Final Research Journal Entry

Wow! HTML is pretty easy! I think I am going to research how to apply html coding to my Farscape blog and really get to work on organizing an effort to at least get some original webisodes produced using a grassroots approach to fund raising. My html assignment is very simplistic, but the tags that are used to tell the browser how to display the page is a very easy system. I was somewhat apprehensive about trying to use a "hypertext markup language". The wording made it sound very technical, and that I would need some 500 page manual to learn how to use it properly. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to make changes to the html final within minutes. I am absolutely sure with practice that I can make a really engaging and visually pleasing blog that will encourage people to spend time reading about Farscape. And now for my link to the web page assignment.

Top Level Domain Summary

I found the practice with top level domain searching to be very informative. Depending on the topic, the top level domain search can be very useful. For the topic of censorship, the .edu domain was by far the most useful. It cut out tons of terrible newspaper articles and useless blog posts. It brought me directly to the law departments of well known and credible universities that would only allow appropriate posts by knowledgeable people that used very credible resources. I initially did not like Bing as a search tool, but after using it in combination with Google I have decided that it is fairly useful. I think that I would recommend that people engage in top level domain searches with the Google vs. Bing search tool when beginning a search for a paper. I wish that the Digital Librarian would have provided a search tool for her site. I think the Amazon search bar is a disingenuous strategy to divert people to the Amazon marketplace.

Subject Directory

I decided to use the subject directory Digital Librarian, and found it to be a somewhat irritating resource. Why is there a search bar at the top that shoots me directly over to Amazon? There are obviously many good resources that Margaret Anderson has found and cataloged. Why doesn't she provide a search tool that searches the directory that she has created? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of an internet based subject directory? Part of the usefulness of digital media is the ability to search without having to thumb through material letter by letter. I would like to use this directory, but she needs to find someone to code an internal search engine into the site. I know some high school kid could do it. She could probably find some widget on the internet that she could grab the code to and paste it into her site. I think many people would find her site more interesting and useful if she did this.

.com search

I again went with the Google vs. Bing search tool. It gives me an interesting sample side by side that makes searching pleasant and more pain free. The article that I found was from the Huffington Post. I am a little unsure about using articles from the HuffPo. I know that it is a news aggregator, but it does have original articles. I would approach my instructor ahead of time before using it, just to make sure it is suitable for an academic paper. The article is written by Glenn Greenwald who is a lawyer and published writer that has contributed to established and reliable publications such as the The New York Times and the L.A. Times. The article was also written recently and within the last five years.

Greenwald, Glenn. The Huffington Post. Palin: First Amendment Rights Threatened By Criticis. December 1, 2008. March 9, 2010. www.huffingtonpost.com

.gov search

The Google vs. Bing search is proving to be a very efficient search tool. I used it again for my "first amendment" basic rights search. I found an interesting .gov site that has a faq about public access television. This is not an article, but it does provide very interesting insight to how the city of Seattle deals with censorship and cable media. The site is published by the city of Seattle, so the views are the approved view of the City Council. I would use this website to demonstrate how a city allows people to express themselves initially, but will consider censorship if their is a public outcry.

Seattle.gov. Who should I contact if I have a complaint regarding a program on the Seattle Community Access Network (SCAN) on Channel 29/77? March 8, 2010. March 9, 2010. www.seattle.gov.

.edu search

I have decided after further thought that the Google vs. Bing site is a handy way to search. I entered "first amendment" basic rights :.edu into the search field.

Hoover, Brandon James. Binghamton University, State University of New York. The First Amendment Implications of Facebook, Myspace, and Other Online Activity of Students in Public High Schools. March 3, 2010. March 9, 2010. www.binghamton.edu.

This article is an excellent law source because the article is extensively sited with very credible resources. It is from a respectable public learning institution. The author is a lawyer that has published other works at university publishing houses that have been peer reviewed.

.org search

I used Google to search for my .org site. I used the search statement "first amendment"+basic+rights :.org. This site is definitely slanted toward unions and the middle class, so it is important to keep that in mind when using it, but it does give an accurate voice to the liberal side of free speech rights.

National Coalition Against Censorship. Free Expression at Risk, and Elsewhere. 12-15-2009. 2-27-2010.

Search Tools

For this assignment I chose to use Bing. It does not seem much different than Google as far as search results. I think that I prefer Google's clean start page. I found an interesting website that allows you to see both pages side by side: Bing vs. Google.

