Cannell Library catalog, Clark College:
For this I just used the subject word as the primary search term. This brought up a book that is part of a series called "Opposing Viewpoints", a title I have had experience with for other topics, but which slipped my mind.
Censorship / Scott Barbour, book editor. Detroit : Greenhaven Press, c2010.
Subject heading: censorship
This is a circulating book
Location: Cannell Library, Second Floor
Call Number: Z657.C397 2010
This title is highly valuable because it asks the same questions of different people and shows me opposite views regarding the same topic, both in stark contrast to one another.
Summit Catalog:
Search term: Censorship
Book: Global Issues, Facts on File Series, author: Frank Caso, Publisher information: New York : Facts On File, ©2008.
Location and Call Number: WSU Holland & Terrell, Z657 .C38 2008
This title appears to be credible because it is part of a series much like the first book mentioned in this posting.
This search differed in that there were multiple college libraries to choose from, however there were no highlighted words in the description.
IT pros acted similar to most online library catalogs in that you could search and modify searches. I have used such systems for a few years and although I still prefer the old card catalog, it is very easy to navigate and refine my research. The most important key to effective searching here is "Additional Fields" section, which allows limitations on what the site searches for.
Google Books:
Let me start this one with one aggravating fact... searching for anything with more than one word here is frustrating. If I just put in censorship for the keyword, then it is fine. If, however, I want something more specific, it seems google says tough luck. They include searches that have to do with "history", "impact" and "censorship" instead of just "historical impact of censorship". Very annoying.
The book I chose for this exercise was "Censorship and selection: issues and answers for schools", Henry Reichman,copyright 2001, American Library Association.
This book is used primarily in the discussion of censorship in the US school system and I would think it most trustworthy because of the publisher. It is used as a book for school libraries and even includes its own call number.
Summary:
I have spent much of my life hanging out in libraries because it gave me a way to to escape the challenges of my youth and my adulthood. I still prefer the company of books. The search and limitations of searching does make things easier within the new system, but the old card catalog was less of a "time waster" because I never had to tell the cards to limit the search to my specific words... I just went and found what I was looking for. Often I would be pleasantly surprised with what I found in the general area of the book I was originally looking for. I learned a great deal this way. I have learned from this section that the old ways are better, less aggravating and preferable to someone like me. I am able to use what we have now, I just feel it is needlessly complicated.
All of these tools were similar in usage, construction and content with expansions at every level after the Cannell Library.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Quiet Now!!!
The best sources for each of my 3 questions would be:
1. What is censorship? For this I would best be served by historical books and scholarly journals. For simple definition, a longer timeline would work best for the sake of proper context.
2. What is the societal impact of censorship? Newspapers and magazine articles might work best for this query because of the timeline of events and eyewitness accounts. More recent articles would help place the topic in a perspective we can relate to in our lifetimes.
3. Does the impact differ depending on what nation it occurs in? For this one, deep web sources and reference books would help the most. The impact of censorship is most often only realized over long periods of time so reference materials would help the most here.
1. What is censorship? For this I would best be served by historical books and scholarly journals. For simple definition, a longer timeline would work best for the sake of proper context.
2. What is the societal impact of censorship? Newspapers and magazine articles might work best for this query because of the timeline of events and eyewitness accounts. More recent articles would help place the topic in a perspective we can relate to in our lifetimes.
3. Does the impact differ depending on what nation it occurs in? For this one, deep web sources and reference books would help the most. The impact of censorship is most often only realized over long periods of time so reference materials would help the most here.
Friday, October 14, 2011
SHHH!
Here are my research notes for the topic "Censorship" which is something I have had to deal with on a personal level, ie: "You can't say (write) that." I have had people telling me to "Shut Up!!!" for so long, how could I research any other topic?
Notes: Research journal notes: Gale Virtual library,
Search terms related to censorship: church, government, china, jewish, nazi, Stalinist, Marxist, persecution, silence, media, press, artistic, historical, early America, 18th century, 20th century, removing evidence of censorship in archives, colonial, self,
Amir Hassanpour, encyclopedia of modern asia, p. 145 Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002, New York
International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences.Ed. William A. Darity, Jr.. Vol. 1. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. p475-476.
Andre, Judith. 1992. ‘Censorship’: Some Distinctions.
In Philosophical Issues in Journalism, ed. Elliot D. Cohen. New York: Oxford University Press.
Smolla, Rodney A. 1992. Free Speech in an Open Society. New York: Knopf.
