OPAC Experiance

The topic I have chosen for my research project is substance abusers, but more specifically steroid abusers.  I'm looking for both general and specific information on my topic.  When trying to locate a book on my topic, I used the advanced search on the St. Cloud Library website and used keywords that included substance abusers and steroids.  I then wrote down the call number and made my way to the basement.  It took me a few minutes but I finally found some books on my topic.  I did find an EBook on my topic, but I wasn't very interested in reading it.  It is really hard for me to read things from a computer screen because my eyes usually start to hurt and I often get headaches.  This is why I choose not to have a mobile device that allows me to read an EBook.  I think if I did try to read a book of my mobile device, I would get really distracted by texts and calls.  When searching for a book on the Great River Regional Library System OPAC, they ask for a general keyword and a subject keyword.  I used abuse and steroid for this and then wrote down the call number again.  The experiences with both websites were similar.  I did however find more results on the St. Cloud Library OPAC.

What Do You Assume to Be True About _________?

A vulnerable population I would like to, and think I should, learn more about is substance abusers.  The reason I would like to learn more about this population is because I have many perceptions about them and I would like to find out if my beliefs are accurate or not.  When I think of a substance abuser, I think of someone who looks really skinny, tired, and frail, and seem to always have bags below their eyes.  I assume they are greedy people, that would go to any length, including selling all of their personal belongings, steeling, and prostitution, to get what they want.  When they're not using, I believe substance abusers get fidgety and on edge, and act abnormal from their using self.  I'm not exactly sure where I got these views about substance abusers from.  I've never been informed of true facts about substance abusers so I believe the media and my peers have had a lot of influence on my views.  I think the most difficult challenge in doing research on substance abusers will be trying to understand what is going through someone from this population's mind.  In my own head, me not being a substance abuser, I wonder why a substance abuser can't just stop harming them self and get their life on track.  It's hard for me to wrap my head around the concept of addiction, so I would like to try to discover what it's really like and how it feels for someone.

What is Critical Thinking?

I believe critical thinking is when you allow yourself to think outside the box.  If you're in an argument, you allow yourself to see both sides but form your own opinion and make decisions with out being influenced by anything.  I know I have heard this term before, but I'm not sure I can pin point exactly where.  I believe it must have been in a communication studies class that I have had in the past.  When searching for an expert definition on the topic, I found a website titled criticalthinking.org.  On the website, there is a statement given by Michael Scriven and Richard Paul for the National Council for excellence in Critical Thinking Instruction.  They define critical thinking as, "Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness."  A more simple definition on the website says critical thinking is that mode of thinking - about any subject, content, or problem - in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking andnimposing intellectual standards upon them.  (http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/410).  The website doesn't necessarily provide a process for one to engage in in order to think critically, but says people who think critically consistently attempt to live rationally, reasonably, and emphatically.  In order to be a critical thinker, you need to accept new and different ideas from your own and keep an open mind.  Critical thinking is related to my IM 204 Research Strategies class because the class is designed for us to demonstrate how well we can use different critical thinking skills.  The class involves researching and using observation to challenge the assumptions.