Wadsworth Chapter 4 Summary -

Chapter four talks about finding resources through secondary research. It first takes you through the steps of conducting research and gives you tips on where to begin so you're not overwhelmed when you begin that research. It clearly goes on to state the difference between primary and secondary types of research. According to Wadsworth, "Secondary resources are produced by someone else." An important step in the research process is knowing where you can locate your resources. Wadsworth suggests beginning this step by finding the resources you already know about. As you find these initial resources others will pop up that also relate to your topic. It's good to include the relevant ones as well. Another great idea is to ask a librarian help you with their search, as they'll know what type of books would be the greatest benefit to you. From there, you can begin "systematically" searching through these new resources. Wadsworth talks about the importance of choosing words wisely when used them in search engines, and also about narrowing down those searches  and trying a more advanced search. Wadsworth also touches on the different types of resources available for people. It's important to keep in mind how texts change over time, how texts are reviewed, and whether the resource is from the library or the internet. From there, three different type of texts (Static,  Syndicated, and Dynamic) are broken down and defined into their own meanings. Lastly Wadsworth communicates the important of developing a research plan. This plan should consist of a detailed list of information the researcher is seeking. and the various types of research she plans to conduct. 

Wadsworth Reflection -I think Chapter four will be very helpful to me while conducting research for my immersive project. It was a great review of the things that I already know and practice when doing my research, but I also learned some very valuable information. I could really connect to their narrative at the very beginning about how there is a to-do list ahead of you, and you look at it thinking "how am I suppose to get all that done?", but they suggest breaking it down into one small thing at a time. When I was the yearbook editor at my high school last year with a staff of only eight people, I has a feeling similar to this practically all the time. It was very stressful, but when I took what I had to accomplish into smaller portions and went baby step after baby step, everything seemed to work out and get crossed off my list. I thought their paragraph on Primary and Secondary Research was a good review for me from last semester. Last semester our teacher would say, "you need to have this many resources, and this many have to be primary, while the others have to be secondary". Before last semester's English class, I never really considered the impact or difference of secondary versus primary resources. I found the Types of Resources section to be the area where I learned the most. I had never hear of Static, Syndicated, and Dynamic texts, but after reading this chapter of Wadsworth, I now am able to tell the difference, let alone that they exist. The last thing I would like to comment on is their information on developing a plan. There have been times where I haven't really developed a plan and other times where I had the plan down to the letter. Let me just say the latter was a lot more convenient and acceptible. I feel like for the immerse experience a lot of planning and details will need to go into the project so it turns out exactly how I want and need it to. Now I know I can always refer back to Wadsworth for help in any of these areas whenever I encounter an issue in conducting research or finding resources.

King Corn Reflection - King Corn was about two men on their journey of finding what exactly it is we eat. It led them to an acre of corn in Iowa and from there to various other places. I really enjoyed watching the story because it opened up my eyes and gave me a new perspective about the world that I had never expected to see. I like that they were able to share their in-depth experience and even emotional ties to Greene, Iowa with the audience.  The fact that the storyline was chronological by months made it easier for the audience to follow along and learn at the same rate as the two men did. I also enjoyed how they really went above and beyond with the resources they had gathered. Besides conducting many interviews, they also looked up a lot of information and statistics that played important narratives throughout the clip. Another great aspect they incorporated was that they did not just get scholars and professionals in the fields to weigh in on their opinions and expertise, but they also incorporated everyday average joes into the picture which I believe made a big impact on the audience and their connectedness to the documentary as a whole.