This phase I am more familiar with. Whenever I find a piece of usable information, I will classify it right away and place it in a like-minded subject area in my paper or my notes. I have to immediately assign the information a home, otherwise I can forget why I selected it and where I wanted to place it.
I decided to review my normal checklist on the accuracy of sources, and see if an inquiry-based approach changed anything:
-Credentials of the author. If they are listed, they can be checked. (Not something I normally do, but knowing that option is there helps authenticate the information)
-Where did I find it? Online database article is better than just a website.
-How much of the total work did I read? Obviously, I do not have the time to read an entire book if only one chapter is relevant. But I need to read the whole chapter to understand the context of the information I DID use.
-How current is the information? I tend to use sources written or updated within the last three years when possible.
*New from inquiry*
-[Efficiency] How easy was it to find? If the information is buried in a website, any teacher checking that part could have trouble locating it.
-Cross-checking. Evaluating Internet Resources on Teacher Tap, written by Johnson and Lamb (2011) was something critical for me. I never had a real system for cross-checking. I would either throw the information out, or trim the questionable data down to just a one-sentence point. Now, I know I should have three independent sources to verify the information. Questionable information can be placed in a chart or graphic organizer, and marked each time another source has confirmed the findings.
The hardest part for me, in Wiggling, is cutting information out. Some of the sources I found, typically an online article, did not list any links or show it was actually the result of research. It could be a glorified blog post for all I know. Even though the information was interesting, I had to take it out because it was not reliable or proven. The article here by Hepburn http://www.manolith.com/2009/07/14/rites-of-passage/ listed several rites I was unaware of. While I could search the rites the article listed in other sources, I would not use this article itself. This article http://listverse.com/2009/12/28/10-bizarre-rites-of-passage/
also had new rites, but the author was a username, and the website was essentially for popular interests. Other times, I decided I would list the author and site and make it clear this was an OPINION I found.
Around this time I was receiving response to emails I had sent out. Predominately, I asked for help from the IUPUI professors in the Sociology department. I gathered their names from the Sociology Directory, which as of September 17, 2011 is found at http://liberalarts.iupui.edu/sociology/index.php/faculty_staff/. The professors had their ‘academic interests’ listed, and I wrote to those who potentially had knowledge about rites of passage. I hoped they would have enough expertise in directing me to quality resources. They…did help, but not in the way I expected. My initial email explained who I was, and what I wanted their expert input on (rites of passage, and if any modern ones exist in the West). To my distress…none of them really understood what I was asking! This was a bad sign, if the experts were not following my line of research and questioning.
However, several new avenues resulted from the emails. Carol Gardner, Professor of Sociology and Adjunct Professor of Women's Studies and American Studies, said that what I wanted to know was more of an anthropology question. So that could be why my searching in online databases was so problematic: I was looking in the wrong discipline! Patricia Wittberg, another Professor of Sociology at IUPUI, said in her reply if I was meaning religious rites of passage. That has been a reoccurring event. People who I discuss my topic with think I am pursing spiritual rites, such as the Jewish bar mitzvah. This is another aspect to pursue, because it could mean:
A) – There is a spiritual component to rites of passage that cannot be overlooked, and/or
B) – The only rites that still exist in the modern world are the ones with religious undertones.
It is finally happened for me, at this point in inquiry: I realize how much I do not know about my topic!
Johnson, L. and Lamb, A. (2011). Evaluating internet resources. Teacher Tap, accessed online on Sept 17, 2011 at http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic32.htm
Ey yi yi, Robert, you have such nice, comprehensive posts! You are hard to keep up with! I think your topic is very intersting, and although you started straying away from the child audience, you will easily be able to get back on track. Both male and female students will probably be very curious about this topic, and learn an incredible amount about their role in society and how it has evolved over the past several years.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I noticed in my next W I was actually starting to lean more towards a parents/adults audience than for kids!
ReplyDeleteFemale rites are actually hard to define. Adulthood training tends to be very one-on-one and private. More relational. Men tend to initiate in groups. At least, that is what my brief exposure suggests.
After reading this post, I'm interested in the mention of how religious ceremonies play into the "rites of passage." I know many religions have such "rites," but here's what I'm wondering: does going through these "rites" actually make boys FEEL like "men"? You hit on this in another post when you said that high school and college graduation could both be considered "rites of passage," but individual performance and expectations can also render those void of personal significance. Maybe this is why no "American rites of passage" come easily to mind.... so much variation between individuals!
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