Sometimes, you can't just Google it...

      So, you’ve got a big assignment due for your class, and you have a lot of research to do, but where do you start? Naturally, you might turn to the internet to do your research. The internet is a big and informative place, full of great information that might have been otherwise out-of-reach for some students, like you, but it can be a little overwhelming and hard to navigate at times, so here’s a few helpful hints from SweetSearch.
    
     Sometimes, the internet isn’t always the best place to start. Check to see if your school has a database of specialized search engine that can be sued to sift through material already in your library. These may be harder to use but will most likely provide you with a more specific and useful source. Also, consider asking a librarian, a teacher, or a friend if they know of any website or databases that can be of any help. This can save you a lot of time, because you won’t have to sift through all the junk that comes up through a typical online search. (SweetSearch n.p.) DACC’s own 1Search through the library is an excellent place to start. 

 

Screenshot by Kaleb Smith

****The link to the 1Search DACC Library page is: http://dacc.edu/library/

     Using a school-based database will provide you with already vetted information and credible sources, and you will be able to more accurately eliminate unwanted sources, like this:

Screenshot by Jaquonte Sanford

Using an online search engine, however, will return with results that are not suitable for college level work, such as Wikipedia, videos, photos, or non-credible work, such as this:

Screenshot by David Ames

     Specify what you’re searching for. Don’t include nonessential words, make sure grammar and spelling is correct, and try to search for the term most likely to appear on a website. For example, don’t search “what to make with chicken,” but rather “chicken recipes”. Certain terms and punctuations can also adjust the way the search engine will search for terms and phrases. Here are links to a few search engines’ help pages.

Google: http://support.google.com/websearch/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=136861
Bing: http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/bing/ff808438.aspx
Yahoo: http://help.yahoo.com/kb/index?page=content&y=PROD_SRCH&locale=en_US&id=SLN2242&impressions=true
Ask.com: http://about.ask.com/en/docs/about/search_tips.shtml


     Check when the source you found was published originally, not just when it was uploaded. As events unravel daily, something reported last week may be found inaccurate the following week. Stories change quickly due to new discoveries with technology so a source's information may instantly become false within weeks, days, and maybe even minutes, so it's a good idea to check when the articles were originally written. (SweetSearch n.p.) This NY Times article was published on February 17, 2013, but appeared in print on February 18, 2013

Screenshots by Kaleb Smith, Jaquonte Sanford, and David Ames

This is not an extreme example of time difference, but in some cases it may be, so it’s always a good idea to check.

       When searching online, through a database, or other by other electronic means, follow the ten minute rule. If your search does not get you any useful or valuable information within 10 minutes, stop, reevaluate your search phrase, and then either revise it or consider using a different search engine. Most commercial search engines may turn up similar results, but the differences between them may be the source you were looking for. Checking results and comparing them between multiple search engines can help to find the best sources and find which search engine is most suited for you. (Carlson n.p.) Here are some common and not-so-common search engines you can use.

Image retrieved through Google Images and used through a creative Commons license.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Hi, my name is Jaquonte Sanford and I am a current freshmen at Danville Area Community College. I wanted to write this blog because this is something that I would of benefited from knowing. 

Hey, my name is Kaleb Smith. I'm 16 and a Dual Enrollment student here at DACC. I'm currently a Junior at Westville High School. I wanted to write this blog because this is something that I know can help a lot of people and is an issue that many people deal with when they are trying to research anything, not just school work.

Hi, my name is David Ames and I am a current freshman at Danville Area Community College. I wanted to write this blog post simply because it is something that people do not spend a lot of time on and it has a impact on the quality of the papers we write.

Covering the Basics When Writing College Research Papers

You will be asked to write many research papers in college. When you’re in college, the basics are very important to learn, here are some basic tips to help you.

The first tip is how to choose a topic for your research paper. "Be careful not to select a topic too narrow or too difficult to research" according to Mayland Community College link How to Write a College Research Paper. The topic needs to cover your subject well and grab the readers’ attention. A great topic will relate to your audience, a poor topic will not reflect any interests for your audience. An example of a poor topic would be a paper over Voodoo at a Catholic Institution. You should always ask your teacher if your topic is appropriate.

The second tip is to make sure you have enough informational sources. The sources you choose for your paper should be checked by using the CRAP test. The CRAP test is found online at http://loex2008collaborate.pbworks.com/w/page/18686679/Table%201. The CRAP test helps you evaluate a source by checking its currency, reliability, authority and the sources purpose or point of view. Anyone can put their opinion on the web but you can’t rely on random peoples’ opinions when writing a good research paper. You should utilize sources from websites that end in .edu or .gov, these websites are highly credible. 

