I am about as sophisticated as they come when using google in that I frame my questions to maximise
or minimise the hits using inferential and deductive techniques to ferret out what might not be
elicited by straightforward search terms or combinations, it is not so much a science as an art, and
I would make an excellent stalker believe me.
Naturally for serious literature searches I use the various databases and electronic resources to be
found via any decent Uni with electronic access (not that I have found a 'decent' Uni yet). Often
though they duplicate each other, and what is more google will often find them just as well and I am
not talking google scholar here.
One can of course mine papers for there bibliographies, and mine individual academics lists of
publications, it's all there for someone with the nous.
If I can't get a paper on line and I have an email for the author(s), I will email the author, that
way it is possible to get papers that are still under review or have been rejected.
Of course there are things that are notoriously difficult to find because even the library of
congress and British Library don't have them catalogued. The Lambretta Tuning and Performance Manual
may still be one of them, and to look for obscure penny dreadfuls such as "Bicycle Ben or the Old
Flat Top Mountain", you need to use particular databases
And I have as yet found no source which can tell me what when on at the conciliabule of Pisa which
got the Bishop of Palestrina defrocked back in the times of Michelangelo and Aldus Manutius.
As for the Portland Stonecutters song, (that is the original not the Simpson's version) you won't
find it anywhere even if you know the words because only I know how to access it :)
To be honest I am sometimes appalled by most of what passes for academic scholarship these days it's
not just the Bishop of Palestrina who needs defrocking :)
Oh well I guess when I die, there will go the last of the cognoscenti, if a Berkeley senior falls in
a forest and no-one is there will there be any sound?
Larry
> -----Original Message-----
> From: The Disability-Research Discussion List
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of devva
> Sent: 17 March 2008 15:34
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: I need assistance: A Pedagogical Question
>
> Dear Students and my fellow Teachers,
>
> I usually let these kinds of requests pass with no comment. I
> get dozens of them on many lists. Miranda, in no way am I
> signaling you out. This is addressed to all students. It's a
> pedagogical issue I also ask my colleagues. What is the best
> use of this list to assist students find publications? This
> list is a wonderful resource for us all and it is completely
> appropriate to ask for help finding material. Many of our
> almost 1,000 members are very generous! Most requests are
> focused and just fine.
>
> But, the question is thorny. On the one hand, I've been asked
> to turn over all my bibliography and gray and in press
> material to colleagues who just discovered disability studies
> and haven't even read my published work. That's a significant
> intellectual property! Were academia never competitive that
> would be ok, I guess. On the other hand, we want to encourage
> disability studies by everyone. This issue also is
> intertwined with the development of web based publications
> and online libraries. It's been a long time since I trolled
> brick and mortar libraries. Most of what I read is brand new.
>
> I just gave my own students an assignment to do a deep
> critical comparative analysis of 2 or more disability related
> websites or an analysis of the range of website on one topic.
> I also asked them to tell me how they found what they found.
> I wanted to see if having grown up with the internet they had
> any real sophistication about using it as a research tool. I
> was actually pretty appalled. No one looked further than the
> first page of Google hits, and no one searched anywhere but
> Google. These are bright University of California, Berkeley seniors!
>
> So, my first question for Miranda et. al. is did you just use
> Google? Did you use Google Scholar? Did you use any of the
> academic search engines supported by your school's library?
>
> My second question is what aspect of the topic are you
> interested in. I'm assuming it is something to do with
> disability and Education in Ireland, but that is still huge.
> Your questions should not be so broad as to be unanswerable.
> If you don't know yet, I suggest you talk with your
> instructor. One of my favorite teaching tasks is helping my
> students figure out what topics they really find most
> compelling and how to make the topic fit the assignment. I
> also recommend that, if it is accessible to you, look in a
> library, at the books, on the shelves. There will be a
> section on Irish Ed that you can find by looking through
> their catalogue of holdings. The book you find most
> interesting may be next to the one you thought you wanted.
>
> I have and will post queries for my students, but, after they
> have done their homework. I also think it would be useful to
> have a list of online disability bibliographies to which we
> can all refer our students. Such as:
>
> www.disabilitystudies.syr.edu/resources/bibliography
> www.instituteondisability.org/bib/
>
> Best,
>
> Devva
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Miranda B. Thomas
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 6:13 AM
> Subject: [DISABILITY-RESEARCH] I need assistance
>
>
> I hope everyone is well.
> I am new to this site. I need help or direction in
> securing education articles about Irish education. I am taking a
> comparative education class this semester. I have googled the words
> and no decent articles. I need sound information so hat I can write
> a 15 page research paper on Irish Education. I am familiar with
> Frank Mccourt. Any additional information will be highly
> appreciated.
>
> Warmest regards,
> Miranda
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Thought for the day:
>
> Friends are quiet angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have
> trouble remembering how to fly. Good friends are hard to
> find, harder
> to leave, and impossible to forget.
>
> Have a WONDERFUL Day!!
>
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> please promptly delete this message and notify the sender
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>
>
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