How today’s college students use Wikipedia for course- related research . A majority of respondents frequently used Wikipedia for background information, but less often than they used other common resources, such as course readings and Google. Architecture, engineering, and science majors were more likely to use Wikipedia for course–related research than respondents in other majors. The findings suggest Wikipedia is used in combination with other information resources. Wikipedia meets the needs of college students because it offers a mixture of coverage, currency, convenience, and comprehensibility in a world where credibility is less of a given or an expectation from today’s students. Contents. Introduction.
Methods. Results. Discussion. Conclusion. Introduction. Want to stir up a room full of college faculty and librarians? Mention Wikipedia. Wikipedia, the online, peer–produced encyclopedia, is one of the most discussed topics on campuses today. Much of the academic debate turns on issues about Wikipedia’s reliability, completeness, accuracy, and intellectual rigor and whether college student should, or should not, use the collectively produced encyclopedia for course–related research assignments .
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On average, each session was 9. The student focus groups provided qualitative data about students’ research habits, behaviors, experiences, and the obstacles that they encountered. A segment of the sessions focused on course–related research and how students used Wikipedia. We define course–related research in broad terms — from the moment students receive a research assignment through collecting and evaluating materials until the final writing of a mid–course paper (e. In total, 8. 6 students participated in the sessions.
Far more females (7. Students were full–time sophomores, juniors, seniors from four–year public and private colleges and universities, and full–time community college students, who had completed at least one semester at the institution . This group of students, we assumed, was likely to be acquainted with secondary research methods . The study sample was 2,3.
The overall response rate was eight percent. The 3. 2–item survey was administered online, using survey software provided through the University of Washington. Ap World History Dbq Essay Sample here.
Surveys were sent to students’ e–mail addresses, which were provided through each school’s Registrar’s Office . The survey instrument underwent a Human Subjects Division review at each participating institution. The purpose of the survey was to collect data about information needs and behaviors of respondents during course–related and everyday life research.
The survey instrument was informed with qualitative data from the student focus groups in Phase 1. We sampled students studying in all major disciplinary areas (i. The mean grade point average (GPA) for the total student sample across all six schools was 3. B+ average . However, our analysis of Wikipedia use does show consistent responses and fairly robust relationships among variables from a large sample of students at six separate educational institutions in the U. S. Results. Major findings from the study are as follows: Far more students, than not, used Wikipedia. Wikipedia was used in addition to a small set of other commonly used information resources at the beginning of the research process.
Reasons for using Wikipedia were diverse: Wikipedia provided students with a summary about a topic, the meaning of related terms, and also got students started on their research and offered a usable interface. Respondents who were majoring in architecture, engineering, or the sciences were more likely to use Wikipedia than respondents in other majors .
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These papers entail choosing a topic, defining an issue, and taking a position backed by evidence culled from secondary resources (e. Internet). To a lesser degree, students reported conducting “outside research” for other course–related assignments that were interpretative readings of a text (5. Over half of the survey respondents (5. Wikipedia users — even if an instructor advised against it . Students reported that they frequently, if not always, consulted Wikipedia at some point during their course–related research (see Figure 1). Far fewer of the respondents (2. Wikipedia. Why Wikipedia?
Students used Wikipedia for a variety of reasons. More than any other reason, 8 in 1. Wikipedia to obtain background information or a summary about a topic (see Figure 2).
Wikipedia clearly has value to students as a workaround for previewing a topic. As one student in our sessions simply said, “Wikipedia tells me what’s what.”Respondents also reported that they turned to Wikipedia because it: (1) helped them get started (7. Wikipedia’s greatest value to students may be its ability to alleviate common frustrations students initially have with conducting research .
Some students in our focus sessions described a vicious cycle during the research process from the outset. Students reported they could not begin their research process until they had an idea of what they were going to write about. They did not think that they could approach an instructor about an assignment, until they knew more about their topic. They did not use a scholarly research database early on, given the specificity of academic journal content. Wikipedia was a convenient go–to source under these circumstances. The source delivered results students could act upon, allowing them to get unstuck and move forward. To a slightly lesser degree, respondents used Wikipedia because the entries were easy to understand (6.
Fewer students in the sample used Wikipedia because they thought Wikipedia was more credible than other Web sites (1. In addition, the wiki software, which allows for massively distributed collaboration, did little to drive student traffic. Few respondents (1. As a whole, the findings suggest that students used Wikipedia for its summaries and to get started, and because of usability, comprehensibility, and lesser so, for credibility or its peer–to–peer (i.
How Wikipedia fits into the research process. Most respondents (7.
