Data Gathering Exercise

This posts talks about the way in which I have begun gathering data for my research project. I have now refined my question to: What are the affects of educating college students through the use of technology? I searched for peer-reviewed sources in my library's databases and then went on to look for some primary sources.  I learned data searching tips and took on new challenges when looking for my sources in the databases.  The assignment helped me figure out, which search terms generated the most relevant sources. I went through specific and board terms and finally found one, "technology and education," that suited me best. I also learned how to limit and refine the number and types of articles that appear on the database after my search.  The follow are questions I answered about my data gathering process: 

1.Record your exact procedure that you used to meet objectives 1 &2 so that you can duplicate it again.

2. Discuss what worked and what did not work in detail.

3. What was something surprising that you learned? 

4. What unexpected challenges did you encounter or what was unexpectedly easy to find? 

5. What specific databases and journals contain articles where scholars are talking about your issue?

 6. What did you learn about your research conversation from the peer-reviewed article you

chose to submit with this assignment? Explain how this article relates to your issue. 

7. What types of primary documents did you discover are out there that you could analyze to

add to the conversation around your issue?

8. If you rhetorically analyze these primary documents, what do you anticipate discovering? 

9. What did you learn about your issue from the primary document that you found and

submitted with this essay? How will this text help you answer your question? 

10. Now, how do you need to revise your research question so that it is about something others

are talking about and so that the answer will add to this conversation instead of repeating

what has been said? 

11. What do you still need help understanding or finding? 

12. List all of the search terms and combinations of these terms that you tried; state which

databases and journals you entered these search terms to look for sources.

 13. Staple your secondary and primary research documents to your typed answers to the above

questions.

1. For objective 1, finding a peer-reviewed secondary source, I first logged on to the library website: http://library.ucf.edu.  From there I chose the JSTOR database to start with.  I have used JSTOR in my previous college and in high school so I figured I would try a database I was already familiar with.  My first search term I typed in was “technology and college students.”  Although, a few good documents came up, I felt that I needed a more basic article to start off my research with.  Next I tried “technology and education,” which appeared to generate many more articles that would be pertinent to the start of my research.  From there I was able to find the article, Professional Development in Integrating Technology Into Teaching and Learning.  For objective 2, I used a similar process but used a different database.  First I looked into the database, Alternative Press Index. I used search terms such as, “ colleges and technology” and “college students use of computers” but did not find much useful information.  Next I decided to use the database, Popular Magazines.  I once again used the search term “technology and education” and was able to find a great article titled, Back to school: What’s in your students backpack?”  This seemed to be a good database for primary sources.  For both objectives I clicked peer-reviewed articles only.

2. Using a broader search term seemed to work the best for me.  The term, technology and education, worked well as it gave articles that dealt with technology in all types of education settings.  I will narrow down my search eventually to only college students but for now this term is good to get me started.  I also used the database to locate articles that were more recent and only from the 2000s, as this is the generation of technology I am focused on.  Choosing peer-reviewed only also helped me to limit the number of articles that popped up.   However, what did not work for me was using terms such as, affects of technology, which was too broad, and college students use of computers, as it was too detailed for starting my research.  Also, reading only the abstract was something that did not work for me.  I realized that I need to read at least the first few paragraphs to determine if the article fits my research needs or not.

3. Something surprising I learned was that the database, Popular Magazines, was actually a very helpful source of primary information.  When I have come across this database in the past, I never thought it would lead me to primary sources.  Popular Magazines seemed too general and unscholarly. However, I learned that it has many interesting articles especially ones that relate to my research topic.

4.  One challenge I found unexpectedly was how many articles there were once you searched a term.  I did not realize how many articles were actually on the database pertaining to my topic.  I found it difficult to sort through these articles, as I was not sure where to start.  This is when I discovered that I could arrange the article to only appear if they were within a certain date.  I then used the 2000s as my range for when the articles could be published.  One aspect I found unexpectedly easy was actually accessing the databases.  I know from past experiences from my town library or library in my previous college it was almost impossible to access databases outside of the library.  Moreover, most of the databases did not have the full texts available.  However, the UCF library website made it very easy to access the databases and having only documents come up that I was actually able to view entirely.

5. The databases ProQuest, JSTOR, and Popular Magazines seemed to have the most articles in which scholars were talking about the affects of technology on college students’ learning abilities.

6. I learned that there are many debates and ideas about technology based learning in colleges.  In my peer-reviewed article, the authors discussed how teachers are not teaching students efficiently, as teachers lack knowledge of the new technologies that children in this generation are using. I learned that even the government is taking action and implementing professional development programs for teachers to gain knowledge about how to teach using technologies. This is important to my research conversation, as teachers are huge literary sponsors to college students and they need to be up to date with the way students learn by technology.

7. I discovered that there are a lot of primary sources that conduct interviews and share experiences by people who are directly affected by my research topic.  I found a few articles in the Popular Magazine that were written by college students and teachers stating how they feel about the increase in technology and how it has affected their literacy.  The primary source I found was by a woman named Diane J. Skiba and she tells about how she feels about the increase in technology, as she is an educator and must deal with technology in the classroom.

8. If I rhetorically analyze my primary documents I expect to find many first-hand accounts with technology.  I hope to see how other college students, beside myself, have been affected by in the increase of learning through technology. I also hope to see more teachers’ point of view and see if they find it hard to learn to now teach using technology.

9. From my primary source, I learned that 98% of undergraduates owned a computer in 2010. I also learned how mobile devices could be implemented to learning in the classroom.  I never thought using a cell phone would be a good source of data but due to the increase in iPhones and smart-phones, mobile devices could be a good source of on-the-go learning.

10. My research question was originally, “How has technology negatively affected our society’s literacy.  Now I am changing my question to, “What are the affects of educating college students through the use of technology?” This question will give a broader view instead of only focusing on the negative.  It also allows me to look into both the college students and teachers point of view.

11. I still need help finding some studies or experiments that have been done about whether technology has help or hurt college students’ grades. I know from my own experience, that learning via the iPad or on the computer creates irresistible distractions for me.  I would like to find an article that has conducted some type of experiment in discovering whether technology actually has a negative or positive affect on students, regardless which way student prefer to learn.

12. Search terms: technology and college students, affects of technology, college students use of computers, problems with technology and education, college professors and technology, technology and education, and colleges and technology usage.  I used all of these search terms in the databases, JSTOR and ProQuest.  I only used technology and education in Popular Magazines.  I used technology and education, problems with technology and education, and college professors and technology in Alternative Press Index.