Inquiry: Consume

Most university libraries currently have excellent databases which aid students in consuming scholarly information. However, it is not enough to use these databases as an inclusive form of research, nor is it the most efficient way to do research. Students will gain a more current and accurate understanding of research topics, will gain enthusiasm for the material, and will save research time by using Rich Site Summary (RSS) Feeds, social bookmarking sites, social networking sites and blogs to find material. While these tools cannot usually be used as scholarly sources themselves, these methods actually lead students to find pertinent, quality scholarly articles in the shortest time possible. When used correctly, these methods point out sources that have already been deemed as being valuable by other researchers, and even experts, thus giving the student a spring-board to quickly decide what is current and what is important in their research area. It helps them see why other people are interested in the topic, fostering enthusiasm for the research. These methods also lead to students connecting with real people in the field, which is covered in the next section. Overall, students will get the most out of the research time they have. They will be directed to the areas that they need to focus on and cut out time spent trying to find what is most important in that field.

RSS Feeds

Rich Site Summary (RSS) feeds display search results from selected websites on selected topics, allowing you to stay current on a topic, as well as gain background information. A students’ research paper will be higher in quality if it includes acknowledges the current discussion that is being made on the subject, and students can be aware of the most recent discoveries about the research. If students focus so much on scholarly articles, that they leave out the context and the world conversation on the topic, their paper will be missing the binding factor of their paper, and even the point of them researching the topic. This would be an unfortunate case, since this is where most of the meaning in writing the research paper comes to the students. There is an assortment of free Feed Reader software available to download, and there are a number of books that provide more information on using RSS feeds. [Ref 2a, Ref 2b]

Social Bookmarking

The idea behind social bookmarking is that you are able to save, share, and manage internet links and scholarly articles. This also provides a convenient way of searching for content, whether it is an initial, get-your-feet-wet search, or in the concluding stages of a research project.  Searching social bookmarking sites helps students to find content through finding people. Once a student finds a person who is either interested in, or has expertise in their topic, they can find the material that person has bookmarked. Depending on the social bookmarking service used, students can find links to webpages or scholarly articles. Then, the student can see who  else has bookmarked that article, adding a number of new people to their list of interested parties. The student can then search the articles those people have bookmarked, and continue outward until a whole spiderweb-like network of people and sources has been discovered.  (Photo taken by Alan Reeves)

Following is a list of free social bookmarking services, along with a short description. Unless otherwise indicated, these sites will allow you to search them without setting up an account. Some of these services are strictly for scholarly articles, others have everything from news articles to blog posts, and some have a combination of both. It is important to choose the service that best fits the material being researched. The student, however, can use as many of these services as is needed to find sufficient content.

• BibSonomy (www.bibsonomy.org): Allows for bookmarking of both websites and publications, and will allow searching without getting an account.
• Citeulike (http://www.citeulike.org): Specifically for scholarly references.
• Delicious (http://www.delicious.com): Covers a wide variety of topics, scholarly and non-scholarly; organization of this site is by “stacks”, or topical bundles of links.
• Digg (http://digg.com): Has both search capabilities, as well as general topic pages. Links indicate how many people have bookmarked them, giving a sort of rating system.
• Mendeley (http://www.mendeley.com): Strictly academic; allows downloading of PDF files, annotating of those files, and generating of citations and bibliographies.
• Newsvine (http://www.newsvine.com): Includes news and many other topics pages; features a unique tool called “Conversation Tracker” that allows you to keep track of discussions you have taken part in as well as track discussions of Friends.
• Reddit (http://www.reddit.com): Covers a variety of topics, has a ranking system that determines the order links appear on a webpage.
• Zotero (http://www.zotero.org): Has the ability to collect bibliographic information from a given website, and provides the ability to organize online references. Currently, it stores the references on a specific computer or a portable storage device, and it does not have an easy way of sharing sources. This research tool requires a log-in and download in order to use.

Social Networking
    Becoming part of a social network can greatly enhance consuming information, if it is used properly. Students can search social networks, such as Google+ or Twitter for people who have posted on specific topics, and then find both people and sources, as well as stay current with the most recent discussions on the topic. This is similar to the method used to consume information using social bookmarking. Consuming information by finding people who are invested in the topic will save time, and provide a more inclusive search.

Terry Wassall, a Principal Teaching Fellow of Sociology at Leeds University, shared the following about his use of social networks in doing research:

“I think social media made me a better researcher because I find stuff out a lot quicker. I now have a network of individuals I respect and am confident in their work. The network discovers and filters and discusses. I have connected my research to the real world in a way that would not have been so easy before and maybe not possible. For curriculum development and teaching this has connected with real issues that interest and engage students and has helped them become student researchers in their own right with a broader and more critical take on issues.” (Ref 2c)

With traditional research methods, the results that the student finds depends entirely on what the student searches for. The value that social networks add to consuming information is that the student can find facets of the research topic that they didn’t even know existed. By researching through people, the student can find significant information they didn’t think to search for. In addition, the student will gain enthusiasm for the research, since they are seeing how their research fits into the overall conversation on the subject.

Blogs
           Blogs can also be an extremely effective means of consuming information. Students can find out what others are saying about their topic and what is currently being done about a certain issue by exploring blog posts. Whether the blog is by an enthusiast, or a professional in the field, there is value in students understanding the entire picture of the topic. Also, if there is a clear central conflict or debate about the topic, most blog posts will refer a student directly to the source or original site of a conflict, allowing them to start their research with a clear understanding of the background of the issue. Some research groups and individual researchers have blogs that lists their publications and authored books, so students can find scholarly sources by searching blogs as well (See The Neuro Times). Again, the value here is that students can find developments on their topic that they did not know to even search for. The student’s research will be more complete and current. The following list contains some effective blogging platforms:

• Blogger (http://www.blogger.com/home)
• LiveJournal (http://www.livejournal.com/)
• TypePad (http://www.typepad.com/)
• WordPress (http://wordpress.com/)