Report 2: My Weekly Research on the Web
Lisa Naka
November 12, 2003
CONTENTS
Analyzing
My Weekly Research on the Web
Affective
and Cognitive Information Behaviors for Registering at WebCT
Affective
and Cognitive Information Behaviors for Posting Research Messages
Description
of Research Postings
Affective
and Cognitive Information Behaviors for Posting Comment Messages
Introduction
This
is the second of the three reports required for my Psychology 459 How Women
and Men Talk course led by Dr. James. Besides the three reports, the course
also has various tasks assigned with specific instructions. All tasks were
assigned at the beginning of the course with deadlines. Computer use is
essential; all tasks require the use of at least one computer program, whether
it be a word processor or the internet, or even FTPs to upload work to student
homepages. As a member of the Generation 19, I am expected to know the use of
basic applications and to quickly become accustomed to using programs such as
FTP in order to upload files to the Internet.
When
beginning this course, I felt somewhat anxious about how I will manage taking a
400-level course. However, although the workload is drastically larger than
most courses that I have taken before, the assignments came with clear
instructions and classmates and the instructor were all easy to approach. This
has made me feel more positive of taking this PSY 459 course. After completing
task 2, which was posting the first week’s research and comment message onto
WebCT, I had assumed that this weekly task would not be as difficult. On the
contrary, it turned out to be one that I often either forgot to do for a week,
could not complete due to lack of internet access on my own computer, or simply
due to procrastination.
Report 1 analyzed tasks 1 through 4, which included
writing the report itself. This Report 2 will analyze the required weekly task
of posting research and comment postings onto the WebCT site. It will also
include task 5, which is writing this report. All assignments for this course
include filling out Pre- and Post- Rating forms which reflect the student’s
mood and thoughts before and after completion of each task. Analyzing my weekly
research on the web will show my affective and cognitive information behaviors
as I go through the process of researching and posting my messages. It is
crucial to take notes of the affective and cognitive information behaviors
during the actual task in order collect accurate data. The report will also
discuss the various errors that I have made during the process of completing my
weekly postings.
Analyzing My Weekly Research on the Web
Instructions for the Weekly Research on the Web
Tasks and Subtasks for Posting Weekly Research and Comment Messages
1)
Register at WebCT. Create account.
2)
Post two
messages each week:
a)
Comment
Message: A reaction comment to a research topic message posted by other
students from any of the three classes. Specify on the Subject line who it is
that you are answering.
b)
Research Message:
Report briefly the research you did that week for one of the 10 approved topics. In order
for your research message to be valid you must mention the six information listed in the
instructions.
|
Table 1.1 |
Affective and Cognitive Information Behaviors for Registering at WebCT |
||
|
Task/Subtask |
Affective
Information Behavior |
Cognitive
Information Behavior |
|
|
Registering
for WebCT |
·
Positive:
I can use my existing WebCT account, I don’t need to register as a new user! |
·
Thinking I
should not have a problem because I’ve used WebCT before. |
|
|
Register
as New User for WebCT |
·
Frustrated
with myself for not being able to remember my password used at WebCT for a
course I took before. After a few tries, I give up and decide to register as
a New User. Was my old one deactivated? Registering
as a new user was simple easy. It was nothing to get frustrated over about. |
·
Wondering
how I could forget a password so easily. After registering, I will write down
my User name and password. ·
Perhaps
the old account may have expired? |
|
What I tried that didn’t work
I
had initially planned to use the account that I used a couple semesters ago,
however either I was not remembering my password correctly or my account had
expired; I could not log in. This was not a problem because I simply registered
as a new user.
|
Table 1.2 |
Affective and Cognitive Information Behaviors for Posting Research Messages |
||
|
Task/Subtask |
Affective
Information Behavior |
Cognitive
Information Behavior |
|
|
Read
through subtopics |
·
Which one interests
me? I repeatedly read through the list to see which topic might be more
interesting than others to research about. ·
If I feel
like I am in a rush, I look for a topic that I feel will be easier to find
articles online. |
·
The topic
that interests me most will motivate me to research on and read further on
about to gain more knowledge in that topic. ·
Some
topics seemed to be a more commonly debated topic than others; hence these
topics will have more articles online to look for. |
|
|
Read
research postings by other members |
·
I was
worried that the postings will be really long but the length of writing
everyone is doing on average seems reasonable and not too intensive. ·
Some of
these topics are really interesting; I am enjoying the articles posted by many
of the students. I am impressed by the information the other students have
gathered. I had better find good articles too. ·
The topics
that interest me most have me motivated to research on them. I will begin
with the ones that interest me most. |
·
I now know
the minimum length of my research posting should be on average. ·
I plan to
search for good informative sites for my topics, hopefully ones that other
students have not posted yet. ·
If I am
not in a hurry to do the weekly posting, then I will choose the topic that
interests me most and search on it. |
|
|
Search
for articles online for research message |
·
I feel
comfortable using search engines; especially Google because I use it on a
daily basis. ·
Frustrated
when I cannot find good information. ·
Determined
to find a better article that can provide me with useful information. ·
Feel
really satisfied and glad when I find a good article. |
·
I will
most likely use Google more often than not. Perhaps I will use other search
engines such as Yahoo from time to time. ·
In order
to find other articles, I will change the search phrases and if necessary the
search engine as well. ·
After
finding an informative article, I am ready to post my research message. |
|
|
Post
research message |
·
I feel glad
to have an article that I feel is good to post. ·
Writing
the message should not be too challenging. I feel positive. |
·
I will
follow the specific instructions so I include all the required content for
the message. |
|
|
Make
sure message is posted |
·
I am happy
that I am done posting my research message. I will double check that it is
properly posted so I am reassured that I did this portion of my weekly
research correctly. |
·
By
refreshing the page I can make sure that my message has been posted. Now I
can go on to completing my comment message. |
|
What I tried that didn’t work
I
had to change the wordings or phrases of search terms in order to find decent
articles or those that have not been used too many times by other students. I
also tried changing search engines once in order to see if that would make any
difference in results obtained. I was not quite sure if it made a big
difference but the sites did come in a different order.
