Research Process Post 3: The Journey Continues

   

     In my last post, I discussed the processed I went through in deciding on a question and searching for information.  After I got a got a good night's sleep, I added the last articles I found, added some pictures, and posted my blog.  But, luckily, my daughter was willing to read over my posts, though I had to deal with the snickers and comments of how boring it was.  She found so many typos, and awkwardly worded statements that I had made in my exhausted state!  Now it's time to continue my research using the InfoZone method.

     The third step is Choosing: Understanding and Appraising Information.  The resources listed under this heading, included one about evaluating web pages, the link didn't work, but I was able to track down the current web page.  Widener University's web page has a section for evaluating web pages and has a link to this video addressing evaluation based on authority, accuracy, currency, and objectivity.  Authority is a look at the author, for things like their name and contact information listed, and why they are knowledgeable about this topic.  Accuracy is looking for resources and references listed.  Currency is looking for dates published and updated, how recent the dates are, and if all hyperlinks work. Objectivity is considering any bias the person might have on the subject.

      ✔Article 1: Math Skills: What to Expect at Different Ages:  The author is Amanda Morin, she is listed on the website, with her picture, linked to her bio, she has an education degree, training in parent advocacy, is a former teacher, and author with three published books.  I checked it out, and the books are listed on GoodReads, which has a similar bio for her.  The article was also reviewed by Donna Volpitta who has a doctorate in learning disabilities.  There are no sources listed, but the information provided is in the realm of Amanda Morin's expertise.  The article's copywright is listed as 2014, all the links were internal to the site and working.  I could see or think of any bias.  I determined this article to be trustworthy.

     ✘Article 2: Metacognition, Cognitive Monitoring, and Mathematical Performance:  This article was published in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Journal for Research in Mathematics Education.  I would find this trustworthy, but it was published in 1985, so it is not current.  Also, it didn't really have information helpful to my research. I determined this was not a useful article for my purposes.

      ✔Article 3: Development of Abstract Mathematical Reasoning:  The Case for Algebra:  This website is an archive of journals, but the article was published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience in Switzerland.  The authors are information are listed at the top of the article, three of the authors are part of the physics faculty at a university, and the fourth is the chair of the psychology department.  The article uses and lists multiple resources, and at least some, if not all are from the U.S.  At the top of the article, it says it was published in 2014.  All the links are working.  I didn't believe there is a lack of objectivity in teachers looking for ways to help students.

     ✔Article 4:  Abstract Thinking:  This doesn't list a specific author, but it is an entry in an online psychology encyclopedia.  The website, is a gathering site for published information and news in the field of psychology, and a source to help people find therapists.  This entry is information pulled from sources that it lists, including Piaget.  The entry was last updated 8/4/2015, and the website is copyrighted 2007-2018.  The mission and goal of this organization is posted, and I believe their definitions are unbiased.

     ✔Article 5: The Formal Operation Stage of Cognitive Development:  Right away, at the top, I see the author and the reviewer.  The author is Kendra Cherry, there is a link to her Bio.  She teaches psychology and is a published author.  I looked her up on GoodReads and she has two written two psychology books, with good reviews.  Her reviewer is an assistant professor at Harvard and a certified psychiatrist, he is on the review board of Very Well Mind, the website this article is on, and whose goal is to provide trusted information about mental health.  The article lists 5 resources. It was last updated 5/24/18.  The links are working.  I determined her to be unbiased.

     ✘Article 6: Adult Mental Development: There is no information about the website at the top, and no logo - just his unlinked name Gregory Mitchell, this article and a sidebar advertising mind development courses.  No sources are cited.  There is a copyright for the page at the bottom of 2005 - 2015.  At the bottom, it says "Contact Webmaster", but it is not a link and does not tell you how.  I could find no outside information about the author, but the website includes a bio that says he was a stage manager, a method actor, got an electrical engineering degree, owned a company in Andorra, and developed this "mind development" program.  The person giving testimonial about him says Gregory Mitchell had been interested in sports medicine, experimented with improving performance with psychological methods, wrote a monologue "Zen and the Art of Sprinting", tried to increase people's reading speed by having them do exercises under "stroboscopic lighting", disappeared for four years, and returned shell shocked.  It didn't feel like an endorsement to me.

