Hello Readers,
I will be
writing about my research process for my Position paper, the topic I have
chosen is: The New Zealand government
should adopt a policy of subsiding healthy food by taxing unhealthy food.
Before I get into this I will give you all a paragraph about me and my history
regarding education and researching, this way you get a better understanding of
who I am as we go through this journey.
I’ll be
honest that from the age of 16, when I left school, I truly believed I wasn’t an
academic person. I felt that reading and writing, beyond the use of social
media, wasn’t for me. After having my son, I realized I needed to do more, I moved
back from Australia and made the decision to study. I was extremely nervous
about studying as I had honestly not written nor read something more than an
email or a Facebook post since leaving school to early. This was compounded
when my first introduction to university study was a long and difficult
semester, there were many late nights and early mornings as I struggled to
grasp concepts of researching, reading and writing at a level that is
acceptable for university.
Because of
the above I used my break to find resources and tools to help improve myself in
this area. The following paragraphs explains what I have done and it was all
learnt from this paper, the Massey University online seminars and fellow students.
Firstly, I
took my topic and reworded it into a question, Should the New Zealand government adopt a policy of subsiding healthy
food by taxing unhealthy food? By doing this it allowed me to be more
specific in looking for answers and information. It also brought about subsidiary
questions. For example, have similar policies been applied elsewhere and with
what results?
Secondly,
after having identified the questions, I took all my main terms from my
question and listed all my possible search words. Some examples from my list
are healthy, unhealthy, obesity, tax*, sugar, fat, incentives, plus many more.
This helped me to be effective and use my time better when searching online.
Thirdly, I
used the Massey University online library for the bulk of my search. I used the
list I had created to form different search options bringing up more sources. I
then went through and read the abstract and discussion/conclusions of each
source, if I found them useful I saved them through Endnote. Upon having a good
pile of possible sources, I went through them a little deeper and picked the
ones I truly needed. One of the things I learnt from this was to use the
reference list of the papers I had found as they were valid sources on the same
topic, they also took me to various places such as government sites, newspaper
articles and an online medical article site.
The above
process has helped me to form a position and made me think critically about the
information available. My position has changed slightly from before I began the
research but is now one I can confidently stand by.
Ryan.
4 comments:
Hey Ryan,
I still think that it is so amazing that you have begun to study again after finishing school at 16! You are setting a fabulous example for your kids!
Your approach to researching is classic and really effective. Rewording the statement into a question is something I was taught to do at High School when we had NCEA exams coming up. Also the use of main words is something I started with when I begun to research. I think its easier to find information that way rather than typing in the whole question or statement. I have yet to use the Massey Library but I think it's a really good way of finding reputable resources.
I am looking forward to seeing what else you come up with and how your research progresses!
Bridget :)
Kia ora Ryan,
Your approach to researching this topic is simple, yet brilliant and quite contradicting to your previous statement regarding your approach to academic based education.
I found it helpful to break the argument into two sections(for & against). Then after doing this brainstormed potential arguments for both sides. I used blog posts from other websites that focus on this question to gain a better understanding of both sides to better compliment my writing.
I too am doing the same topic and look forward to reading your position paper(if available), as well as the remaining blog posts to see your progress.
N
HI Ryan,
Great to hear that your position has changed, however slightly, after researching. This shows that you're thinking and not falling into the trap of confirmation bias. It sounds like you have your research methods honed and you're doing well! It is important to read plenty on both sides of the argument and then present your position through evidence.
Keep up the good work!
Shaun
Hi Ryan,
Firstly the idea to include more of your background in this blog was really neat as it give a better understanding of where you are coming from.
I like the way you have broken down your process into three steps and I am sure to use step two of working out key search word in the future.
Jade.
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