Sunstein, Cass R. 1993. Democracy and the Problem of Free Speech. New York: Free Press.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship
additional search terms from wikipedia:
Moral, political, religious, military, corporate
Questions for research:
1. What is censorship?
2. What is the societal impact of censorship?
3. Does the impact differ depending on what nation it occurs in?
Summary:
I learned a bit more about my chosen topic such as the idea of personal censorship. I also became reaquainted with database searching (now called "deep web"). I also came face to face with proof of a certain kind of conspiracy regarding censorship. I realize the only thing standing in the way of effective and productive searching has been money or the stunning lack thereof, which shuts people out of the deep web for lack of ability to buy their way in.
Notes: Research journal notes: Gale Virtual library,
Search terms related to censorship: church, government, china, jewish, nazi, Stalinist, Marxist, persecution, silence, media, press, artistic, historical, early America, 18th century, 20th century, removing evidence of censorship in archives, colonial, self,
Amir Hassanpour, encyclopedia of modern asia, p. 145 Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002, New York
International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences.Ed. William A. Darity, Jr.. Vol. 1. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. p475-476.
Andre, Judith. 1992. ‘Censorship’: Some Distinctions.
In Philosophical Issues in Journalism, ed. Elliot D. Cohen. New York: Oxford University Press.
Smolla, Rodney A. 1992. Free Speech in an Open Society. New York: Knopf.
Sunstein, Cass R. 1993. Democracy and the Problem of Free Speech. New York: Free Press.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship
additional search terms from wikipedia:
Moral, political, religious, military, corporate
Questions for research:
1. What is censorship?
2. What is the societal impact of censorship?
3. Does the impact differ depending on what nation it occurs in?
Summary:
I learned a bit more about my chosen topic such as the idea of personal censorship. I also became reaquainted with database searching (now called "deep web"). I also came face to face with proof of a certain kind of conspiracy regarding censorship. I realize the only thing standing in the way of effective and productive searching has been money or the stunning lack thereof, which shuts people out of the deep web for lack of ability to buy their way in.
Friday, October 7, 2011
plagiarism and Copyright infringement
In an age of unlimited information (information overload) it is easy to forget that all of this intellectual property is owned by someone. Just because it is freely available doesn't mean it is free to claim or use as your own. In my travels I have heard from people who want to write a book about this or that but when I ask them what new material they have to contribute to the given topic, the most common response is "well I will just put the existing information together and see what happens" or words to that effect.
I personally don't like the idea of riding on someone elses coattails, or even expanding on other authors works. I feel it denotes a stunning lack of creativity on the part of the borrowing writer, and smacks of dishonesty. It is, quite literally, cheating. If you have some new information to add, then by all means, please enlighten us... but give due credit to the original sources that have provided the foundation of your book (that is assuming you asked permission in the first place).
I did make a slight mistake in my Introduction posting for my English 101 class. I quoted Popeye the Sailor Man "I am what I am and that's all what I am!" and while I did credit the character for the quote, I had no real idea who the creator of this character was (E.C. (Elzie Crisler) Segar is the person in question). In that moment I realized that ignorance is no excuse for not performing due diligence in research.
I also noted something while visiting popeye.com . There is actually a way to prevent one from using the copy/paste function on a website. As Tina Ray explains it, it has something to do with "Java Scripting"... whatever that is. I like the idea of disabling the copy function as it makes it more difficult to cheat.
© Daniel Bigham
I personally don't like the idea of riding on someone elses coattails, or even expanding on other authors works. I feel it denotes a stunning lack of creativity on the part of the borrowing writer, and smacks of dishonesty. It is, quite literally, cheating. If you have some new information to add, then by all means, please enlighten us... but give due credit to the original sources that have provided the foundation of your book (that is assuming you asked permission in the first place).
I did make a slight mistake in my Introduction posting for my English 101 class. I quoted Popeye the Sailor Man "I am what I am and that's all what I am!" and while I did credit the character for the quote, I had no real idea who the creator of this character was (E.C. (Elzie Crisler) Segar is the person in question). In that moment I realized that ignorance is no excuse for not performing due diligence in research.
I also noted something while visiting popeye.com . There is actually a way to prevent one from using the copy/paste function on a website. As Tina Ray explains it, it has something to do with "Java Scripting"... whatever that is. I like the idea of disabling the copy function as it makes it more difficult to cheat.
© Daniel Bigham
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