The third tip is to create a good thesis statement. Your thesis statement should outline what you hope to accomplish in your paper. A good thesis statement should be argumentative and have clear distinctions between facts, evidence and opinions. For example, make sure you can back up your accusations later on in the main body of your paper.

The fourth tip is to follow the guidelines for APA or MLA style papers. The instructor will give you a rubric on what your paper should cover. Some of the more commonly used rules include using size 12 font, using “normal” fonts such as Times New Roman or Arial, and using a word processor such as Microsoft Word. After you have completed that it is time to move onto the main body of your paper. The main body needs to answer your thesis statement as well as provide information and facts about your topic to prove your argument. Most of your grammatical errors will occur in the main body of your paper. A great tip on how to avoid making errors is by proofreading your paper. According to Mayland Community College link on How to Write a College Research Paper you should “have another person, preferably someone skilled in proofreading, read it as well”. After the main body of your paper has been written it is time to make your conclusion paragraph. The conclusion of your paper is a summary of what you have already written. It needs to bring your paper to a definite end. 

The final and most important tip is from Shorter University link for Requirements for Research Papers is to “list sources used in writing the paper in a bibliography on a sheet at the end of the essay”. The bibliography is used to give credit to those whose ideas and research you have used and avoid taking credit for yourself. There are many tools on the internet to help you write a bibliography or a works cited page, such as easybib.com and ehow.com.
We hope you have learned something valuable from our blog post. The members of our team wish you the best of luck on your college endeavors. 

Nick Koniecszki - Graphic Novel Enthusiast

Meghan Lamar - Majoring in Elementary Education

Amanda Ringis - Majoring in Criminal Justice

Emily Haga - Majoring in Sociology and Fine Arts

Aaron Camp - Majoring in Accounting (He approves this blog post.)

Breaking the Barrier

Freedigitalphotos.net  Fair use

    Being a college student can be a difficult experience, especially if you are a student that comes from a low Socioeconomic (SES) family. SES is explained and measured in combination with education, income and occupation and is utilized in research and studies of behavioral sciences. Low SES is characterized as lower education, poverty, poor health, and shining a negative perspective on literacy in households. Coming from such a household does not necessarily mean that you will not be able to succeed academically, but through self-willingness, exercising with what resources are available, literacy skills can be improved.

     SES highlights factors of an individual environment, which can be considered biased. Everyone has a different and unique literacy development process, some more difficult and painful than others, but where you come from does not necessarily play a huge factor within your education career. Jamie Metsala and Linda Baker from the University of Maryland , conducted a study, called Early Literacy at Home: Children’s Experiences and Parents’ Perspective, recording parent involvement and literacy in families of low and middle-class income and of mixed ethnic groups. The study concluded that there is no differences in home literacy environment of European Americans and African Americans other than middle-class families provides more adult lecture material available to their children, such as, magazines, newspapers, etc (pg71).  We want to let it be known that your Socioeconomic Status (SES) does not define you as a student or a person, but a motivation to better get informed and aware of your resources and opportunities as a college student.

     Do you struggle with reading or writing papers in college?  Take time to explore your options on getting help from your college tutors or making arrangements to tour the Dacc library to get better acquainted with the contents of the library and resources. Even though parent involvement is the key to creating an enthusiastic reader and learner in a young child, getting involved in study groups and reading clubs can help you in your literacy improvement as well as gain support from your peers. If you are a parent, get involved in your child’s literacy.  Parent interaction, such as parent talks and emotional tones, can help develop you and your child’s literacy skills.  Fun reading activities promote an enthusiastic reader, enhances attentiveness in school, and helps prevent bad attitudes toward reading and learning in a child. You should also take into consideration if you are really doing the best you can to improve your literacy skills? You should be open enough to try to learn, think about things in different ways, and take criticism as a positive aspect instead of being guarded about it. Other tips to improve your literacy skills are... 

Freedigitalphotos.net  Fair use

• Keeping an open mind about   literacy                                                                        
• Seeking help from peers, professors and librarians on writing styles can be found at Dacc’s Peer Tutoring Lab, which is located in the Student Success Center, Cannon Hall Room 113.  
• Using internet resources like the I Search tab at http://dacc.edu/library/, as well as, books from the Dacc library in the clock tower. 
• If you have children, literacy activities can greatly improve their skills...

      Socioeconomic status doesn’t really play a big part in your literacy development; there are plenty of resources out there that you can take advantage of to better your skills. Don’t get discouraged.  Instead, get involved and we promise the “writing thing” will get easier.

Group members: Atrous Lollar, Shyan Murphy, and Melanie Louis.
Atrous is in her second semester in college.
Shyan is in her first year in college.
Melanie is in her last year in college.
We decided to do this topic because we wanted to build awareness to help troubled students with writing papers in college.