Encyclopedia vs. Wikipedia

Since we didn't have class on this I will just go off of what I personally know about both of these sources. Some pros about encyclopedias are that they are a reliable source. They also have been around for a long time and you can find a lot of information inside of them. A con about encyclopedias is that you aren't able to check them out so you can only use them when you are in the library. Some pros about wikipedia are that you don't have to go to the library to look at a book you can just go online and everything is there for you. It is very convenient. Some cons about wikipedia are that it isn't such a reliable source as the encyclopedia. Anyone can write something in the internet and you cant always believe what is on it. Wikipedia is a website that anyone can make changes to if they don't feel like the information on it is correct or credible. I didn't look for print or E-encyclopedias because I wasn't really sure how to. I am anxious to learn how to find them because I want to learn more things about my population. 

OPAC Search Experience

The topic that I have chosen to do the research semester project on is substance abusers. More specifically I have chosen to do it on those who abuse steroids. I am looking for both general and specific information on my topic. I know what steroids do but I want to learn more about the drug, why people use it, how the drug makes a body look bigger and more muscular, and other things too. The thing that I used to look for my books was the SCSU library. I used the online library books and video advanced search. In the keywords I typed in Substance abusers and steroids. I was very successful in finding a lot of different books for my topic on my first try. I was able to find an EBook. I dont really like EBooks because they make me kind of dizzy and I'm not able to flip through pages as easily as a regular book. I don't have a mobile device that allows me to read an EBook. The first time I searched a book on the Great River Regional Library System I didn't get any results for the keywords that I had used. I tried it again on the Great River Regional Library System website and I typed in the same keywords as I did with the SCSU library and I did get results this time but I wasn't as successful. On the GRRL I only received one book result versus like fifteen on the SCSU library. The only difference that I had with the two searches is that I had a lot more results for one of them.

What Do You Assume to Be True About... Substance Abusers?

The "vulnerable population" that I think I should learn more about over the course of the semester is substance abusers. I think that I should learn more about this population because I am a college student and it is assumed that a lot of college students are substance abusers. One thing that I assume to be true about this population is that they are usually of a minority group. They range of all ages. Some start at a young age and some still use at a old age. I also assume that a lot of substance abusers sell their body or have sex to get their drugs. They are also addicted and don't have much money because they are always spending it on drugs or alcohol. I learned these things from people at school, my family, and the media. The most difficult thing that I think I will have in doing research on the population that I have selected is that there will be a lot of information on it that it might be too much information for me to handle.

What is Critical Thinking?

My definition of critical thinking is analyzing or evaluating information to come to a conclusion to the question. Thinking critically takes a lot of thought and you have to think deeply about the information. I have heard this term before. I have heard it in some of my high school english classes when my teachers asked us to think about the question critically. Another place where I've heard about it is in my Philosophy class that I am taking this semester. An "expert's" definition of critical thinking is, "the mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion. (Dictionary.com/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/critical+thinking) The expert does identify a particular process that one must engage in to think critically and that is a mental process.I think that the connection between critical thinking and IM 204 Research Strategies is that with these blogs we are going to have to think critically about them. Also with the Semester Research Project I believe that we are going to have to really think critically about the whole thing.