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This entry is an example of a reflection essay that I produced for English 7701, Research Methods in Technical and Professional Writing. This entry was produced according to these parameters: Demonstrate academic writing style Write from first person perspective but with focus on content (what was learned) Use appropriate formatting techniques Length1,000-1,500 words Referencesnot required. No penalty for not using sources.

This assignment was to reflect on my own personal approach to research. For this reason, this entry contains no external sources or citations. This entry is included in the portfolio because it shows my ability to: Demonstrate academic writing style Reflect on my own learning in a concise and scholarly manner Use Microsoft Word to format the document according to the specifications of the instructor Demonstrate my knowledge of taught concepts

Additionally, this entry provides an example of some of the work I plan to do when I exit the program. As an instructor, I plan to reflect on my practice and use reflection to improve my instructional methods.

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Tecarra Sutton Dr. Southard ENGL 7701 Project 2.2 Searching For Secondary Literature: Reflection Beginning Initially, I could not fathom why it would take any person two weeks to search for secondary literature on a subject of their choice. Although research has never been a particular area of strength for me, my previous experience with research, finding sources to evaluate specifically, has always been a straight-forward and quick process. Usually, after few days of poking around a library online database, I find quite a few acceptable articles discussing my respective topic and begin the process of unpacking what I have discovered. After some considerable thought and group discussion, I settled on the topic communication technology and went on about the business of following my usual process, expecting result similar to that of previous research projects. Under the assumption that I already knew how to search for secondary literature, I began this project naively, blind to the failure and frustration that lay ahead. Fortunately, both failure and frustration proved themselves to be more than negative concepts, serving as catalysts for learning and personal growth. Selecting Search Terms The method of selecting search terms seemed simple at the onset. Communication technology was my chosen topic and an area of interest so I began by performing a Google search. After quickly viewing thousands of results, I started the filtering process of sorting through potential sources to select only those of academic merit and relevance to my study, before coming to the realization that there was no studyjust search terms. Communication technology were two words that covered a vast area of topics, fields, and subjects. As my eyes darted across the screen, scanning hundreds of titles and links, I felt my confidence start to shrink as panic settled in. I had never before stopped to examine the implications of beginning a search

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for a research project, or anything at all for that matter, without a clear cut objective or goal. The goal I had set of simply finding information would no longer suffice in this situation. I found that I could no longer just print a few articles from my initial search, place them in my resource stack and move on to search the databaseI had to stop and reassess. During my reassessment phase, questions that should have been asked before the search began to formulate such as: What do I mean by communication technology? How is communication technology defined or referred to in the field? What questions do I need answered about communication technology before I proceed? What aspect of communication technology interests me? What problem do I expect to solve by some unknown aspect of communication technology? Typically, the process of not finding what I expected and being faced with questions that force me to go back to the thinking and planning stage causes me stress and frustration. I would love to say that at this point in my search I had already embraced the idea of searching for secondary sources being a recursive and nonlinear process, but I had yet to learn. The idea that during the process of searching for secondary literature, especially in the beginning stages, one must stop and reassess before resuming the search had been foreign to me. As I allowed myself to feel the frustration that threatened to halt my search, I was also overcome with surge of determination to finish this assignment. After jotting my questions down, I actually answered them, spawning other search terms. Using Wikipedia, Google Scholar, and ECUs Search One, I explored these search terms and found myself participating in a cyclical learning process of reflection-evaluatereflection-discovery. I would reflect first on what it was I wanted or expected to find during my search, evaluate the results of the search, reflect on the information I found by asking more questions, then discover something new. The idea that research creates new knowledge finally made sense. Based on our readings, I previously thought the idea that research, whether it is primary or secondary, creates new knowledge meant that research simply added to the scholarly work that already existed. Now I realize that research can cause the individual conducting the research to acquire new knowledge as well, opening doors in the brain to ideas that had not been considered before. Narrowing Search Terms and the Result

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Narrowing search terms required more planning and brainstorming. After reading, reflecting, evaluating, and reflecting on my conclusions, I found that in order to sufficiently narrow a topic, I had to become more specific about what I wanted to know. Research is the process of finding answers, and I realized that I had to have specific questions to guide my search. After more reflection and self-questioning, I decided to focus my search on blogs and wikis and how they could be used in mental health to help patients become more informed on their conditions, get support if they need it, and express their feelings. Although I have never worked in the health field, I have family members who currently deal with mental illness and could benefit from the integration of technology into their treatment plans. At this point, I was excited to continue my search because I finally had a specific direction to travel in. Additionally, I felt confident that since I had finally embraced the recursive process of searching for secondary sources that I would be successful in finding resources that reinforce or support the idea that blogs and wikis could be helpful to mental health patients. Determining Search Terms for the General Scenario Despite trying a traditional Google search, Google Scholar, and combing the librarys online database, I found very little information on blogs, wikis, and how these types of communication technologies relate to mental health. Initially, I was disheartened by the lack of information that existed on my narrowed topic, but I had learned enough about searching for secondary sources and research in general to keep thinking. I came to realization that finding very little information on a topic is nothing negative. It simply means that not much has been done on the topic by way of published scholarly work at this point. This experience taught me that although something looks like an obstacle, it could actually be pathway. Nothing stops a researcher who is interested in the topic from designing an experiment in an attempt to create original research. On the other hand, finding little information on a topic could suggest that the researcher should formulate a different solution to the problem. This experience also caused me to think about the ethical and legal implications of using communication technology like blogs or wikis in mental health. Would the adoption of such a technology create legal problems for mental hospitals? Furthermore, this question raises another issue worth researching and finding an answer to before resuming research on this particular topic. Reflecting on What I Have Learned

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This project has added yet another block to the foundation that I am building for myself concerning research methods. When I began this class, I had little skill in research and a poor attitude about the process, but after completing projects as an individual and as a part of a group, I feel more prepared to tackle the research projects in my future. Finally, I have grasped the concept that research is much more than search-find-report, involving high level thinking before, during, and after the process. The experience of having to reflect on my learning after completing a project 1.8 has forced me to take stock of not only what I have done but also what I have acquired as a researcher and a student. Now, I have a better understanding of the idea that research is shaped by the goals of the researcher. As a researcher, I control the results of my search, making it imperative that I employ cognitive skill through reflection as I carry out my research.