Unit 3: Exploring Topics

Hello, dear Reader!
  Today I have been learning how to do more thorough research using subject encyclopedias, different levels of the web, and other sources.  I shall document a portion of what I did on this blog.
  To be honest, I have been wanting to learn how to do this for some time.  The internet is a big playground, and navigating it is essential in this age.
  My research subject for this blog entry will be of a military nature.  For some time now I have been writing a loose memoir of my military experiences.  While doing so I have found that my memory of certain activities and terms isn't enough.  I need to be able to more accurately recall my experiences, and doing a little research into the attitudes and activities of the US Navy at that time is a logical step.  To that end I decided to use Women in the US Navy as my focus topic, with secondary focuses being the history of gender integration in the military, and the evolution of attitudes toward women in the military.  I also need to be able to recall all the vernacular terminology of the time.  The uniforms were in flux while I served my country, and being able to remember what uniform items I dealt with is important.  Personal grooming regulations were changed, too, so I would need to pin those down.  The ships I had experience with and the bases I was assigned to have also changed, and knowing a bit more about them would be helpful.  Lastly, the history of the political atmosphere would also be pertinent.
  To facilitate my research I started with good ol' Wikipedia.  However, I have long since learned not to use this site as a definitive source, so I only used it as a sort of compass: "The subject you are looking for looks rather like 'this' and is over 'that-a-way'." I also looked within Gale Virtual Research Library and Google Scholar.  There are also sites for Veterans that I have access to that I used.  Two are http://wn.com/uss_acadia_%28ad-42%29/wiki
which is a site set up to memorialize one of the ships I served aboard, and http://www.togetherweserved.com/
which is a site that allows present and past military members to connect with other military members.
  In Wikipedia I looked up the history of the US Naval Uniform.  The article I found was entitled, "Uniforms of the United States Navy".  The contributors to this article were many.  I shall cite some here.
Kube, Courtney (17 July 2008), "New Navy uniform goes retro", usnews.msnbc.msn.com/
United States Navy Uniform Regulations NAVPERS 15665 published by the US Navy at least once every two years.
"NAVADMIN 374/09: Navy Working Uniform Type II and III". Chief of Naval Operations. CDR Salamander. 4 January 2010.
  One article I found that is quite enlightening in GVRL is "Uniforms, Military" in a volume called, Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion
Ed. Valerie Steele. Vol. 3. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005. p364-369. Thomas S. Abler
  I intend to continue researching so as to solidify my memories of that time.  I want my memories of that time to be easily understood by those who read my memoir.
  -- Writer