In preparation for my final project in English 102, I need to revise and do more research for both of the essays that I have written. While working on my essays, I had a few additional ideas for my projects floating around in the back on my head.
For my community analysis essay, I wrote an ethnography focusing on breast cancer support groups. Throughout the paper, I feel as though more research could be used for more direct quotes from my sources. Another aspect from that essay that needs more attention is a part where I described HER2 breast cancer. One of the women I interviewed discussed that she had HER2 breast cancer and because it was rare and couldn’t find resources about HER2, she created her own online support group. In the paper I didn’t discuss what HER2 cancer means. Another area I would like to further explain is laugh yoga. Laugh yoga is sometimes used for some women who are going through breast cancer treatment. I feel that more research will help explain different options for women who are seeking support.
In my argumentative essay I was focusing on whether or not women should be tested for the BRCA mutation. I feel as though this essay was a good piece of writing but the type of research I had to do for this project was somewhat different from the ethnography piece. In this essay I was tackling a tough subject to begin with, so encompassing all the points was somewhat challenging.
In this essay I would like to add more information about the scientific aspect to include to the genetic and biological information. Also researching the ethical issues that surround the BRCA is a very large aspect of the entire subject. Including more information about the ethical dilemma would be extremely beneficial to my paper. I also feel like researching women who have had the testing done would be great for the paper. I feel like adding a personal purpose to the paper, really brings the paper to reality. I would like to conduct to some research among my friends and classmates and with the information they have, whether or not they would be for or against testing for the BRCA genes. I also feel like more direct quotes from women who have had the testing done would help give another perspective and make for a rich and in-depth piece of writing. I also want to focus on the implications of a positive BRCA on insurance records, employment records and other parts of life that could be adversely affected.
I have several ideas to help my paper reach another level. I am eager to use different types of research and make my essays and final project outstanding!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Research Journal Entry #10- University 106
I started my search using “Clusty” search engine. Admittedly, I get stuck in the Google rut so I was eager to try a new search engine. When I first started, I used the words “breast cancer”. I thought, “Wait a minute, I need to search for the BRCA1 & BRCA2 genes, not just breast cancer.” So I entered the term “brca”. Once the results popped up, I noticed along the left side, in a column, the “clusters”. I found this to be way cool and super helpful too! I liked how it had all of the related topics all together, and then also in the listing of the topics, it had a number by the topics, indicating how many related pages were under that topic.
I clicked on BRCA mutation, to find five sub-topics, more closely related to the mutation of the gene. This was extremely helpful because for this week in English 102, I am making a website all about the mutated BRCA gene. My goal for the website is to inform the general public about what it means to have hereditary breast cancer. As I was discussing my topic with other people in my class, I found that not one person had ever even heard about the BRCA genes before! Using Clusty search engine will help me get a good idea for general topics to touch upon for my website. I have done tons of research (both academically & personally) to gain knowledge about the mutated BRCA genes. So because of that, my understanding of the BRCA genes is far greater than that of the general population. With that, I didn’t want to make my website too in depth; I simply wanted to help people understand what it means to have the BRCA gene(s).
I also think it is super important to include the testing criteria for genetic testing. Again using the Clusty search engine I was able to find the clusters that pertained to who get tested and why they get tested. I search “brca” again, and found “brca testing” in the side topic category. After sifting through all 8 of the pages in the brca testing cluster, I was really amazed to find that pretty much every single one of the pages were useful! Not the case when searching on google or even some of the library databases. Although I realize that not all of these pages constitute being scholarly, they are still very helpful for my goal of creating some high points for my website. Finding and using different search engines will ultimately enrich this project and help enhance my future projects too!
I clicked on BRCA mutation, to find five sub-topics, more closely related to the mutation of the gene. This was extremely helpful because for this week in English 102, I am making a website all about the mutated BRCA gene. My goal for the website is to inform the general public about what it means to have hereditary breast cancer. As I was discussing my topic with other people in my class, I found that not one person had ever even heard about the BRCA genes before! Using Clusty search engine will help me get a good idea for general topics to touch upon for my website. I have done tons of research (both academically & personally) to gain knowledge about the mutated BRCA genes. So because of that, my understanding of the BRCA genes is far greater than that of the general population. With that, I didn’t want to make my website too in depth; I simply wanted to help people understand what it means to have the BRCA gene(s).