Wikipedia at the beginning of the research process (see Figure 3). Very few used Wikipedia near or at the end (two percent). The survey results are consistent with accounts we heard in our student focus groups about when they use Wikipedia. Students in the focus group sessions were precise in characterizing Wikipedia as “a . Students in the sessions explained that Wikipedia entries have value in the beginning because they provide a “simple narrative that gives you a grasp,” “can point you in the right direction,” and “help when I have no idea what to do for a research paper.”Another focus group participant called Wikipedia “my presearch tool.” Presearch, as the participant defined it, was the stage of research where students initially figure out a topic, find out about it, and delineate it. As one student put it, Wikipedia is ideal for big–picture background “in good English” and “putting me in my comfort zone” before moving on to more serious research (i. The large majority of students we interviewed said they begin with Wikipedia despite professors’ cautions about Wikipedia as an authoritative source.
As a student in a focus group commented, “Sure, I use Wikipedia just to get a taste, even though my professors say not to.”Most students also said they do not tell their professors they use Wikipedia; they simply avoid citing it in their reports. This was particularly true in the case of students in our sample enrolled in four–year institutions, who more likely to use Wikipedia than students in two–year institutions. Few students in our sessions ended their course–related research with Wikipedia. As one student in the focus group sessions described, “My professor says Wikipedia is a great place to start, but a horrible place to end.”Moreover, we found almost all of the respondents in our survey reported using an information strategy reliant on a small set of common information sources — close at hand, tried and true .
Course readings. 97%1,9. Google (i. e., for finding sites other than Wikipedia)9. Scholarly research databases (EBSCO, Pro. Quest, JSTOR, etc.)9. Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC)9. Government Web sites.
Personal collection. Library shelves. 69%1,3. Encyclopedias (print or online, e. Britannica)6. 1%1,1. Other search engines (e. Ask, Yahoo!)5. 2%1,0.
Blogs. 25%4. 74. These findings suggest when students needed background information, they turned to course readings, Google, online scholarly databases, the library’s online public access catalog (OPAC), and instructors — and less frequently to Wikipedia. BS. E. POdds ratio. C. I. odds ratio.
Probability for using Wikipedia Lower. Upper * Dummy variable (two–year institution)- 1. Leadership Essays For College.
Architecture and engineering majors. Arts and humanities majors. Business majors. 4. Education majors. Occupational training majors. Science majors. 6. Google usage. 2. 3.
Librarian usage- 3. Narrative Essay Outline Samples'>Narrative Essay Outline Samples. Instructor usage. Course reading usage. Definition Essay Examples On Mother. Constant- 4. 9. 0. The model contained 1. Google, librarians, instructors, or course readings .
In other words, 2. Wikipedia can be accounted for by these variables, using this model. As shown in Figure 5, five independent variables were associated with Wikipedia usage at a statistically significant (. These variables appear bolded and asterisked in the first column of Figure 5. Overall, the strongest predictor of using Wikipedia was being someone who also used Google for course–related research, with an estimated odds ratio of 1.
Two other predictors of Wikipedia usage were: (1) being an architecture or engineering major, with an estimated odds ratio of 2. To a lesser extent, two more predictors of Wikipedia usage can be deduced from negative values reported in Figure 5. Respondents enrolled in two–year institutions were less likely than students in four–year institutions to use Wikipedia, with an estimated odds ratio of .
Respondents who used a librarian were less likely to use Wikipedia than those who don’t, with an estimated odds ratio of .
Essay on Symbols and Symbolism in Toni Morrison's Beloved : : Toni Morrison Beloved Essays. Symbolism in Beloved. Toni Morrison enhances the effectiveness of Beloved with symbolism. This symbolism has a myriad of origins as well as forms.
Number symbols come from astrological sources, while characters' names are allusions from ancient Egyptian mythology, the Bible, and African culture. Furthermore, important color symbols are discernible throughout the novel. In fact, it appears as the first character of each book of the novel. As the address of the. According to astrology, the numbers 1, 3, 7, and 2. These magical powers are said to be symbols of completion and creation.
In addition, a significant association among characters in the novel is in the form of three people - - Sethe, Beloved, and Denver. This Egyptian god was part man and part animal or bird, which explains the animal imagery surrounding Sethe in the novel. For example, when explaining her secret about Beloved to Paul D., Sethe is described as if she is a circling falcon or bird. Morrison uses the name to add to the masculinity of Sethe's character. Sethe's ability to overcome overwhelming tragedies and challenges such as her escape from slavery in Kentucky and the murder of her child identifies her with this quality. Argumentative Essay Thesis Statement there. His name, derived from the number 6, implies that white masters didn't consider their slaves with enough respect to recognize them with more than a number. This renaming also symbolizes the power the slaveowners felt by stripping slaves of their individuality.