Page 271 - Foundations of Learning, 4th Edition (Revised)

CRITICAL REFLECTION

Researching

1. How has your view of researching changed over the course of this week? Do you believe that strong
researching skills can be an asset in college and in your field? Why?

2. What have you enjoyed or disliked about the research process? How can you capitalize on your enjoyment
and work through your dislikes?

Lindsey on researching:

1. My view on researching has really changed! I thought research was only for boring papers about
things I didn’t care about—but now I know I can use research in my field. I told my boss and the head
chef what I had learned for my report on locavores, and they were really interested. I can
imagine researching new recipes and even farms in the area we could use as suppliers
for our produce. I also learned that I can do research! I learned about a lot of cool places
to start. It’s not so hard once you get started. I know I won’t dread starting any research
papers I have to do in college now—although I still prefer hands-on courses.

2. I really enjoy learning new things about topics I’m interested in, but I’m still not thrilled
with the whole documentation aspect of it. I found out that I have to stick to my thesis,
or else I go off in all directions. I like going in all directions, but there won’t be
enough time in college. I did learn that if I take good notes, especially on
the author, title, etc., it’s not so bad to write up the research. My teacher
also suggested we do the References or Works Cited list first—to get
it over with. That helped. What surprised me, I guess, is that I enjoy
learning and knowing new things so much. Being an expert on
something rocks!

Chapter 10 — Finding and Working with Sources 265