In class Blog September 26th

My research question is “What are the psychological effect of anorexia?” I have found that the psychological aspect of anorexia can be just as dangerous as the physical damage. Some people strive to be the best at everything and have a lot of pressure on them from friends, family and society. That desire for perfection not only take over their school work and social life, it takes over their body as well. Some people who struggle with anorexia think that people will think less of them if they do not live up to the standards everyone  else has given them. Others feel that their life is too stressful and they did not have any control over anything in it. The one thing they could control was their weight and they use not eating as a way to have something in their life that is meaningful to them. I still want to find out what else triggers people to not want to eat. Why do people choose that outlet instead of putting that energy into something positive that would have a good impact on other people.  My question may be too broad so I am thinking of narrowing it down to one specific reason anorexia effects the brain. 

Filter Bubbles

Before reading the article and watching this video I had no idea what a filter bubble was. When I listened to the lecture by Eli Pariser, it made me feel a little weird to know that when I enter something into a search engine it specifically made to what I want to know. But then I thought this is not necessarily a bad thing. Filter bubbles, in a way, are helpful in a sense that they are able to tell what you are interested in just because of your previous searches or what you click on Facebook. Though this can be both helpful it’s a little strange as well. Maybe I would like to go outside of my “comfort zone” and look at things that I never thought I would be interested in. I think the suggestions for getting rid of filter bubbles could work. I think deleting your history and watching what type of information you put on websites, such as Facebook, can make a huge change in your research. If there is no “paper trail” there is no way your searches can be limited to just your usual answers or responses. I think I will try deleting the history on my computer. I think it will help a great deal and I will see a change in my upcoming results. 

In class Blog september 19th

Everything I have learned in this class can be applied to my other classes as far as research. Being able to look up books in the library will always be helpful. My major requires me to write many research papers, so that means I will need sources from both books and online databases. It is not only important to know that I need to use these sources but I have to know how to navigate these websites and the library to find what I need in a timely fashion.  Another important resource that I have learned in this class is how to annotate using MLA and APA format for regular books and chapter books. Without knowing how to do this, the papers that write will be completely plagiarized and can cause failure on the assignment and possible expulsion from school. Giving credit to the people that helped your work is one of the most important aspects of writing. The final thing that I have learned from this class is how to refine a research question. Making a question to broad or to small can be a writing hazard. If it is too big, there is too much information to find. If too small, there may not be enough information because researchers have not found any or sufficient results of that topic.

September 12th Homework

I decided to use a different book to annotate called The Thin Women. 

Citation: Malson, Helen. The Thin Woman: Feminism, Post-structuralism, and the Social Psychology of Anorexia Nervosa. New York: Routledge, 1998. Print.

1. This novel is about the history of anorexia and how women have been affected by it by society. 

2. This is a reliable source because it stresses the psychological aspect of anorexia nervosa. 

3. I could use this to answer my research question by looking at the reasons anorexia starts and why it has such a huge effect on women. 

2

September 12th In class Blog

I find that looking up books in Ingram is much easier than looking up books in other libraries. To begin, I actually know how to look up a book and not just ask the librarian for help. Showing what floor the books are on helps a lot so that I am not just wandering around the entire library looking for the book. In Ingram, I’ve noticed that the books are separated into specific categories. For example, my groups’ topic is Anorexia, and each time I looked up a book pertaining to anorexia or body image it was in the same section on the 3^rd floor and all of the call numbers are similar. This can help me to find a specific book and I can also find other books that have to do with Anorexia. The system here is very easy and helpful to understand. Using Gil is also a good way to help find not only books in the library but e-books as well. If a book is checked out you can always find an article or that is peer reviewed or that uses expert opinions which is exactly what we need for our research paper. Ingram has many ways to get different information that is vital for any assignment. 

September 10th Homework Assignment

The two books I chose to look up were Starving Women and Women afraid to eat. I chose these two books because one focuses on all aspects on Anorexia and the other focuses on strictly the Psychological issues. This caught my attention because I am a psychology major and I love to figure out what goes through people’s minds as to why they do what they do and think. If I had to choose a better book to write on my topic it would be Women Afraid to Eat.  This book is more is more up to date than Starving Women. This means is had better information on the most recent discoveries on Anorexia. This book has actual expert opinions not only on anorexia but how it begins, the health effects and the effects social media has on the people who become anorexic. I would use this book to answer my research question by examining each factor of anorexia that our group is looking at. Those factors are the media, the psychological aspect, the health and the emotional reasons behind why men and women have issues with their physical appearance. Women Afraid to Eat covers all of this and more. 

Library Ethnography Project

http://www.slideshare.net/kjmichelle1/library-ethnography-assignment-14227470

In Class Blog September 5th

Using today’s class activity I will make sure our group’s research question is broad enough to have enough information on but not so big that there is not enough time to research everything that is out there on our topic. It is important to make sure the question is not an opinion or biased. Though we can find information that supports our opinion, it would not state the facts and help make others aware of the issues that come with Anorexia and how to prevent or decrease the amount of people that this disease effects. Anorexia is a very broad topic; this is not necessarily a bad thing. We can come up with many questions, narrow them down then pick the best question to concentrate on.