Living Sources

While reading the Curious Researcher by Bruce Bullenger, I found plenty of useful information for conducting my surveys or possibly my interviews. I learned that you can find experts to interview in a variety of places. These places include sources, yellow pages, and the internet. By finding experts to interview it makes your research paper seem even more accurate and reliable. Also, before interviewing your interviewees I need to ask myself what is the point of this interview and make sure to ask specific and open-ended questions. I learned that I should also keep in mind that interview should be more conversational.

 On the other hand, I learned that surveys should not be conversational and straight forward. Therefore, when conducting a survey I should give a brief introduction on what and why I am conducting the survey. Surveys, unlike interviews, should be short and typically not more than seven questions. Surveys can be made and taken over the internet, but the problem with online surveys is getting the people you want to take the survey. Also, a survey over the phone is another option. Phone surveys are more direct and you are more likely to get more honest answers because the people answering feel more anonymous. In conclusion, when interviewing or conducting a survey, the people or experts you choose to ask should help you find out what you don't know.

Blog Reflections

I learned from writing my first draft that it is challenging trying to analyze articles and use them in different ways to support your argument. I also am having a hard time finding strong counter arguments to make my argument stronger because most of my sources have the same views. My paper needs a literature review section because it helps me understand more clearly what each of my sources are arguing and reminds me to use them as support and not as the main voice of my paper. I found that most of the research I found didn't support socioeconomic position having an effect on college children weight gain. Therefore, hopefully my research will fill this gap in the studies of college students and gaining weight their freshman year. I also hope to make ISU college freshman more aware of the "freshman 15" and how to stay healthy without being unhappy.

Chapter 3 incorporating quotes

When incorporating a quote in one's paper it is important to introduce the quote and after the quote provide and explanation of the quote and how it relates to your argument.Gerald Graff, a scholarly author of the 2011 book They Say, I Say, creates a more clear visual picture. Graff states, "To adequately frame a quotation, you need to insert it into a quotation sandwich..."(46). I wholeheartedly agree with Graff, a "quotation sandwich" is a must.  It helps the reader's clarity on the authors purpose of the quotes they choose to use.

Chapter 3 and 5 of "They say, I say"

Three main ideas that I found in chapter three of "They Say, I Say" is one, when putting a quote in your paper it can't stand alone. Quotes must have a statement to introduce it and explanation at the end. Second, as you revise your paper and rewrite drafts it is important to revise your quote selection. It is important to revise quotes when you revise your drafts because quotes that you may have in previous drafts may not relate to your argument in the final draft. The last and most important main idea is, make sure to use accurate quotes. This conveys to the reader that you have done your research. These main ideas will be helpful when deciding on what quotes to use in my paper and how to use the quotes I choose in a way that won't confuse the reader.

Three main ideas I found in chapter five of The Say, I Say" is one, when displaying many different perspectives on a topic the writer must make it clear to the reader which perspective they are arguing to be true. Second, when writing a paper it is important to find quotes that you can disagree with and rebut against in your paper. Therefore, by showing someone’s opinion to be wrong you make your perspective seem even more valid. Third, when writing certain papers it is important to use "voice markers." Voice markers help the reader know the difference between the authors view and sources the author includes in their paper. Therefore, by using "X argues" in the beginning of stating someone’s different opinion. In conclusion, I learned when I begin writing my research paper it is important for me to include voice markers to provide clarity for my readers.

Questions to ask?

I am writing about Illinois State University college students becoming overweight during their first semester. I am writing for ISU college students so the can stay healthy and incoming freshman that will arrive next year. I want to focus on the different reasons why college students become overweight. Some assumptions I have made was that social class, stress, or/and a change in their lifestyles. I  hope to answer if college students actually gain weight during the first semester of college or later on in their college lives. I plan to collect different statistics and doctors views on this particular topic. I will also interview my peers and ask them their opinion about this topic. The conclusion I have drawn is that college students have problems with weight management. I do not know if my conclusion is factual and that is a huge gap in my research.

Response to Overweight ISU Students Questions

My topic raises other questions, such as the effects of belonging to a certain social class and plenty of food  question I can ask the people of Illinois State University (ISU) that eat on campus. I wouldn't say I feel strongly about this topic, but it's definitely a topic I have always been curious about finding information about. I believe there have probably been many other studies that doctors or professors have done on overweight college students. I don't feel that this topic will be an intellectual challenge, but it may lead me to a social issue of what does "looking good" actually mean.

BRAINSTORMING FOR RESEARCH PAPER

While brainstorming for my research topic I came up with three possible subjects. These subjects included Facebook effect on happiness, overweight college students, or reality shows. I decided to narrow my subjects down to one subject, overweight college student. I picked overweight college students because almost all of my peers have a problem with controlling their weight. I also picked this topic because I had the most questions for this topic. Why do most college students gain the "freshman 15”? Does how healthy you eat depend on social class? Do people know how many calories they should consume in a day? Does college students' busy schedule affect the way they eat? Is depression or anxiety the cause of over eating? This topic is significant to everyone in college, but I will be focusing on Illinois State University (ISU) College students because I can interview some of my peers there. I can talk about all the dinning centers on campus and if they have enough healthy options for both meat eaters and vegetarians. I hope that by writing this research paper and answering my questions about overweight ISU students I can prevent them from being unhealthy and overweight.