Excellent Source Of Information example essay topic

Running head: STUDENT SURVIVAL GUIDE Student Survival GuideTineisha D. Taylor Western International University IT 101 Skills for Learning in an Information Age Don B ronsard, Ph. D. Computers, Internet, electronics are all apart of technology. Businesses are being buffeted by an increasingly rapid rate of change. There are new products, new regulations new customers and new technology in almost every industry. Part of that new technology is distance learning. More and more of adults are taken advantage of it.

It is very convient for that working adult with spouse and kids or the adult going back to school. However some adults are not as savvy with the Internet or computer. Both items are essential in order to become a distance-learning student. Therefore I have created a student survival guide that would be useful for a new online student. Conducting Successful Library and Internet Searches The Internet provides access to a wealth of information on countless topics contributed by people throughout the world.

A user has access to a wide variety of services and access protocols. These protocols such as http and e-mail allow users to search and retrieve material. The Internet is not a library in which items can be retrieved by a single catalog. No one knows how many files reside on the internet. The number runs into a few billion and is growing at a rapid pace. When As if you were traveling from place to place in the real world; you have to in a virtual environment.

Look for every entrance to a topic and every potential door that may lay hidden behind that room with no apparent end. Therefore, it may seem daunting, but it is nothing more than changing the way you view your particular topic from a different perspective, or angle. It may be as simple as looking for the opposite or slightly off the topic in order to find the major you are looking for. Another good reference for researching the Internet is web or A Research Guide for Students by I. Lee, he gives a lot of good information and places to start. There are many different ways to search for information on the internet. Ultimately looking at a topic from many different points of view, can help you find the information you are looking for.

The Internet is a very large set of computers. In a matter of moments, you can gather information that is been posted from around the world. As you view this information, everything you see becomes obsolete because the Internet is growing as fast as our humanity can create new ways to view technology. Seeing the Internet and the information involved as if it were a three-dimensional evolving entity can as well help you navigate through it. How and where to find academic resources online Usually where to look is sometimes just as important as how to look for information on the web.

If you find a good search engine once it does not mean it will always be the best engine to use. Sometimes you need to check many different types of search engines. Like everything on the World Wide Web search engines come in many different shapes, sizes and styles. Some are real, poorly developed and some just want to find a way to throw spam at you and hope that you spend money on their, ever so useless product.

Let us start with real search engines and the different types, such as directories, library directories, library catalogs, spider search engines, super searchers, and alternatives to search engines. Directories are topical lists of resources. These are usually compiled information on various topics, usually by a set of individuals who manage the site. Depending on the management's standards, the quality of these as in any engine can vary (Ackermann, 2005). A definite positive to using a directory is that they usually carry less resources of higher quality, thus lessening the haystack, in order to find the proverbial needle.

Search engines, are directories, but most often; these are very large if they are run with a program considered a spider or robot. Spider or robot programs gather document links and load them into their databases, using them for your information (Ackermann, 2005). With most directories, you can search either by category [hierarchical] view or by key word. Sometimes, information updating can be slow due to lack of labor, or information is black listed by the site's management. Examples of directories are web web web and web (Ackermann, 2005). Virtual Libraries are another resource to check into when you are looking online.

These libraries are logically organized resources, like your local community library. There are very few differences, they do not use the dewy decimal system, but rather subject guides, reference works, and specialized databases (Ackermann, 2005). A subject guide is of tremendous value when looking for informational resources, by providing hyperlinks. Reference works are common in any library online or off, they are the encyclopedia, dictionary, and almanac collections. You probably do not usually know your looking at a specialized database, mostly you can think of these like the different sections of your local libraries, non-fiction department.

Online they are search able databases of journal articles, financial data, and other published works. Some examples of this type of directory include WIU College Library, and web You may find more libraries at web The Librarians' Index to the Internet (Ackermann, 2005). Navigating the University Library Our library is an excellent source of information. Finding the relevant information you are looking for, can be quite easy by simply considering how specialized your topic might be. If you are looking for financial or business information, are you as well looking for the stress management in the industry? If the answer is no, then it serves no purpose to search "Health and Wellness Resource Center".

