Native Youth Issues in US and Canada
This was an informal research project to assist Dr. Robert Benson with an Oxford Bibliography.
[Taken from practicum report]
--Research assistance for Dr. Robert Benson, Professor of English and Director of Writing
Bob’s research was challenging in that the subject was broad in scope (issues with American and Canadian native youth in subjects such as medicine, child welfare policy, urbanization, etc.) yet many articles focused on narrow topics such as diabetes, or geographic locations such as the northeast.
After receiving an invitation from Rebekah (the archivist) to assist with the research, I was given the research topic and proceeded to do some preliminary research. This turned out to be a good idea as Bob found the articles useful and was able to further narrow down the topic from the articles provided. During the initial meeting, we were provided with the Oxford Bibliography instructions, including restrictions on length (this restricted the results to articles over 10 pages in length, which was a challenge as most articles on the subject averaged between five and eight pages).
One major obstacle to the research was a problem with the ERIC database. Some time ago, ERIC discovered personally identifiable information in their database and so removed all information prior to 2005. Many of the results found were from the ERIC database and older than 2005. This was very frustrating for Bob as many of those articles would have otherwise been relevant. He had the option of requesting certain articles, but there was no guarantee they would be released and if so, when.
Over the course of the research, the scope and topic evolved:
1) educational issues and policy for Native American/Canadian youth;
2) medical issues and policy;
3) impact of the Royal Commission’s Report on Aboriginal Peoples in Canada after 1996;
4) journal titles that cover Native American/Canadian educational and child welfare issues
I suggested the best way for Rebekah, Bob, and I to collaborate would be to use Google Drive Documents so that articles could be added over time with Bob suggesting the direction of the research. After instructing them on how to use the software, it worked quite well, especially as the subject criteria shifted. It allowed Bob to highlight what did or did not work for each article as it was provided.
In the end, he was pleased with the assistance provided, he learned how to use Google Drive, and how to find the information he needed by using a combination of subject headings, keywords, limiters, and specific databases such as Academic Search Premier as well as the library’s less-powerful federated search, EBSCO Discovery Service.
--Research assistance for Dr. Robert Benson, Professor of English and Director of Writing
Bob’s research was challenging in that the subject was broad in scope (issues with American and Canadian native youth in subjects such as medicine, child welfare policy, urbanization, etc.) yet many articles focused on narrow topics such as diabetes, or geographic locations such as the northeast.
After receiving an invitation from Rebekah (the archivist) to assist with the research, I was given the research topic and proceeded to do some preliminary research. This turned out to be a good idea as Bob found the articles useful and was able to further narrow down the topic from the articles provided. During the initial meeting, we were provided with the Oxford Bibliography instructions, including restrictions on length (this restricted the results to articles over 10 pages in length, which was a challenge as most articles on the subject averaged between five and eight pages).
One major obstacle to the research was a problem with the ERIC database. Some time ago, ERIC discovered personally identifiable information in their database and so removed all information prior to 2005. Many of the results found were from the ERIC database and older than 2005. This was very frustrating for Bob as many of those articles would have otherwise been relevant. He had the option of requesting certain articles, but there was no guarantee they would be released and if so, when.
Over the course of the research, the scope and topic evolved:
1) educational issues and policy for Native American/Canadian youth;
2) medical issues and policy;
3) impact of the Royal Commission’s Report on Aboriginal Peoples in Canada after 1996;
4) journal titles that cover Native American/Canadian educational and child welfare issues
I suggested the best way for Rebekah, Bob, and I to collaborate would be to use Google Drive Documents so that articles could be added over time with Bob suggesting the direction of the research. After instructing them on how to use the software, it worked quite well, especially as the subject criteria shifted. It allowed Bob to highlight what did or did not work for each article as it was provided.
In the end, he was pleased with the assistance provided, he learned how to use Google Drive, and how to find the information he needed by using a combination of subject headings, keywords, limiters, and specific databases such as Academic Search Premier as well as the library’s less-powerful federated search, EBSCO Discovery Service.
