The Craft of Research

This is the expanded, FUNNY way of asking Are you sure? and Says who?

One of my colleagues here at school has won a prestigious award.  Some of you may be fortunate enough to have Anne as your research instructor in Craft II.
But for now, you’re stuck with me. 

LOL…OK, maybe not, but when I first investigated what group I should volunteer with for Hurricane Katrina relief, I did look into ACORN before I decided on Habitat for Humanity.

No matter what you think of hidden-camera journalism or the motives of conservatives, these videos just fascinate me.  First Baltimore, then DC, now New York.  I’m laughing because I think the guy even looks a little like me.

So is this how I should dress for our next class?

Fortune and Newsweek reported his interest in buying the Times earlier this week, but now even the Times itself is speculating.

Well, my Craft II quiz, even with four fewer questions in the same allotted time, was obviously tougher than my Craft I quiz.

That wasn’t the intention.  In fact, I cut the number of questions in an effort to ease up somewhat and hope you could finish.

The high score was 11.5 out of 16, which would have been fine if everyone else followed closely behind.  Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.  The second high score, achieved by three people, was 9.5.  And there were a few significantly lower than that.

Of course, I felt compelled to grade on a bit of a curve, but given some of the lower scores, I could only go so far.  The lowest passing score I allowed was a 7, which I assigned a C. (more…)

It will be very similar to the quiz I gave for Craft I, but obviously focusing on the research topics covered in Craft II.

• You will have one hour.  You’ll need your computer, and it’s “open blog.”  You’re free to use all my posts, handouts, tips, etc.  I would highly suggest familiarizing yourself with them before the quiz so you don’t have to waste time hunting for the proper sources.
• There are 16 short answer questions.  Why 16?  Well, last semester was my first stab at this and I really didn’t know how many I should expect students to be able to answer in an hour.  I put 20 on the quiz and nobody finished.  The average was around 15.  So this time I’m going with 16 to relieve the angst somewhat, yet keep enough that you’ll still probably feel some time pressure.  That’s part of this business.
• There’s at least one question from every research lesson this semester, including the social networking and Excel lessons taught by Barbara Gray and Jo Craven McGinty.  The most from any one lesson is four.
• There are no multiple choice questions because researchers and reporters never get multiple choice questions and no essays because I don’t feel like wading through the you-know-what.  Most answers require a sentence or less.  Just to be a nice guy, I provide helpful hints on some questions.  And there are no “tricks.”

Good luck!

As we get closer to our social networking lesson next week, I found another good Twitter search tool called Tweetag in addition to the ones I listed in my earlier Twitter post.

Following up on my federal government lesson last month, you may be interested in this report on the top 10 most wanted documents for 2009.  (Number one was the last–but not least–source on my handout!)

I also discovered some more good Google tips from the Special Libraries Association blog to add to what I have listed on my own Google tips page here.

On April 7th, Barbara Gray, who put together the immigration handout, will give you the same social networking presentation she gives to New York Times reporters.  I’ll be “along for the ride,” but the research lesson that morning will be hers.  It looks like we may also have a special visitor.

In the meantime, I’d like you to read the Times policy on social networking as well as the social networking material I’ve posted to the blog since the fall.  Although I won’t be able to hold you accountable for reading any of it prior to the 7th, I can hold you accountable for it on the final quiz, so you may as well familiarize yourself with it now, when it makes sense.

Also, for a laugh, check out the Twitter video below!

Looking for public records?  According to a Sunshine Week survey jointly sponsored by the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the National Freedom of Information Coalition and the Society of Professional Journalists, online access varies widely by state.

Looking for more Jon Stewart skewering of CNBC? (more…)

I mentioned The Local earlier this week. NBC has launched New York Nonstop as well, a possible competitor to NY1. See video below.

Behind the Scenes at WNBC’s New York Nonstop from Broadcasting & Cable on Vimeo.