Like most libraries, types of works, such as journals, dictionaries, or books, first categorize ours. Fields of study or databases are next such as business, health, or security. Sometimes we tend to overlook some categories, I have found that not just 'Pro Quest Dissertations and Theses - Full Text' are quite useful but the 'Books, Dissertations, and Theses' contains the 'Oxford Scholarship Online' which is very useful in finding information from Oxford Press (Welcome to the University Library, 2005). Therefore, I would suggest searching more than one database and reading the abstracts carefully before assuming they will be useful. This will save the time of having too much information to sort through later and it will save ink if you plan to print any of the information you may want to note and use.

Searching a library can be slightly different than searching in a search engine. You may want to be less specific, due to the smaller amount of resources in order to find the most information on your topic. You are also able to search for specific books so if you know the name of the book you are looking for you might be able to find it in the university library. The university library also contains many databases with which otherwise, you would have to pay or be unable to access under normal internet usage (Getting Started with Research in the University Library, 2005). Evaluating the strength and bias of a source The easiest way to evaluate a source is to do a little research on the source. Ask yourself a few important questions can help you determine if the source is reliable or not.

If you do not check into your sources, you may find yourself quoting opinions you may have thought were facts. This can leave your reader as empty of content as your paper would truly be and you compared to CBS's news blunders. This was when CBS in 2004 chose not to selectively question their sources, affectionately known as memo gate. Following a source based on blind faith, instead of looking at it in a skeptical view could lead to misleading of your readers and your topic.

The perfect reason to question your sources is that you do not want to make national news for such a simple lack of judgment. In the following paragraphs, I have stated several questions you should ask yourself and some of the answers to look for. This way they will bounce around as you look and retrieve your research. What is the source's intention?

Is this source actually a commercial, there to spout their own agenda in picking the pockets of the unknowing and innocent web surfers? Whether by advertising an agenda of political, social, or even economical influence, a web page could contain anything. Anyone may publish a webpage and few edited by any governing source (Kennedy et al, 2005). Who is the author? Knowing who the author is can be just as important in giving you that important answer to intent. If the author is an organization or a person you may be able to find more information by checking their 'about us / me ' link, this is how many a page is set up.

Once there you may be able to find information on educational or career credentials, even recommendations and affiliations (Kennedy et al, 2005). Based on this you may find whether an author is bias towards one side of the topic. As well, you may also feel that by looking the author up in a search engine and seeing what connections to the author (Ackermann, 2005). Is the source from a reputable newsmagazine? Generally, a newsmagazine does through research of their facts and range of opinions, this being how they gained an astute reputation (Kennedy et al, 2005). Not counting the previous mentioned CBS, they generally use experts and post their credentials with the report.

Occasionally in some cases though the facts can, contain editorial influence rather than that of equally balanced opinions (Kennedy et al, 2005). How up-to-date is a source? What good does it do when researching an article on employee rights to fair wage if the article you are using is misquoting the current minimum wage? Honestly, the article was actually current when your parents where in high school and now that you are in college you plan to use the same source they did.

Now there is a three-dollar difference and gas prices are over a dollar fifty in difference. This would be very difficult to prove the hard ship or the relationship between now and then. Then you went to get gas and someone might pump it for you, now you do it your self along with working the register with your credit card. Upholding Academic Honesty Using someone's words without giving them credit is theft. You are stealing their ideas, thoughts, and creation. It is like repainting the Mona Lisa, and selling it to the highest bidder.

Doing the best you can at giving Da Vinci his due, by quoting, citing, and referencing him will make you a grateful host to the authors information. Thus, allowing you to use the information for your educational purpose. Avoiding Plagiarism To avoid the ungracious host syndrome the best bet I can provide is to reference, quote and cite. Any documentation you use for information in your paper needs to be referenced correctly. Whether it is a video or a book, there are correct manors of referencing each source.

