Data Protection and Future Changes

¶ … Protection and Future Changes

It was moderately challenging to find sufficient sources. After receiving the assignment, I performed an initial search. There were only one or two sources from my original search that I ended up using in the final research essay. Research of any kind requires an above average level of persistence and diligence, so in that case, the research effort put forth was not out of the ordinary.

The only way to determine whether a resource will substantiate evidence is to read it. I read through many abstracts and the first few pages of many resources. I read through the tables of contents and the indexes of resources as well. I had to get a quick but in depth sense of the resources' content before choosing to include it in the final research essay. I had to read many resources to get a sense of the context within which to understand the resources I favored and the resources I questioned. I needed a sense of the intellectual atmosphere surrounding this topic and that also helped me in the selection and utilization of sources.

The search strategy that was most effective for me was variation. I would begin a search with a few keywords. I would evaluate the hits I received based on the keywords. I would skim several to many resources resulting from that search. Based on the words I initially used and frequently used words or phrases from sources I favored, I would return to the search engine or database and search again, varying my keywords. In this way I was able to gradually tweak my search parameters so that when I finally selected the sources for my essay, they already had much of the information I required without me having to probe to deeply into the source until I was ready to use it for the purposes of the essay. Variation gave me confidence in the sources I ultimately selected.