Five search features that Bing has:

1. quotation marks around a phrase will make Bing search for the exact phrase
2. if you type define, then a search term, Bing will find definitons
3. using OR in a search will combine search terms
4. using NOT will exclude a term from a search
5. you can use the categories at the top of Bing to search specific areas like images, shopping items, or videos related to the search term

Overall I just don't like the way Bing looks. I guess it is pretty, but I like a more utilitarian approach to search tools.

Excercise Summary

I rather liked the tutorial and the research exercises. It gave me a better feeling for how to use the Boolean operators to narrow the search results (although I still feel a little uncomfortable. I think I will get the hang of it with practice) and get relevant articles and information. I also like how the EBSCO and ProQuest databases have specific filters for limiting what type of resource is displayed. I think I may be repeating myself, but I wish I had taken this course during my first term back in school. The resources that the library has are staggering, and the ease of use is amazing. I am looking forward to our future units to see what other techniques I can learn to make better academic papers.

Newspaper article

GENE POLICINSKI. (2009, October 31). First Amendment doesn't shield us from private infringements. The News - Item,A.4. Retrieved February 14, 2010, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 1891526311).

I think this is a useful article because it discusses the difference between government and private applications of the First Amendment. I did not realize that businesses like eBay and Home Depot had the right to censure employees or other individuals using their services.

Scholarly article

Charo, R. Alta. "Fear and the First Amendment." Hastings Center Report 36.5 (2006): 12-13. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 14 Feb. 2010.

I chose this article because it discusses the fears that scientists have with performing research. Many wonder if their research is protected by the First Amendment and whether they should research topics that could endanger their careers. I think it is useful because it was published in the last 5 years, the author is a professor of law at a university, and the publisher is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit bioethics research institute.

Magazine article

Matt Welch. (2004, July). Outlaw Editors. Reason, 36(3), 11-12. Retrieved February 14, 2010, from Research Library. (Document ID: 655638491).

I think that this is a valuable resource because the article documents how the Bush administration used technical language to get around the provisions of the First Amendment. I think it is also useful because it provides a historic viewpoint that a critic of the decision had.

Search Statement

I tried the following Boolean search statements:

"basic first amendment" and right* This gave me 2 results in the EBSCO database and no results in ProQuest.

"basic first amendment" or right* This gave me 8950819 results in ProQuest and 344354 results in EBSCO.

basic and "first amendment" and right* This gave 37 results in EBSCO and 602 in ProQuest.

I decided to stick with the last search statement to go about finding articles.

Boolean use....

Here is the question I chose to use:

What are our basic first amendment rights?

This is the way I would do a boolean search on this question:

basic and " first amendment" and right*

This is a great way to search for information but I have a feeling I will not remember how to search this way. Is there some sort of quick reference I could use to remember?

Week 4 Summary

I took a class last term that required me to write three papers throughout the course. I had no idea that any of these research tools were available to me for free through Clark College. I would have used the library. I think this class should be required for all new students so they can be aware of the tools that are available to them. I would rank the four tools I used in the following way:

1) Cannell Library-easy to use, easy to understand
2) Google Books-doesn’t always apply but helpful for getting started
3) Summit Catalog-slightly confusing
4) IT Pro-too specific information

Twenty years ago, when I was first attending college, I did all of my work on a typewriter and did all my research with physical books, so it is great to learn about how I can still participate in the academic world while coping with debilitating cancer.

Google Books

Search Term(s) used: Movie Censorship

Citation information for the book:
Title: Censoring sex: a historical journey through American media
Author: John E. Semonche
Edition: illustrated Publisher Rowman & Littlefield, 2007
ISBN: 0742551326, 9780742551329

What clues does Google Books provide that lead you to believe this book is trustworthy? This book was written less than five years ago. The author is a professor of history at the University of North Carolina. The publisher is an independent academic press that publishes academic material.

IT Pro

The IT Pro collection of e-books was very appealing. I tried out several searches pertaining to my studies in other courses and the IT Pro collection came up with some really great e-books having relevance to my inquiries. It is very helpful being able to search by ISBN, title, or author. It makes for a flexible search tool that allows you several different ways to find works, sources, and keywords that are helpful. I think it would also be a great tool for verifying a resources credibility.

