Locate Books on Your Topic and Bring One Book to Class

The topic that I have chosen for my research is substance abuse with a specific focus on its subgroup of alcohol abuse.

When it comes to the topic of alcohol abuse, I think I will be looking for books with general information about alcohol abuse: is it common?, what are its characteristics?, who/whom does it affect the most?, and ect.  I am also very interested in finding out what it is that alcohol does to the body to alter ones personality and actions while on the substance (The psychological effects of alcohol consumption).

The search string I used when I got to the Miller Center Library page and had chosen the advanced search option was: Alcoholism (with search parameter of subject), in book format, which gave me 1666 results, and then on the right hand side I clicked the refine search option of alcohol—psychological effect, which limited the search options down to 107 of them.  But in this search string I was not able to find what it was I was looking for.  I think this was the case because I was too focused on trying to find information which was published within the last few years, which made finding a book very difficult.  So then I went back to the advanced search page to start a new string and typed in substance abuse AND alcoholism and got 372 results, and luckily one of the first books that appeared in the search was one I thought I could use Psychosocial Constructs of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse.

I have never before used an Ebook as a means for research before, but I suppose if I was able to find some sort of book that was not available in the library, as an EBook instead, I would be interested in reading an EBook.  I am a little leery though about what the possible online formatting of the EBook may look like, because it would seem like it could be very easy to lose your place while you’re reading (especially if you have to scroll down to read) and then it could take a lot of time having to back track and find where you were at if you lose your place.

When I looked for an EBook on advanced search with the search string Alcoholism, I found 234 results and chose Consequences of Alcoholism: Medical, Neuropsychiatric, Economic, Cross-cultural as an Ebook to read.  I was really surprised by how many Ebooks where offered on OPAC, since being able to read a full book online is such a foreign concept to me and I have never before done it.

I was pleasantly surprised while reading the EBook about my topic.  The online formatting of the pages in the book looked just like that of a regular book you would physically have in front of you (I had been worried that it would require constant scrolling down to reading the book and possibly losing your place because of that) I think it felt a little odd at first reading the EBook on the screen of my computer, because I am used to reading books at an angle, but I think I prefer being able to read them at the angle provided though the computer screen more than that of a traditional print book.

I do not have a mobile device which allows me to read an EBook on it, so I was not able to experience what that would be like (though for me I do not believe I would like how small it would be).

And when I went on the Great River Regional Library website to search for a book, I found it to be a little more confusing compared to the Miller Center Library OPAC. When I reached the advanced search page and typed in alcoholism, limiting the search parameters to subject keyword, and was going to select book as preferred format to find.  But on the type section it did not clearly list book as an option from what I could see. So that threw me off a little. So I had to sort through 326 results which included DVD’s and EBooks, and even then I was not able to find what I was looking for material wise. The Great River Regional site also did not give you options on the right hand side to help you limit down your topic, and I found that to be very helpful on the Miller Center website.  I found my experience with the Miller Center Library OPAC to be much more helpful for finding the types of books I was looking for than The Great River Regional Library catalog which was very confusing to navigate through.

I have never before used an Ebook as a means for research before, but I suppose if I was able to find some sort of book that was not available in the library, as an EBook instead, I would be interested in reading an EBook.  I am a little leery though about what the possible online formatting of the EBook may look like, because it would seem like it could be very easy to lose your place while you’re reading (especially if you have to scroll down to read) and then it could take a lot of time having to back track and find where you were at if you lose your place.

When I looked for an EBook on advanced search with the search string Alcoholism, I found 234 results and chose Consequences of Alcoholism: Medical, Neuropsychiatric, Economic, Cross-cultural as an Ebook to read.  I was really surprised by how many Ebooks where offered on OPAC, since being able to read a full book online is such a foreign concept to me and I have never before done it.

I was pleasantly surprised while reading the EBook about my topic.  The online formatting of the pages in the book looked just like that of a regular book you would physically have in front of you (I had been worried that it would require constant scrolling down to reading the book and possibly losing your place because of that) I think it felt a little odd at first reading the EBook on the screen of my computer, because I am used to reading books at an angle, but I think I prefer being able to read them at the angle provided though the computer screen more than that of a traditional print book.

I do not have a mobile device which allows me to read an EBook on it, so I was not able to experience what that would be like (though for me I do not believe I would like how small it would be).

And when I went on the Great River Regional Library website to search for a book, I found it to be a little more confusing compared to the Miller Center Library OPAC. When I reached the advanced search page and typed in alcoholism, limiting the search parameters to subject keyword, and was going to select book as preferred format to find.  But on the type section it did not clearly list book as an option from what I could see. So that threw me off a little. So I had to sort through 326 results which included DVD’s and EBooks, and even then I was not able to find what I was looking for material wise. The Great River Regional site also did not give you options on the right hand side to help you limit down your topic, and I found that to be very helpful on the Miller Center website.  I found my experience with the Miller Center Library OPAC to be much more helpful for finding the types of books I was looking for than The Great River Regional Library catalog which was very confusing to navigate through.

