I am back after a long week of reflexion, I have definitely choose my topic and I will stay with what I assumed to be true.
1) The topic I have chosen to research on and learn more about is that gay parents have an influence on the sexual orientation of their children. I am really curious about how this assumption is correct or not.
2) I am looking for information specifically dealing with gay parents in Minnesota. However I think I am going to start searching general information regarding the topic first and then narrow it as I will go because It always good to start with a brainstorming on a topic and then as you research more on the topic you eliminate what bad and too broad and keep what good so you will be able to have specific information on the topic.
3) The following steps are the string about I have found my book.
a.went to the library homepage and chose to do an advanced search on gay parent and their life in family.
b. I chose English for my language and for format I chose Books and Ebooks.However, I did not select anything under the collections section.
c. Then, I searched Gay parent & their children sexuality. First i did found 30 sources relate to my topic and then because I wanted to be specific i did refine the topic under Sexual behavior and Psychology. From that I found 5 sources among books and Ebooks. Actually it was hard for me to find a specific information on a certain region I want. I look like to have information of gay parents in Minnesota but I only find two in Latino Community which was not very helpful to me.
d. I export only 3 of them to my RefWorks. Then I went to look up on the selves book, with the call number, where I could find the one I found the most interesting based on the summary and description the website had posted on each resource.
4) & 5) When looking for the Ebook sources I found one based on my findings, However, It was difficult to me to read on the screen because I am wearing a contact glasses. I was not comfortable with it and I can tell the traditional print book is worthly for me and I kind of like it better because I can read on it more easily.
6) I do not have a mobile device that allows me to read an EBook and I suppose it may be helpful to people who are using it.
7) I found the both sites to be the same, however I kind of prefer the one from the Miller Center Library because it is the one I am more familiar with. I used the same string to find sources on my topic. First, I went to advanced search, then typed in my keywords and I was able to find 12 books from the website. Also out of those 12 boolks I found 1 of the same I found at Miller Center Library. The book I found interesting about the topic is : " Daddy, Papa, and me by Leslea Newman; illustrated by Carol Thompson. The only problem with this source I was not able to know how to get it...
In sum That was a good experience even if I was able to find what I was looking for right away... I learn a lot on my topic and hope to continue doing it furthermore.
Hi Carene,
ReplyDeleteYou wrote a great post here-very reflective! I like how you described your processes.
It definitely is a wise decision to first look for the general background information on this topic. I like your explanation for your topic narrowing process as well.
It is possible that some of the books that you find may have some information about gay parents from different states, but the names of those states might not be mentioned in the catalog record, where titles and subjects are indexed.
I believe that the Leslea Newman book is a children's book...was it available at the St. Cloud Public Library, or another branch in the Great River Regional Library System? Your SCSU ID gives you borrowing privileges for the St. Cloud Public Library; you can contact them and ask if you are allowed to do interlibrary loan requests...here are the different ways that you can contact the library for assistance:
http://www.griver.org/services/ask-a-librarian-reference-service
I have a feeling that you will find resources that are more specific to parents in particular states when we start searching for articles, websites, and government documents...stay tuned!
Sincerely,
Professor Wexelbaum
Thank again for checking my work. I had contacted the Great River Regional Library by chat and asked for the “Heather Has Two Mommies" written by Leslea Newman.
ReplyDeleteThe librarian said that I cannot have access to the book because I do not have a public Library card so my SCSU ID cannot help me as much you thought.
Also the book is not currently available in St Cloud. What I have to do is first register to a public library or have a library card with Great River Regional Library system; for them to ship it here at a local library, and then from that branch I can receive it.
How to register? And which Library I have to choose? The only one I have been aware of is the one on Division. Do you think I should start from there? Let me know.
Hi Carene,
ReplyDeleteI am checking on the SCSU ID issue with our Circulation/Access workgroup leader. I have seen a lot of people go to the St Cloud Public Library and use their SCSU ID to check out materials, so maybe there is something I do not know.
We have "Heather Has Two Mommies" in our collection. On the third floor of the Miller Center is the Juvenile (children's book) collection; it is available:
http://plus.mnpals.net/vufind/Record/001088377/Holdings
So the next time you are on campus and in the library you can check it out.
Let me know if you are able to find it OK--sometimes the children's books are harder to search through than the adult books, because they are skinnier, and it makes the call numbers harder to read.
Sincerely,
Professor Wexelbaum
Ok I will check it. Thank you rachel.
ReplyDeleteRachel sorry
ReplyDelete