My lesson with literature

I have always had a lot of confidence in the way I research backed up by the fact I attended the online seminars offered by the library, took notes and established a research routine early on that I have stuck to persistantly.  Although I have often been disappointed to never achieve an A grade I have never thought that my research routine may have played fault in that.  This week I learned better.

To start with I researched the web for the basic topic background for my position paper on the fluoride debate i.e. Wikipedia, fluoridefree.org.nz, and the Ministry of Health website.  With an overall view of the topic and some keywords to search with I hit the library online resource search engines.  Discover gave me some great resources so I skimmed through abstracts and selected 15 or so journal articles that I felt were relevant.

I then got stuck into reading those journal articles and writing a basic outline of my position paper. I never second-guessed the articles I had picked until I started on our weekly lessons.  I felt confident using the library so I choose to skim through the first week’s lectures and focused on week two’s lessons in case there was something new to learn.  While watching lesson one of week two I started to question how I selected my chosen journal articles.  I started to think about how I researched and why.  It stopped me in my tracks.  I went back and watched every lecture again and formulated a new plan of my research steps. I also critiqued how I had carried out my previous research for the position paper. Whoa Lorde what I found!!! My list of research sins is the following:

 - Becoming complacent about using the peer-reviewed filter, 

 - Selecting my articles from one search done by Discover and not bothering to check results for keywords in other engines,

 - Not researching who the author is and their credibility

 - Not checking the year of publication or if the information contained was relevant!!

Now excuse me while I hang my head in shame. My previous confidence was unfounded but alas I can see the error of my ways.  I set up a basic research plan early on and then never revised or questioned the process again.  In psychology speak one would say I made a familiarity heuristic i.e. I took a mental short cut to decide confidence in my researching skills because the way I researched had worked for me before.  This heuristic allows people the world over to continue to make the same mistake repeatedly, never realizing the problem. What works for me is my willingness to change how I work to better what I produce and that definitely played a part in realising my mistakes.  I realize I won’t become an A grade student overnight but I will get there. In the meantime I will strike infallible off my list of student characteristics and savor the fruit of a lesson learned.  Time to get that rough draft complete and start editing my heart out!!!!

An introductory note

Welcome to my blog. My name is Nadine Everson and I am completing the Communication in the Sciences paper, and subsequently this blog, as a requirement for my BSc majoring in Psychology.  Through my blog I hope to share my personal experiences, opinions and understanding of issues in science and to also use this blog as a great way of engaging and communicating with my fellow students. 

After completing my BSc I plan to carry onto postgraduate study in both Neuroscience and Clinical Psychology and to eventually become a fully qualified Clinical Psychologist.  Throughout my working life I have always been drawn to jobs that involve engaging with others and helping them therefore, the field of Psychology is a great fit for me.  I believe that the study of the human mind and it’s function, with particular reference to how it affects behavior is a fascinating subject that can be used to help people in many different contexts. 

Completing a science related degree makes perfect sense to me, as Psychology is the scientific investigation of our minds.  For previous Psychology papers I have had to learn to name and functions of different areas of the brain, explain the process of how neurotransmitters and made and distributed throughout the brain and read an amazing amount of scientific papers.  Not to mention conducting my own scientific investigations including writing hypotheses, planning and executing experiments, and detailing those investigations in subjective research reports.  I believe that by incorporating science papers into my degree I will end up with not only a strong qualification but also with the skills necessary to ensure I am a capable successful practitioner in my chosen field.

As mentioned in our lectures for this week communication is a desired skill by future employers which is not a fact I would think that most students consider when planning their degrees. I feel communication is integral to my chosen career and in the journey I will have to undergo to get into Clinical Psychology.  I consider it high on my list of priorities to learn the skills to enable effective communication skills both written and verbal.  My main goal for this course is to sharpen up my writing skills and to gain confidence in what skills I have.  I often find I second-guess what I have written and that can lengthen the writing process considerable.  My editing process mainly centres around "can I restate this better" rather than "what point am I making and does it fit with my writing intention".  

It isn't all bad though!!!  I am a strong brainstormer and I love to research and also organise.  I am the type of student that reads the admin guide back to front, organises and continually revises study plans and ensures I understand instructions before beginning assignments.  My current job includes organising and running meetings, assigning roles and teaching others how to establish new protocols surrounding our client's behaviour plans so I think I will be a strong team player.