There is only one exception, common knowledge, or considered knowledge that everyone should know. These could be big historical events, history, or trivial facts. The biggest problem might be if you do not know whether information is common knowledge or not. In this case, look it up and use the source you can find that is correct. Always when in doubt, cite (When to document, 2005).

Correctly citing references There are several ways to cite a source correctly based on the author, type, and media. As that, we are using the APA format, which is extremely strict with little room for form. I really like using several different resources to help figure out what resources are to be written in what manner. The first rule that you must know is if you are direct quoting, or paraphrasing. Direct quotes longer than 40 words should move from being in quotes to being in an indented paragraph style. In addition, a quote should be cited in the text with the author's name, date and page numbers in parenthesis.

With paraphrasing, you are giving the same information in your own words and cited in the document with author's name, and date in parenthesis (Kennedy et al, 2005). Next, we will work on the references, with the some of the basic rules and other resources. These are some very important rules to remember when writing your references: 1. Starting with the reference, we need to use the author's name this should be stated last name first and then the initials of the first and middle names (Using American Psychological Association (APA) Format (Updated to 5th Edition), 2002).

2. The reference list should always be alphabetized, usually by the author, but if no author is found you are to use the title's first main word. Do not use small words such as the, is and are (Western International University Writing Style Handbook, 2004). 3. When having more than one author uses the comma to separate each name and an ampersand for the last name in the reference list.

Within the citation of the paper however you may use the first author in the list and the term et al for the others. Then finish the citation as you normally would (Using American Psychological Association (APA) Format (Updated to 5th Edition), 2002). 4. Another good rule to remember is to always state the authors name in order, exactly the way they appear in the reference documentation (Using American Psychological Association (APA) Format (Updated to 5th Edition), 2002). 5. When using capitalization only the first word of titles, sub-titles, and proper names are to be capitalized in the reference list, using normal capitalization within the paper citation.

6. You are as well to remember proper punctuation, and style when writing resources, these play a key role in dividing, and displaying which information is what, such as the title from the date and the pages from the edition. I have found a site that does a wonderful job of showing this as you may find it under number four " (see Table 1) ". There are many other rules these are just a few that could be easily forgotten. The APA format is a sensitive format leaving little way for leeway in writing reference's and citations. My last piece of advice has to be that you need to search for the rule that fits each individual source you are trying to refer ence.

The rules are as infinite as the literature's types are; of course, the small things seem to be the biggest problem areas and to read them carefully. Use other sources, ones outside of our handbook, to help identify what rule fits what reference best and to document the type of reference upon the research document prints, which I have suggested can make writing your paper much easier. This way you may refer to your notes on each document and know what you may need for each of the reference's as well. Knowing that our handbook cannot cover all of the source types that are out there I have to suggest looking in a couple other areas. Please for the information on a slew of alternate information", (see Table 1) ".

Table 1 Other Citation Reference's 1. Location: web a pa. html#Your%20 Reference%20 List Name: Online Writing Lab from Purdue University Description: They do an easy to understand job and have many examples to define each source. 2. Location: web Name: APA Research Style Crib Sheet by Russ Dewey of Georgia State University Description: This is mostly a bullet ed list of pointers also known as a crib sheet.

3. Location: web Name: APA Citation Style Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition By Robert Delaney from Long Island University. Description: This site color-codes the references so you know which mean what. 4. Location: web Name: Landmarks Citation Machine By David Warwick & The Landmark Project Description: This does help create some styles, it can cut the time, has both MLA and APA. Developing Effective Study Skills Now on to the fun stuff of learning, in every class you must do so.

Not very exciting nor is it easy but it most be done to fulfill your needs and pass your class. As that, every class has its own unique teachings as that each is different and every teacher is different. Studying can be overwhelming at times and seem to be never-ending but it is unavoidable of college life. Changing learning habits to evolve around new curriculum might come as a challenge with some students. This could be a good beginning to be a fully functional student, and to accomplish the best possible work. In any case, some may differ in choices to study in such an organized environment but others would be lost without it.