Summit Catalog Search

Search Term(s) used- Movie Censorship
Citation information for one book: Controlling Hollywood : censorship and regulation in the studio era
Author: Matthew Bernstein

Publisher: New Brunswick, NJ : Rutgers University Press, ©1999.
Series: Rutgers depth of field series

Edition/Format: Book : State or province government publication : English

Subject Headings: Motion pictures—Censorship—United States--History
Location and Call Number for the Book: 15 Libraries in the network have this book available 40820938
What clues in the book record lead you to believe that this book is credible, or trustworthy? The author is a prolific writer who has been published by numerous academic presses. The date of publication is not current but I am envisioning a paper that explores the history of censorship in the motion picture industry.
How did this search differ from the search in the Cannell Library Book Catalog? This search was a bit more time consuming and confusing. I myself prefer the Cannell Library book Catalog.

Cannell Library

My search term was censorship. The book I found was:

Censorship of the movies; the social and political control of a mass medium / Richard S. Randall. Publication Info Madison : University of Wisconsin Press, c1968.

The subject headings for this book are: Motion pictures—Censorship—United States
This is a circulating book that is available to check out for 21 days.

This book can be found on the second floor of the Cannell Library. Call No. KF4300 .R3

I believe this would be a credible resource because it is from a university press, however it would only be useful in a paper about the history of censorship because it is not a recent work.

Matching Sources to Needs

For my first research question, What are our basic first amendment rights?, I would use the US Bill of Rights as a reference source and scholarly law journals that give professional interpretations on legal rights in regards to censorship.

For my second research question, What kind of censorship do movie productions have to deal with?, I would use the World Wide Web to get some ideas of who faces censorship and then search for scholarly journals on the topic to get expert information and opinions.

For my third research question, How does media censorship affect civil rights in China?, I would again use the World Wide Web to find out who might be speaking out for Chinese citizens, then find credible news sources with accurate reporting of facts.

Summary for Research Journal

I found this experience to be extremely enlightening. Last quarter I took my first online class and was ill prepared. I wish I would have been privy to this amazing information for use during my final paper. If I would have been informed that the GVRL was available to me I would have had a much easier time collecting information for that class. I used Wikipedia to try and find ideas and articles pertaining to my subject but I found this very tedious and unsuccessful. The GVRL is so easy to use and has already helped me come up with so many ideas. I just did a quick search for women's studies and found a myriad of sources that would have given me a far better research paper. I look forward to learning more useful techniques in this class.

Three Research Questions

Here are my three research questions that allowed me to focus my search concerning censorship:

• What are our basic first amendment rights?
• What kind of censorship do movie productions have to deal with?
• How does media censorship affect civil rights in China?

I found this to be very interesting and I am sure this will help me focus on future searches throughout my college career. I look forward to learning even more on research techniques.

Wikipedia Search vs. Library Search

The topic I chose was censorship. The tool I used was Wikipedia. The search term I entered was censorship. Here is the keyword list:

Censorship

1. Political Censorship
2. Meta Censorship
3. Implementation
4. Map alteration
5. Internet
6. Specific Country

Here is my citation for Wikipedia:

Censorship. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 15 January 2010. Web. 16 January 2010.

I found the deep web much more helpful and in depth than Wikipedia. It was quite shocking to see the differentiation between the two search tools.

First Research Journal Post

The topic I chose was censorship. The tool I used was the Gale Virtual Reference Library. The search term I entered was censorship. Here is the keyword list:

Censorship

1. Obscenity
2. Boycotts
3. “citizen” groups
4. Hicklin rule
5. Prior restraint
6. Book banning
7. Moral standards
8. First amendment
9. Media
10. Motion picture production code (1930)
11. Mail and postal
12. Merchandising under scrutiny for movies
13. China
14. Germany
15. “virtual police officers” in Beijing

Here are my citations for sources:

Censorship of Books (Canon Law). J. C. CALHOUN and J. A. CORIDEN. New Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. p336-337.

Censorship, Obscenity, and Pornography Law and Policy. Andrea Friedman. Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered History in America. Ed. Marc Stein. Vol. 1. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. p202-205.

Farscape Webisodes

Farscape was an amazing sci-fi show conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by Jim Henson Productions. It was canceled after four seasons and Farscape's faithful watchers were left with a cliffhanger which had no following season to resolve. Brian Henson later secured the rights to Farscape and produced a three hour miniseries called, "Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars. This was great but I was left wanting more. In December of 2008 a comic-book miniseries was released and now I am still left waiting for my Farscape needs to be fulfilled. The only answer is new Farscape webisodes that still have not come into fruition. I know I cannot be the only one who feels this way, there has to be scores of us out there breathlessly awaiting our Farscape fix. Oh well, after all tomorrow is another day!