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A Research & Writing Journal: PSYC 469

Roll your mouse over any round button on the diagram to the left to view the corresponding journal entry.

Guides to Research

The Guides to Research section on psychology led me to some really useful resources & particularly the psychology encyclopedias! They gave me great overviews of the major theories, important DID research and researchers, and some recommended articles & books to get more background. The encyclopedia articles are like a "mental map\" of the DID field – so now I will be able to understand the research articles better and how they relate to the field.

Internet

Searched Google and found the Sidran Institute's website – which had a lot of information on it, such as definitions, "papers\" (but not published journal articles), books for sale, links to other advocacy groups, etc. BUT when I looked more closely I realized the website was written for the general public and the term paper requires that the information be scholarly and/or research oriented. So decided to come back to this part of the assignment later when I know more about what I want to find, better search terms to use, etc.

Books

Did a keyword search on Dissociative Identity Disorder in the UO Catalog and only found 4 records! While looking at the first record, noticed the L.C. Subject was Multiple Personality. Then, I did a subject search on Multiple Personality & found 61 records.

Keyword searching is like Internet searching – I have to search all possible terms for my topic because it all depends on which terms the author used. But subject searching is better because all the materials on the same subject are together under one term (so I don't have to worry about knowing all the terms), PLUS I'm guaranteed the work is about that topic, so I find the best stuff without looking at irrelevant records.

Orbis

One of the books I wanted was checked out, so I spoke with a Reference Librarian who showed me how to request it through Orbis (it arrives within 3 working days, is free, and can be kept for 3+ weeks). Then I searched the Orbis catalog and found 130+ items on DID, so I requested some of those too! The Reference Librarian told me that the Library is happy to get books, articles, etc. from other libraries – whatever I need! Just Ask!

Articles

The Reference Librarian said to search an index (they help find journal articles): look under the "databases & indexes\" section, then click on "select an index by subject,\" (I chose PsycINFO under Psychology).

She said because it concentrates on psychology, it is the best way to find relevant scholarly research articles, chapters, etc. Turns out most disciplines have their own index, so finding articles will be a snap in future!

Searching PsycINFO was like searching the Library Catalog (keyword, subject) so it was easy to do research & find relevant stuff! It also links to the UO Catalog so I could see if the library has the journal my article is in.

Internet

Advanced searching in Google works like a charm! A Reference Librarian showed me how to limit to .edu (academic) and .gov (government) domains – found some information I could use from Yale and the National Institute of Mental Health. Even so, I was surprised that mostly I found short introductions to the subject, course syllabi, or dictionary-like definitions on a lot of websites. These are ok, but I was thinking I would find more research.

Notetaking

A friend of mine got into trouble because she didn't put quotation marks in her paper – she told me even if you have the citation it still counts as plagiarism without the quotation marks! So I was really careful taking notes – putting quotation marks around direct quotations, and if I was paraphrasing, putting that in my notes too so I don't inadvertently plagiarize.

The book on writing I checked out from the Library was helpful in explaining the whole writing process, including efficient notetaking.

1st Draft

Sat down to write a quick 1st draft – to get my ideas down on paper, see how my argument holds together, and get over the anxiety of writing. I felt better having something on paper (like you said) and I could see some areas I need to work on more.

Next step is to go over to the Writing Lab: to have someone else read my paper to see if it makes sense, and to get some help on when to use that vs. which (since you said our papers would be marked down for using them incorrectly, I want to make sure I know which one to use).

Writing Lab

UO Writing Lab
72 Prince Lucien Campbell (PLC)
9:00 am - 5:00 pm (Monday-Friday)

The Writing Lab offers individual assistance in developing writing skills to all students on a walk-in basis.

Tutors help students formulate more precise thesis statements, develop organizational skills, work through an argument, identify strengths and weaknesses, and suggest ways in which the student should address specific difficulties. Rather than acting as proof-readers, the tutors try to explain concepts that will help students work on rough drafts, learn revision techniques, and editing tasks.

[Text adapted from the Writing Lab's website]

More Research

I'm glad you recommended going to the Writing Lab in PLC – the tutor I worked with was very good at explaining (in a nice way) some areas of my paper I might want to rework and helped me understand the difference between that vs. which.

I realized though that I have to do more research to fill in a couple of gaps in my argument (argh!!). I feel like this paper is NEVER going to end and am scared because the due date is coming up (add frustrated, angry, and stressed out too).

2nd Draft

I'm in the home stretch now and really glad I did the 1st & 2nd drafts – I learned more about my topic, got feedback on my argument and improved my writing style, too!

I was really upset earlier when I realized I had to do more research, but it turned into one of the best aha! moments when it all came together.

Now all I have to do is the bibliography, APA citation style is so picky! At least this time I was careful to write down the whole citation during research so I won't have to find them again & I did that last term (ugh!)

Paper Due

Research & Writing: What I Learned

MORE TIME = LESS STRESS!

Pick an interesting topic.

Keep good notes during research (where/what already searched & search strategy) and writing (complete citations, direct quotations, etc.).

Ask the Reference Librarians for help: better searching techniques & strategies = finding the best information more easily and quickly.

Go to the Writing Lab: improved writing & editing = better papers.