Forming study skills for a distance learning environment Learning and adapting to our information age plays a big part in forming study skills. Personal learning style the ways that you use to make learning easier for you can very from person to person creating a natural environment for you to openly learn information is the best way to start. Although each person is different, some small things you can do to prepare for studying are to organize, both your environment and your information. Making sure, all of your tools and books are within arms reach. Having to stop your train of thought in the middle of full speed can derail even the smartest of individuals. If your tools and books are near by you will not need to get up as often to search for necessary items.

The desktop and environment you use must be clean and free of piles of junk. While some do not seem to mind the piles, it bothers others and leaves little thought of anything else. It can be distracting to concentrate when plagued with a continual feeling to clean up the mess. Limiting the only pile to be one of books and class materials lessons this urge.

Third some like to have it quiet and mostly this does let those think clearly. Although occasionally some prefer to quiet voices around themselves, by choosing to wear headphones and playing their favorite music, which can tend to make work go by faster and allows the relaxation of learning in tune with the music. Lastly, others are extremely fussy about their hand written notes and keep them in an order they can particularly understand. This way they are easier to read later on, in review and if it is too messy, it can make it very hard to understand. Using SQ 3 R and other study habits The term SQ 3 R is one to know well, it will give an advantage in studying large amounts of information in a short span of time. A textbook has no plot and there is not a reason to skip to the end of the book to find out what chemicals mixed with other chemicals exploded into a mess of who did it.

So why read the book from beginning to the end as if you do when you read a story. You do not follow the book chapter by chapter in most classes. This technique uses active study habits to allow you to process and retain information both in greater amounts and for longer periods (Carter et al, 2002). First, we begin by previewing the book or Surveying. This is checking over the table of contents and the headers. Skimming the introduction is also quite helpful.

Check out the chapters and look at headings, outlines, introduction's, tables, and other special information usually highlighted or noted in bold (Carter et al, 2002). Second, is question, develop questions or answer the ones from the book. Always wondered why your teacher made you do the end of the chapter questions this is why. Keep these in mind before reading, letting it bounce around can actually make you think hey that is the answer.

Therefore, when you think of the text you will remember this answer because you can refer to it through the question (Carter et al, 2002). The next is reading, engaging the material by creating examples from what you understand or note taking, considered active reading (Carter et al, 2002). This process allows you the opportunity to relate to the material and gives you a greater understanding of the given topics. Remember the questions that are bouncing around in your head waiting for the answer well with active reading you write the answer when it appears and can always refer back it in review (Carter et al, 2002). While you are reading, you should follow some points and keep others in mind if needed. Like "look for central ideas" usually found in the first and last lines of the paragraphs.

Then there are certain methods of note taking which mine is not in but what works is what is important not how (Carter et al, 2002). Note taking is very important, they suggest marking in the book, I suggest writing on a separate paper, and printing research material found. The writing because it is more elaborate tends to remind some of the words which they wrote, while the printing helps when noting a topic for a paper in which case you can always refer back to. But in either case our text book suggests reading the material first before note taking to save on unnecessary marking of page or your hand cramping up which ever is deemed more fitting for your style (Carter et al, 2002). After you have put forth the effort of reading, note taking and generally driving yourself nuts finding the answers to a bunch of questions, they would like you to make complete and utter fools of yourself by talking to yourself.

Yes, they call it recite, whether it is your notes or the chapters themselves they say it helps, and they are probably correct. First, the eyes take in the information you are reading aloud that your mouth is using its muscles to do and with which your ears hear to commit to memory. This may make people avoid you like the plague but at least you will have a better grade in class than they do (Carter et al, 2002). The last step in the method is review, this would be to go over everything you have read, note taken and recited aloud causing others to flee, and realize you really need to do it all over again. Just to make sure you have not forced every tidbit and squeezed every drop of the knowledge at hand out of the topic you are studying. About this time, you may feel as if your head is going to implode or explode as the case may be.