|
Table 1.3 |
Description of Research Postings |
||||
|
Date |
Topic
and Subtopic |
Search
terms |
Search
engine |
Problems |
|
|
11/9/03 |
How
optimism affects problem solving a) What
is optimism? What forms does I take? How widespread is it? |
optimism |
Google |
None |
|
|
9/21/03 |
Information
literacy issues a)
What is information literacy? What forms does it take? How widespread is it? |
Information
literacy |
Google |
None |
|
|
10/4/03 |
How
self-confidence affects performance d)
What should be done about it? Should self-confidence be taught in school? |
Confidence
performance |
Google |
None |
|
|
11/9/03 |
Gender
discrimination in language use a) What
is gender discrimination in language use? What forms does it take? How
widespread is gender discrimination in language use? |
Language
discrimination sexist |
Google |
Finding
good article |
|
|
10/4/03 |
Speed
limits and drivers c)
What do experts say about it? What are their theories and explanations about
why speed limits are needed and why people ignore them? |
Speed
limit |
Google |
None |
|
|
9/11/03 |
Multitasking
while driving d) What
do the experts say about it? What are their theories and explanations? Is
there disagreement among them? How much is known about this? What kind of
research is being done? Is this research valid |
Multiple
while driving car |
Google |
Finding
an informative site |
|
|
10/10/03 |
How
people cope with noise in their lives a)
What forms does this problem take? |
Noise
people |
Google |
None |
|
|
11/10/03 |
Understanding
the difference between rational vs mystical spirituality a)
What is “rational spirituality”? How does it differ from “mystical
spirituality”? What forms of spirituality or religion fall into the
“rational” category vs the “mystical” or “sensuous” category? |
Rational
spirituality Mystical
spirituality |
Yahoo |
Finding
new sites |
|
|
11/10/03 |
Errors
–When, Where, and What types a)
What are “errors” people make? What forms do they take and where? |
Why
people make mistake psychology |
Google |
Finding
an article |
|
|
11/9/03 |
La
Femme Nikita Fan Movement a)
What is this activity by fans and producers? What forms does it take on the
Web and elsewhere? |
LFN
fan |
Google |
Finding
an article |
|
|
Table 1.4 |
Affective and Cognitive Information Behaviors for Posting Comment Messages |
||
|
Task/Subtask |
Affective
Information Behavior |
Cognitive
Information Behavior |
|
|
Read
research and comment postings by other members |
·
I’m really
impressed by the information some of these research postings have. ·
I was
wondering how long the comment message should be but now I feel comfortable
with how much to write after seeing others’ postings. |
·
I will
keep in mind how long the comment messages should be. ·
I will
respond to those postings that I have found most interesting. |
|
|
Write
and post comment message |
·
I want to
express how interesting I found this student’s research posting was. |
·
I will
make sure to write my reactions and opinions to the research postings. |
|
|
Make
sure message is posted |
·
I am glad
now that I have double-checked that my comment message has been properly
posted. |
·
It is good
to double-check since I have accidentally responded to the wrong person once. |
|
What I tried that didn’t work
I
accidentally posted a comment message under someone else’s research posting.
This was because I had clicked on the wrong button (previous button) before
posting. I resolved this by leaving a message to the students about what I have
done.
Errors
|
Table 2.1 |
Errors Made During My Weekly Research on the Web |
||
|
Errors |
Description |
Type |
|
|
Failure
to recall password for WebCT |
Made
several attempts to log in with my previous WebCT account but could not
remember the password. The last class I used WebCT was in Fall 2002. The
account may have been deactivated. |
Minor
error |
|
|
Posted
comment message under wrong student |
I
accidentally clicked on the wrong button when trying to post my comment
message. As a result, the message was posted in response to the wrong
student. |
Minor
error |
|
|
Not
doing the required postings weekly |
Due
to my procrastination, I did not do my postings on some weeks. |
Serious |
|
How errors were
solved and how I felt
The
first error was very minor. I was not able to remember the password to my
previous WebCT account. However, this was easily solved by simply registering
as a new user. There was also a possibility that the previous account was
expired. I had first felt frustrated at myself but decided that it was not
worth becoming frustrated over since it was such a minor issue.