      ✘Article 7: Cognitive Development: This article has a website at the top "Encyclopedia of Children's Health".  When you click on it, it tells this is in depth articles about children's health.  It also has a public forum.  But, there is no further information.  The author's name is at the bottom, and I almost missed it: Ken R. Wells.  There is no information about him, so I googled him.  There is a journalist and novelist by that name, and there is an author of non-fiction books on Amazon.  I don't know if he is either one of these people.  There are three user questions at the bottom, all unanswered.  There are a lot of sources listed for the article, that look like they could be legitimate, but one has a link which is not working.  The article is not dated.

     ✘Article 8: Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development You'd be Fascinated to Know: At the top it tells you the website is PsycholoGenie, and they are here to help provide you information.  You can email them, follow them on Facebook, and Google+.  They are owned by Buzzle.com, who has a lot of informational websites.  This article was published by "PsycholoGenie" staff.  I can find nothing about the staff of this website or Buzzle.com, nor about the authority of the websites.  The article doesn't cite sources.

     ✘Article 9:  Cognitive Development - Piaget's stages of cognitive development, Modern views:   The website is not listed at the top, nor is any author, or date.  At the very bottom is the logo for Net Industries, but no link.  I Googled them and found they provide free utilities for webmasters.  At the bottom, it shows how to cite this article, but the only information is the title and this website.  The article says Piaget is French, but someone commented in the bottom, that he is Swiss.  I looked it up and found out he is Swiss, but was born in an area of Switzerland that spoke French.

     ✔Article 10: Teenagers and Abstract Thinking: Unclear on the Concept?:  The website is Edutopia, part of George Lucas' Educational Foundation.  Their mission is to do k-12 educational research and to inform people on what works.  The author is Shawn Cornally, a lead stem teacher at an innovative high school IowaBIG.  His bio on Edutopia includes his blog and his website, which include a lot of information and qualifications.  He cites sources that I was able to locate.  The article is dated 3/5/2013 and the links are working.  He appears to love teaching, and sharing his successes.

Illustration from Lawson's reasoning test

     ✔Article 11: Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning:  This is a pdf of a classroom test for formal reasoning published in the Journal of Research in Science Teaching.  This test is the tool used by the teacher interviewed in article 10, and the full research article that used this test can be accessed through one of his sources: http://www.public.asu.edu/~anton1/LawsonAssessments.htm.

     ✔Article 12: Lawson Test Keys - Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning: This is on a website that is an online library of resources.  You can access a limited amount of articles for free if you register with them.  To see full articles, you must sign up for a paid account or upload your own educational documents.  You have to fill out an application to verify you are an educator.  This document has been uploaded by Brooklyn College for Physics 101.

    ✔Article 13:  Scientific Reasoning Abilities of Non-Science Majors in Physics-based Courses:  This is a site for researchers to share their articles and connect with their peers.  The authors are listed at the top, rolling over their picture and name pulls up their qualifications: the are both in the physics department at Coastal Carolina University.  The journal this article was published in is cited at the top.  Their article has 40 references, all listed.  This article was published in the journal in October of 2011.  If you download the article, it tells you it was uploaded 3/12/14.  I judged them to be unbiased on this subject matter.

Widener University Wolfram Libray

     This was the longest step, so far, and the most difficult for me.  However, I found this process to be very educational as I knew you were supposed to verify your sources, but did not know how.  All of these articles appeared legitimate to me, but thanks to Widener University for supplying a YouTube video tutorial, I now have a method for verifying sources.  Their video is very well done, and I found it entertaining.  They view two websites with information on Martin Luther King, Jr.  Both look legitimate, but following their steps, you discover one is published by a grand wizard of the KKK.