Week 4: Information Sources

Dear Reader:
    There were 5 practice research questions assigned that I will address here.
  1.  Is a vegetarian diet healthier than a meat-based diet?
  This question presumes that two dietary choices are possible: vegetarian, without stipulating the level of vegetarianism, and meat-based.  There are many gradations of diet possible.  However, I will address this question in a broad manner.
  One source I found that I would trust is to be found here: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/vegpage.html
  It was written by Higgins,Kristin, 1998 or 1999 (the precise date is not clear), Psychology Department, Vanderbilt University, Nashville.  It is carefully researched and thoroughly cited.
  2.  Target often forces musicians to alter lyrics in order to have their CDs sold in Target stores.  Is this cencorship?
  This would appear to be a question of opinion and less a question of law, so a periodical or some other source with public input would be a good source.  After opening the search box in Google I typed in the following: "Target stores" AND (music) AND censorship.  In the results I found a series of comments on the Target Mobile Site, found here.  There was also a link to Clark College Libraries, here, where there were ways outlined to define a search, which was helpful.  However, in my opinion the best source would be found here.  The author has carefully researched this issue, and looks to me to be the best source for information on this topic.
  3.  How much more can a college graduate expect to earn over someone with a high school diploma?
  For this question I decided to focus on earnings.  I opened Google and typed in "average salary high school graduates versus college graduates" and got 3,370,000 results in 0.41 seconds.  The best link to be found was here.  Click on the link and you will find the site for the National Center for Education Statistics where the facts are carefully laid out, including narrative, a table, and a list of sources and resources at the bottom.
  4.  Should educators use commercial services to combat plagiarism?
  For this source I would think an actual educator would be the best source.  A conversation with each of my instructors would be a good course to take.  Also, consulting a librarian or two would not hurt as they are actually educators at heart.
  5.  Is the current lack of sunspot activity effecting global warming?
  This question is of a scientific bend.  First I searched the open web for sunspot activity and found this site which gives an exhaustive amount of data on sunspots in this solar cycle.  It was quite apparent that there is no current lack of sunspot activity.  Then I typed the question in question directly into Google.  This rendered a lot of blogspot hits, which I ignored, and that allowed me to find this site which addresses global warming.

   Next I am going to try to identify the most useful information sources for three of the questions I posed in my last post.
  Question 1.  What uniforms were worn by enlisted and commissioned personnel in the era during which I served?
  The definitive source is a book, the United States Navy Uniform Regulations NAVPERS (number) of 1981, which was published by the United States Department of Defense.  In order to acquire this volume I would have to request to purchase one from the archives of the US Navy.  The easiest and fastest way to do that is to call their phone number, which I will do on October 22nd or 23rd.
  There is at least an online reading room with information addressing this question, found here:
 http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/readingroom.htm
  It connects to a digital archive of resources, but few of them are as current as I need.
  The book source is the best source because these were the regulations that were used as the standard for personnel inspections when I was serving.  The online sources, however are the most recent that can be accessed by civilians.
 2.  Why were the uniforms I wore in flux?
  The reading room link mentioned above has a link to the specific section of their database that addresses the history of US Naval Uniforms.  It is found here:
http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/uniform_history.htm
  This link does answer some questions as to why the uniforms changed.  However, it has nothing very specific, which is in keeping with the military tradition of information dissemination.  If they are not downright secretive then they err on the side of brevity.  The paramount consideration for the lack of specifics is "Need to Know": i.e., if you don't need to know, we won't tell you.
  3.  What was the historical context of the level of gender integration in the US Navy during the era that I served in?
  I found a PDF from the archives of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation site, which can be accessed here: http://www.history.org/History/teaching/enewsletter/volume7/images/nov/women_military_timeline.pdf
   It covers what women were formally authorized to do and when in the US Military's various branches.  However, actually finding out why these decisions were made might be a little trickier.  I've had no luck so far with confirming why decisions were made after the Korean Conflict.
  It would seem I need to go in to the library on campus and ask a librarian for assistance.  Hopefully there is an answer in an Academic Encyclopedia.
  I hate to do this, but I feel I must.  Wikipedia has a pretty good article about Women in the United States Navy, and it seems to be well documented.  It can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_United_States_Navy
  It has information about all three of the questions listed above.  I have only begun to research the veracity of the sources cited, but one at least does check out.  It is a book by Jean Zimmerman, an author of quite a few books.  She did indeed write "Tail Spin: Women At War In The Wake Of Tailhook", primarily about women in the US Navy, but other branches are mentioned.  It is well recommended by authoritative sources.
  Another is a publication by the Bureau of Naval Personnel, but the website is unavailable at this time, possibly due to upkeep, so I will check back later.
  "And that's it for this episode!  Tune in next week, folks, for more exciting adventures!"