LANG 2070 - English Communication for Humanities and Social Science Studies I: Start

This guide is developed for LANG 2070 students, to help you find the required sources to complete your project.

By using this guide & attending the Library workshop, you will learn to:

• Name some of the important scholarly source types & search tools for university level research in HSS
• Apply appropriate search methods & techniques to these sources & tools
• Wisely select & use these sources & tools to begin to carry out university-level SHSS research

In order to....

• Short term:
  • Complete your LANG 2070 assignment (short term)
• Long term: 
  • Develop your knowledge & skill as an HSS researcher, confidently navigating the information environment
  •  Become a thoughtful & critical data, information, and knowledge consumer & creator

Link to feedback form

The Assignment: Preparing Background & Evidence for Stance & Arguments

Infographic presentation
Students will present research data or information using infographic, a graphic format designed to make the data easily understandable at a glance

Self-Reflection on Research Tools and Process
A library workshop has been specially designed to show students a range of research tools to facilitate their finding of relevant articles and or databases for their research.

After the lesson, students are required to write a short piece using a to self-refect  on their research method: their choice of research tools (e.g. Proquest, PowerSearch, Statista, etc.) and describe the choices they made on search tools, search and research process, as well as sources (e.g. academic articles, book chapters, data sets, etc.) selected for their infographic & write-up.

• What tools you used to search
• Why you chose them
• How you used the tools
• How and why you selected the information and data  you used in your infographic from the search tools you used

Students need to demonstrate how they applied the knowledge and information they receive from the library class. Tools and process should match what was used in the infographic presentation.

Here are some suggested books and sites on conveying quantitative information graphically.

• Atlas of the Invisible: maps & graphics that will change how you see the world / by  James Cheshire & Oliver Uberti  (Call no. G1046 .E1 C4 2021)
  • Book's website, section for educators
  • Blog
• Information is Beautiful / by David McCandless (Call no. AG250 . M333 2012) -
  •   David McCandless's website : https://informationisbeautiful.net/
• Edward Tufte's ground-breaking works:
  • Beautiful Evidence (call no. P93.5 .T837 2006 )
  • Visual and statistical thinking : displays of evidence for making decisions (call no. HA31 .T84 1997)
  • The visual display of quantitative information (Call no. QA276.3 .T83 1983 )
  • Visual explanations : images and quantities, evidence and narrative (call no. P93.5 .T846 1997)
    • articles & short pieces from Tufte's website

Also, search the Library Catalog for the subject: Information visualization

Before the workshop, please watch the following short videos. You will learn about and practice some of these techniques in the workshop.

1. Advanced Search in PowerSearch (2 min , 9 sec)
2. Email and send favorite items in one go [PowerSearch] (1 min 30 sec)
3. Use Keywords, Not Sentences (2 min, 37 sec)
4. Expand Your Keywords (1 min, 22 sec)
5. Use Boolean Operators (39 sec)
6. Subject Databases: Intro to Selecting
7. Citation Chaining  (2 min, 3 sec) – from the Claremont Colleges Library

Topics for Seminar & Infographic for LANG 2070 - spring 2023

1. One’s identity in the metaverse will become more important than the ‘real-world’ one.
2. The introduction of UBI (Universal Basic Income) is beneficial to the young generation.
3. Service learning should be included in the university formal curriculum.
4. My body, my call.

Search & Research are different ¹. As developing scholars, you will need to do both.

• Know the answer or have a "hoped for answer"? = Search
  • How many "left behind" children are there in China
• Don't know the answer; not sure of the question? = Research
  • What are the factors that lead "left behind" rural children in China have better or worse educational outcomes than those living with parents?
     

1. Wilkinson, Lane. (2014, July 15). Is research inquiry? [blog post] . Retrieved from: https://senseandreference.wordpress.com/2014/07/15/is-research-inquiry/

Things to think about...

“The greatest part of a writer's time is spent in reading, in order to write: a man [sic] will turn over half a library to make one book.”

― Samuel Johnson, The Life of Samuel Johnson LL.D. Vol 2  by John Boswell - (Project Gutenberg edition)

Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it. When we enquire into any subject, the first thing we have to do is to know what books have treated of it. This leads us to look at catalogues, and the backs of books in libraries.' 

― Samuel Johnson, The Life of Samuel Johnson LL.D. Vol 2  by John Boswell - (Project Gutenberg edition)

Sourced from here: https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/22191.Samuel_Johnson