Living Sources: Interviews and Surveys

There are some important things to know about interviewing people and conducting surveys for information. Good sources can be search engines and specialized search engines. The article discusses arranging interviews with both educated people and not as educated people. Make sure that everyone you interview is effected by your topic and/or has a strong opinion about your topic. The article explains how you need to ask quality questions and avoid "loaded" questions. Finally, make sure you take good notes during the interview and get full explanations of any topics discussed.
I am planning on using these tips to conduct interviews and surveys to collect data for my research paper.

Blog Reflection (In Class)

1) With my 1st draft lit. review, I learned about many interesting statistics and research discussions involving my topic of "how technology has impacted parenting".
2) Research papers need lit. review sections because it elaborates the research found in your sources and allows you to cite numerous legit sources. In a lit. review, the more information contained and wrote about, the better the review. You need to discuss the main topics and ideas of each article or source.
3)My research adds to my current knowledge. For example, I knew that teens are more likely to own small gadgets nowadays than their parents; but now I know clear numbers and statistics that show this is true.
4) With this topic, I expect to contribute information with data about my topic to anyone who feels they should read about it. I expect to make Americans aware of how technology has impacted parenting, the positive and negative effects, and how to approach and embrace or avoid the effects.

Ch. 3 Art of Quoting (In Class)

"The point we want to emphasize is that quoting what "they say" must always be connected with what "you" say." (pg.43) I feel this is a great quote because it expresses an important view on citing quotations and is a main point of the article. This quote is very powerful because it explains an essential tool for quoting authors in good writing. It shows you must paraphrase sentences and paragraphs while staying within the designated topic. In a nut shell, your words must be different in context, but contain the same meaning as the author you are quoting.

They Say I Say

The main points of "They Say I Say" include the following:
-Quoting too little throughout a paper
-"What 'they' say must always be connected with what 'you' say."
-Make sure the quotes support your topic/ main points
-Use different templates for quotations
-Mix your own words well with the writer's words
-Dont over analyze quotations

These skills and ideas will be useful in my future research paper writing because they lead to well organized and well written research papers. All of these main points brought up in the reading are what makes a research paper good enough to get an A. Out of these skills, the most important, in my opinion, are  quoting too little throughout a paper, mixing your own words with the writer's words, and making sure the quotations directly support your topic/main points. These pieces of advise are essential to writing a great research paper.

Source Links & Summary

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2005.03522.x/pdf

http://pewresearch.org/pubs/621/

http://cmx.sagepub.com/content/13/4/347.short

http://cmapspublic3.ihmc.us/rid=1J77N33R7-XD8B8T-QHW/The%20Changing%20Face%20of%20Parenting.pdf    (pg14)

(source #2)- This article includes facts and statistics about parents and their children relative to technology use. This includes: 1)what kind of gadgets people own 2) wealthy vs. non-wealthy families with different opportunities to use technology 3) Different age groups with technology {teens vs. adults} 4) Parental opinions about whether or not technology gadgets/internet are a good thing 5) Media content relative to amount of time spent with media devices 6) Adults staying involved with their children and being aware of their child's technology use {facebook or myspace}

Questions to ask about my research topic

1. I am writing about How technology has impacted parenting since the year 2000. I am also narrowing this topic to compare high-class vs. middle/lower-class population in America relative to the question. I am going to focus my topic on the Internet, media devices, and other gadgets.
2. I am writing for the American population in general; to make American citizens aware of how recent technology has impacted children and parenting, as well as how to avoid negative effects.
3. I have expectations of collecting about of research and having a fair number of statistics and facts about my topic's generality and specifics.
4. I plan to collect information by researching facts and statistics through the Internet and through books. I can also interview someone who relates well to my topic and has potential to be a significant part of my research paper.

My Topic - "How has technology impacted parenting?"

My topic is, "How has technology impacted parenting?".
This topic has potential to raise further questions. I do feel strongly about this question because I've seen a lot of good/bad parenting in my lifetime and I'm only 19 years old. This question is directly relevant to my discipline. I can find authoritative information about my topic by researching credible sources. This topic will force me to learn more about how technology has impacted parenting. With this topic, I can interview people and take photographs. I don't think many people are researching this topic.

To narrow my topic, I added the questions:
-Since the year 2000? (time)
-In America? (place)
-High-class vs. middle/lower class? (person)