That is the times when you know with the utmost certainty that you are probably finished studying. That you probably do not have the photographic memory you have always dreamed, but you can review anytime and often (Carter et al, 2002). Below I have listed a few short notes and helpful tactics (Carter et al, 2002): 1. Skim your notes and then write a summary from what you remember of them. Sometimes you will find you will not need to skim your notes.

2. Use the questions provided for you at the end of your chapter both before and after you read your content. 3. Quiz yourself on the topic and if needed use it open book style. 4.

Note take by creating an outline of the material and ad to comments in the margins. 5. Reread preface, introductory, headings and tables to clue in and remind you of certain points of the material. 6. Break ideas down and make examples using systematic instructions, written next to the example of course. 7.

Discuss concepts, main points, and different opinions about the topic with an individual in or out of your classmates. There are several other techniques and as you go, you might find many others. However, in many ways you have to adapt by bending these rules to fit your needs. Flexibility in learning and environment is a true advantage.

A bigger challenge always lay ahead how you handle it is the key. Managing Time Wisely This can be the toughest thing you can do. This is my downfall and I am so close I can taste. I have found a few things of help seeing that my schedules can change in a blink and my pocket book as well.

First, I bought a cell phone this way many calls can be made while on the road. Second it helps to make the family pitch in, with myself threatening to quit seems to do the trick. I as well have found that my family is more helpful for antidotes as well, as reminding me of many tasks that otherwise I might forget. I have also purchased new software to make note taking and tracking my day a bit easier. I found Active Desktop Calendar by web this handy little program lets me easily put things into a calendar that appears in the background of my desktop. Little icons show me what events are on what days.

All I have to do is boot and look at my desktop. Next handy program I found was Quick Notes Plus by web this gadget lets me create notes and run them on my desktop as well as saving them for later reference. If all this is not enough I plan on scheduling my days and exactly what I must do for each individual class so that my assignments are done long before they are due, and only have to turn them in on their perspective due dates. I have found myself this term crunching the time way more than necessary and will work on resolving this issue now that I know more of what is expected of my schooling. The unknown is killing me and happening way to often I will be looking for more ways to resolve issues before they may become a problem. Setting and Achieving Goals My long-term educational goals are to obtain my bachelors in computers.

At times of late, this has seemed an impossible task but I am one to take a challenge and run with it. I enjoy working with computers. I have spent many hours learning on my own how to work with computers and their programs. Eventually I hope to obtain a business license and begin working for myself. In this area, quite a few computers and very little business repair. The only correlation between my current career and my future career is the fact they are both business that work with customers.

I am a determined and have learned many things about working with customers while in my current position. My boss is showing me the ropes, no matter how cranky and trying the customer might be. I am determined to obtain my degree so that I will not have to be on my feet for my entire shift. I want more, for me and for my family.

The only way to accomplish these goals is to do the best I can and complete school.

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The bedford guide for college writers. 7th ed. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin's. Carter, C., Bishop, J., & Krav its, S. (2002).
Keys to college studying. Columbus, OH: Prentice Hall. BIOGRAPHY FOR TINE ISHA D. TAYLOR I am currently working at Care Choices a commercial HMO based in Farmington Hills, Michigan. My current position there is that of a Customer Service Coordinator. Basically in this position I deal w / providers and members who have Care Choices. This is a call center environment, which is open Monday thru Friday from 8: 30 to 6: 00. With the nature of the call center I work from 8: 30 to 5: 00 no weekends or holidays. I am a wife and a mother of two ages 4 and 6 m ths. So my schedule is very busy w / making bottles and preparing two kids every day. So far my daughter is not involved in too many activities at this this time in her life. My husband and I are very involved w / our church and spend much of our time there. I graduated from high school in 1993 and have taken a few classes since then.