The
second error of posting the comment message under the wrong student was
accidental, yet minor. I had clicked on the wrong button prior to posting. I
solved this error by posting another response message to the initially intended
student, indicating that their comment message was posted under the previous
student due to my mistake. When I realized that I had made this mistake, I
wondered why it had happened. Then I understood the error that I had made and
felt silly for clicking on the “previous” button. I was glad that the error was
not too serious.
The
third error of not doing the required postings weekly as instructed was
completely due to my procrastinating, which will affect my grades as well as
this report. I consider it serious because I should not have procrastinated so
much and yet have done so. Fortunately, Dr. James has told the students that if
in case a student has not done their weekly postings on a timely manner, then
the student can catch up before beginning Report 2. This was precisely what I
did. I had panicked when I realized how much I had been slacking off, but then
I felt better when I heard from other students that they were facing the same
problem and that Dr. James was allowing the students to make up for the missed
postings that are needed for data for this report.
Advice
to Future Generations
Completing
Report 2 was just as challenging as Report 1 in different ways. Report 1 was
tough because it was the first report to work on and so there was a tremendous
amount of pressure and anxiety involved. On the other hand, for Report 2, the
main struggle was actually getting the WebCT postings done so I had enough
material and data to base my studies on. I cannot stress enough the importance for
the future students of this course to be diligent and consistent with their
postings so they are not overwhelmed with postings at the last minute when they
should be concentrating on the report itself. Also, future students are best
advised to always follow specific instructions as to what is required on the
report. It is best to have it done right the first time so they do not have to
worry about editing the report again.
Facing a Due Date
Facing
a due date for both the weekly research postings as well as for this report itself
has tested my organization and has proved myself to be a failure. First of all,
when doing the two weekly postings, I had slacked off somewhere along the line,
and had left two or three weeks’ worth of postings for the following week at a
time. There in my head I would remember that I had to do these tasks, then I
would let them slip away easily, only to remember a week too late. I would tell
myself, “I’ll do them tonight” and eventually forget until the next day.
Procrastinating
had become far worse when it came to working on this report. Once Dr. James
mentioned how no one had been docked off points for turning their Report 1 in
late, a huge part of me became immediately lazy. However, as day after day went
by, I became more and more anxious about the report. I had missed the due date
and there was a large part of me that felt like it was too late to turn in the
work I have done. However, there is no point in not turning in work that I have
actually done.
In
huge contrast to my first report, facing a due date for this report has turned
out to be a disaster. My laptop crashed twice, once while working on this
report and the second time when I was using a different program. I had to get
my computer to start to begin with, call someone I knew to help me out in
Japan, restore several times, and continuously saved my work on a disk.
Pre- and Post-Ratings
Table 3.1
|
Pre- and Post-Ratings for Report 2 |
||
|
|
|||
|
Mood [negative
1 … 10 positive] |
8 |
3 |
|
|
Importance
in succeeding [not
important 1 … 10 extremely important] |
9 |
10 |
|
|
Difficulty [not
much 1 … 10 a lot] |
9 |
10 |
|
|
Being
upset for not succeeding [not
upset 1 … 10 extremely upset] |
8 |
9 |
|
|
Confidence
in succeeding [doubtful
1 … 10 almost certain] |
8 |
8 |
|
|
Likelihood
of becoming good [pretty
doubtful 1 … 10 almost certain] |
7 |
8 |
|
|
Motivation
to keep trying [slightly
motivated 1 … 10 very highly motivated] |
10 |
9 |
|
|
Computers
will make task easier [I
strongly disagree 1 … 10 I very much agree] |
10 |
10 |
|
|
Amount of effort needed [not much 1 … 10 a tremendous amount] |
10 |
10 |
|
Self-observation
data
By
looking at the above table, I can see that the biggest difference between my
pre and post-ratings was my mood, which went from an eight down to a three.
From the beginning I had anticipated this work to be difficult and time-consuming
so there is not much difference in the ratings for the rest of the data.
Conclusion
This
report has tested my patience and willingness to keep working on a task that is
already late. It has also made me realize that I really should invest in a new
computer since it crashed twice and has been doing so quite frequently lately.
Doing the weekly postings were challenging also because the tasks were not
difficult, but not simple enough to complete in a few simple steps. I had to
log into WebCT, and then research for information on the Internet and such. It
was easy but tedious, which made me want to delay the work each time I
remembered that I had to work on them.
Without
my computer, I would not have been able to work on this report, let alone do
anything for this course. However, it has also taught me that like Dr. James
had said, it is necessary to constantly save your work on a diskette for
backup. I had been doing so but when my computer crashed and would not start
again for a while, I panicked and ended up calling someone I know in Japan for
help since my computer is all in Japanese.
In
the future, I see myself utilizing the computer frequently but hopefully with a
new one because this computer seems to be having malfunctions often.