Discovery Research Log

This page is will be updated as we progress through the semester.

One of our course learning outcomes (#4) focuses on the kinds of research you will do most often in most academic courses. We say that students' portfolios will:

"Demonstrate their ability to locate, read, evaluate, select, and use (integrate) effectively information from appropriate sources with their own ideas."

However, a larger (and perhaps more important) goal of this course and of a college education, is to change (or expand) the ways you think of "research." Instead of your being a better "researcher," we want you to be more "information literate." We want you to begin to recognize that "research" is a way to learn, to become well-informed --about a topic, an issue, a concern, a problem that may be of interest to you, relevant for you (or not!).

You already know from other experiences in your life that being well informed helps you make better choices, helps you make important decisions. You may also have experiences in which knowing more, being well informed or better informed, has made you a better employee, employer, friend, spouse, family member, organization member, and / or citizen.

As information (and knowledge) expands exponentially and is available in unprecedented quantities and various kinds of quality, being able to "learn" more (and trust what you are learning) about anything continues to be more challenging.

Individuals who are more "information literate" and who know how to continue to develop their information literacy will have more opportunities (and chances) to be successful in life, to be valued and valuable members of the numerous communities in which they participate and to which the contribute--as citizens, family members, organization members, neighbors, professionals, etc.

This "Research to Learn" sequence in ENGL 1302 is meant to help you achieve not only the course outcome but also to support this larger (often unspoken) goal of helping you become more "information literate," changing how you think about, do, and use "research."

This sequence includes Discovery Log entries as the primary "ongoing" activities/assignments.

What Should Each Entry Include?

To download the Discovery Log template, click here.

What is your research question(s)?
Date and time spent for each of your research sessions
Keywords you use for each search; how you determined them.
Tools: databases, search engines, reference from other source, etc.
List author, title, and the link to the source for each result you consulted / read / or determined as useful
Notes for each source, recording what you thought was useful / interesting; including quotes, paraphrases, data, etc. that contributes to your learning.
For each research session, a reflective summary of what you did, how it contributed to your learning about your issue, and what you plan to do in your next research session. (Include information about how / why you added research questions or changed them; about what new search terms you will try or did try, and why; about how you might use the information you have found or how it adds to your knowledge about your issue (Anything new? How does it relate to what else you are learning? etc.) In addition / finally, for each of these reflective summaries, explain / explore how the work you did relates to / connects with / illustrates one or more of the 6 Information Literacy concepts (At least the ones we have read so far). You may use the Phrasebank in order to reflect on your session!

Making Connections...

As you research, read, and learn about your focus, you will begin to identify its parts, and the connections among the parts. In addition, as you identify and read more sources, you'll begin to recognize how they relate to one another, as if they were in conversation-agreeing, expanding, disagreeing, offering different perspectives, etc.
Regularly, as you engage in more research, you will be looking at this bigger picture and writing about these connections or developing a mind map or a visual concept map. In other words, you will be developing a fuller understanding of your focus, identifying its scope, its parts, and their connections.

Entries

(click on the date to access the class plan when we started that entry)

Discovery Log #1 (due 9/2)

Write an informal letter to classmates and myself. In that letter, tell us what you have decided to research to learn more about this semester. What one (or two) question(s), issue(s), concern(s), problem(s), topic(s), etc. do you want to learn more about this semester? What do you want to research more so you become better informed? Ideally this will be some fairly general or big topic, etc. Nothing is restricted.

Discovery Log #2 (due 9/9)

Begin researching your issue/topic based on your Discovery Log #1. Do some general research through Google. Use Wikipedia?? Be sure to create your own question(s) to guide your research.

Discovery Log #3 (due 9/16)

Continue researching your topic. You want to think if this is a good time to change key words and phrases or use the same ones. You should also be keeping track of which notes come from which sources.

Discovery Log #4 (due 9/23)

Use this week's DL to explore the primary source you found in the library on Wednesday (9/19). Remember, this primary source document is going to be used for you IA #1!

Instead of the Reflective Summary at the end of the DL template, for this entry ONLY, respond to the following:

Find the Addressing Situations button under "Assignments and Due Dates." Use the IA #1's primary source to discuss the following:

Exigence: Why is the author writing about this issue?
Purpose: What does the author expect from the audience? What knowledge should the audience know or what do they need to know?
Genre: How is the writing being presented to the audience?
Context: When? Where? Why? How?

Discovery Log #5 (due 9/30)

For this week's entry, focus on figuring out what you are wanting to show or do with the issue you have been researching. Pick an idea that is interesting to you and that you could possibly turn into an argument. Think about the so-what of your issue. Who care's? What is something you could add to the conversation? (Think about the FIL concept of Scholarship as a Conversation)

Discovery Log #6 (due 10/7)

Use the following method to find 2-3 sources.

Use a source from a Discovery Log #5.
Find 2-3 sources from that source by following the conversation. Using the Works Cited, Reference page, etc. find sources that you can use for your next DL.
Once you have found those sources, take notes for each source. How do you see the conversation taking place?

Discovery Log #7 (due 10/21)

Thinking about our Intersections: Situations and Genres: for this entry, focus on researching audiences and the types of genres they are exposed to.

Try to focus on 2 types of audiences. Do not be general and say Americans. Pinpoint specific groups you want to target. Why do you want to target them? What types of writing are they exposed to?
- Why did you pick these audience(s)? How would they benefit from your advocacy?
Evaluating Online Sources

Discovery Log #8 (due 10/21)

Thinking of our discussion on the FYS and its connection to the Intersections project, use DL #8 as a way of researching a connection between your issue you've been researching and the historical timeframe Dr. Wooster focuses on.

As part of the couple of sources you will find for this entry, one of the sources should be a scholarly source. This can be either a physical book from the library or using the databases.
- What is a scholarly source? (Watch this!)
- Evaluating Online Sources

Discovery Log #9 (due 10/28)

This discovery log will be following the conversation from your Discovery Log #8. Find a source cited in your scholarly source. In your scholarly source (DL8) find quotations from another source.

How is your DL #8 using the other source? What does it say?
- After figuring that out, take notes from the new source.
Follow the conversation to at least 2 more sources.

Discovery Log #10 ( due 11/4)

Find a podcast relating to your issue or ideas you are exploring for your Intersections project!
- Use this entry to find information you may be lacking/needing for your 1st 2 Genres. You can also either explore a source that you have not been able to log. Remember, you should be trying to find a couple of sources for your logs...

Discovery Log #11 (due 11/11)

Use this week's entry to do research you are lacking for the FYS presentation (3rd Genre). If you need help finding something to research, ask!

Discovery Log #12 (due 11/18)

Use this week's entry to do look at least 2 of the videos below. These are helpful on how to address the FYS presentation. Use the template.

Discovery Log #13 (due 12/2)

Use this week's DL to get caught up on any research you are needing for the Intersections! Be sure to use the template for this entry. This is the last one so make it count!
If you feel like you have nothing to research...Let's talk!

Triad E Writing and Rhetoric

Fall 2018