What Do You Assume to Be True About Substance Abusers?

Over the course of the semester I feel I should more closely examine the vulnerable human population of substance abusers.  I think that with this subgroup it is very easy to judge and label substance abusers as bad and wrong (and I definitely believe this to be true in most cases of substance abuse).  I have had contact with substance abusers (in my family and acquaintances) throughout my life and I would like to be able to understand why it is they have come to the conclusion that it is alright to readily abuse substances which alter their personality and actions so greatly from what they were, into someone who is possibly incoherent and frankly quite annoying at times because of it.  I feel that I could further benefit from understanding what it is that happens when a person uses/abuses a substance (such as brain chemistry, and their thought processes) since I do not know that much about it and I feel it could be of use to me if I attain a job in the medical field as a nurse.  I also am not that familiar with the types of substances/drugs which one is able to abuse, so I would like to learn more about them.

The assumptions I have about the substance abuser population are that those who are in this category are pathological liars who will steal from and manipulate those around them so that they will be able to continue the abuse the substance of their choice.  I believe that people who are substance abusers are in a sense bad people (the level of bad varies though I suppose) who often if they have a family will disregard or take lite of those peoples involvement in the situation; or future involvement in the situation.  They don't care that other people will have to deal with the consequences of their substance abuse (such as if they OD, or if they become verbally abusive).  I believe that it can also be said that to some level in my own opinion most substance abusers are people who have not received a good education and are not highly intelligent.  I believe this because one would think that if a person was well educated they would not allow themselves to go down that road when it is so publically advertised that it could and most likely will ruin their life.  I also feel that substance abuse (though I am sure it is not limited to a select group of people) is prevalent among the African American populations and Hispanic populations.

I believe one part that has shaped my view of this group of people is due to those I have talked to briefly about it in my daily life or in classes I have taken. In which they informed me that substance abusers avidly use manipulation and will constantly lie if they think they can benefit from you and use you to their advantage.  I also think that the local news, such as Fox news and the St. Cloud Times have shaped my views since most of the time when you hear about substance abusers it is often those people who were raised and or are currently living in a poor/bad neighborhood.  And most of the time these substance abuse news articles will feature African American/Hispanic peoples who live in a bad part of town and are substance abusers... (I’m not labeling African Americans and Hispanics as substance abusers.... only that most of the articles which I have seen have featured those two races a great portion of the time in regard to substance abuse.... it probably hinges (is made easier) on the economic status (poor community) of the community which allows substance abusers to flourish more readily if I think about it... so it can affect any race… but I will consider that later on....)

I think the most difficult challenge of researching the topic of substance abuse will be finding sources which views do not show an overwhelming bias towards substance abusers, such as them being victims to the substance who can't control their actions, and then those who just have something ethically wrong with them because they have decided to go down the path of substance abuse.  I will most likely also have to deal with my own person encounters of substance abusers, and separate them from the information I gather so that I do not skew my research with my opinions on the subject.

What is Critical Thinking?

Before when I had thought about critical thinking, I had defined it as being when a person has to think about a subject matter which requires them to go beyond the parameters of normal thought and reasoning.  It requires a person to look beyond what is normally seen in daily life and instead of acknowledging its existence and continuing on with one’s life, to center ones focus on the subject and analyze it further than ever before.  I also think that through this deeper level of examination, it is possible that one may be lead to truths which one may find uncomfortable depending on the subject matter that is analyzed. But I believe this shows that one’s thinking has delve to a deeper level of thought and thusly allows it to be classified as critical thinking.  I believe my definition of critical thinking has been shaped through the classes I have taken during my life (especially the last few years) which have asked me to think critically to answer questions in the class.  Most recently I had been asked to think critically while reading my book assignments in my sociology class so that I would be able to interpret them in a way which facilitated the weekly online discussions we had during the course.  As was the case in my English class last semester when my instructor asked us to think critically while writing our final paper.

The educational reformer John Dewey, can be considered an 'expert' on critical thinking. His ideas have greatly shaped the educational system, especially when it came to his definition of critical thinking as having active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusions to which it tends.

Harvey J. Brightman.  (n.d). GSU Master Teacher Program: On Critical Thinking. Retrieved from http://www2.gsu.edu/~dschjb/wwwcrit.html

John Dewey basically advocates that for students to be able to think critically they must be taught to examine, poke and reflect upon what it is they have learned or are learning about.  Basically it is done through having students do some sort of activity and then having them reflect upon that activity directly afterwards to achieve critical thinking.

I think the connection between critical thinking and IM 204 Research Strategies which I am taking this semester is that both critical thinking and my IM 204 class will require me to think beyond the normal parameters of convention thought (face value), and really analyze what the information I find is telling me about the subject I am researching.