, newspaper articles generally gave background facts about a particular situation, while scholarly articles articulated the causes and factors affecting gentrification. After this initial search, I began looking at gentrification specifically in the Portland area. I found a variety of articles, some which took a more objective look at the situation in Portland, others that were very persuasive, showing specific stories to highlight the upsides and downsides of gentrification.
ReplyDeleteI began this process with the idea fixed in my mind that gentrification was absolutely bad and another solution needed to be reached. However, reading articles showing different perspectives opened my mind and helped me to see the complexity of the issue. It was especially helpful reading local newspaper and magazine articles regarding the issue in Portland because they gave specific examples that showed both the benefits of urbanization for the city as a whole, as well as the problems that arise when renovating parts of town. I found a few interviews with people on different sides of the debate, which will be helpful for making emotional appeals when I’m writing my essay.
I conducted my research through a variety of databases. Searching the Credo database also provided me with general information about food deserts, which helped me to get started. Summon@DU and the Penrose Library Catalog proved to be the most useful, as I was able to find a report to Congress titled “Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Measuring and Understanding Food Deserts and their Consequences,” and check out a book titled “The Public Health Effects of Food Deserts”. However, the major issue that I’ve run into is an inability to find sources dealing with the issue of food deserts on a local scale. Among an overall limited amount of sources, the reports and articles that I have found either discuss the causes and effects of food deserts on the national spectrum, providing an overwhelming amount of information, or on a local scale outside of Colorado. The few articles I found that are Colorado based are very short in length. For these reason’s I am having difficulty grounding my essay to a specific, in-depth approach. However, my sources have provided me with valuable facts, figures, and other information regarding the economic and racial ingredients of food deserts. In addition, after finding a couple sources dealing with the benefit that local farmer’s markets and gardening initiatives have in providing fresh, nutritious produce within food deserts, I am considering taking my essay in that direction. Perhaps I will persuasively discuss the benefits of such projects in the larger context of the food access gap. I will undoubtedly continue to sift through my large-volume sources and perhaps look new ones as I develop a narrower claim for my draft.
ReplyDelete