I also think it is super important to include the testing criteria for genetic testing. Again using the Clusty search engine I was able to find the clusters that pertained to who get tested and why they get tested. I search “brca” again, and found “brca testing” in the side topic category. After sifting through all 8 of the pages in the brca testing cluster, I was really amazed to find that pretty much every single one of the pages were useful! Not the case when searching on google or even some of the library databases. Although I realize that not all of these pages constitute being scholarly, they are still very helpful for my goal of creating some high points for my website. Finding and using different search engines will ultimately enrich this project and help enhance my future projects too!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Research Journal Entry #9- University 106
Citation added:
Simchoni, Sharon, Eitan Friedman, Bella Kaufman, Ruth Gershoni-Baruch, Avi Orr-Urteger, Inbal Kedar-Barnes, Ronit Shiri-Sverdlov, Efrat Dagan, Sigal Tsbari, Mordechai Shohat, Raphael Catane, Mary-Claire King, Amnon Lahad, and Ephrat Levy-Lahad. "Familial Clustering of Site-Specific Cancer Risks Associated with BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutations in the Ashkenazi Jewish Population." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 103 (2006): 3770-774. JSTOR.org. National Academy of Sciences. Albertsons Library, Boise. 15 Apr. 2009. Web.
FREE WRITE
First of all, I did not realize there were that many databases!!! Amazing! My most recent essay was about the BRCA1 & 2 genes. If the woman has either of the genes, it predisposes them to developing breast cancer to up to 86% and ovarian cancer up to 60%! When I was writing the paper and doing all the research, the numbers & stats were absolutely staggering! While I was doing that particular research, I kept coming across this information about the Ashkenazi Jewish population, and how they are the one ethnicity that seems to be even more at risk. This is very interesting to me. I read a lot about this, and still seem to be asking “why”? For some reason the women who originate from this particular area of the world, are at a higher risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer. What about their DNA predisposes them to this? This begs the question of if there is an environmental piece to whether a woman’s gene will mutate and then in turn develop breast cancer. Is there some chemical, some type of food, something all these women were exposed to, what could it be? What is the link and if it happened to this particular group, can it happen again? Is it something that passed down genetically, or is it “in the water”? I’m also wondering why not other groups of women in neighboring areas near the Ashkenazi Jewish women, aren’t at such a risk. So if this gene is so prevalent in this group, is there a group that is not at such a high risk? What can be done to find out this information? I guess just time and testing of as many women as possible will give us the information and data we so desperately need to really find out the what’s and why’s of the BRCA genes. Along the same lines, what can be done to raise awareness about BRCA genetic testing. Knowledge is power and the more you know, the better you can handle your body and the challenges. To me the chance of developing breast cancer up to 86% is ridiculously high. To figure out what can be done to either change this, learn more about this or stop the mutation, seems vital to discovering a cure for breast cancer.
Simchoni, Sharon, Eitan Friedman, Bella Kaufman, Ruth Gershoni-Baruch, Avi Orr-Urteger, Inbal Kedar-Barnes, Ronit Shiri-Sverdlov, Efrat Dagan, Sigal Tsbari, Mordechai Shohat, Raphael Catane, Mary-Claire King, Amnon Lahad, and Ephrat Levy-Lahad. "Familial Clustering of Site-Specific Cancer Risks Associated with BRCA1 and BRCA2 Mutations in the Ashkenazi Jewish Population." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 103 (2006): 3770-774. JSTOR.org. National Academy of Sciences. Albertsons Library, Boise. 15 Apr. 2009. Web.
FREE WRITE
First of all, I did not realize there were that many databases!!! Amazing! My most recent essay was about the BRCA1 & 2 genes. If the woman has either of the genes, it predisposes them to developing breast cancer to up to 86% and ovarian cancer up to 60%! When I was writing the paper and doing all the research, the numbers & stats were absolutely staggering! While I was doing that particular research, I kept coming across this information about the Ashkenazi Jewish population, and how they are the one ethnicity that seems to be even more at risk. This is very interesting to me. I read a lot about this, and still seem to be asking “why”? For some reason the women who originate from this particular area of the world, are at a higher risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer. What about their DNA predisposes them to this? This begs the question of if there is an environmental piece to whether a woman’s gene will mutate and then in turn develop breast cancer. Is there some chemical, some type of food, something all these women were exposed to, what could it be? What is the link and if it happened to this particular group, can it happen again? Is it something that passed down genetically, or is it “in the water”? I’m also wondering why not other groups of women in neighboring areas near the Ashkenazi Jewish women, aren’t at such a risk. So if this gene is so prevalent in this group, is there a group that is not at such a high risk? What can be done to find out this information? I guess just time and testing of as many women as possible will give us the information and data we so desperately need to really find out the what’s and why’s of the BRCA genes. Along the same lines, what can be done to raise awareness about BRCA genetic testing. Knowledge is power and the more you know, the better you can handle your body and the challenges. To me the chance of developing breast cancer up to 86% is ridiculously high. To figure out what can be done to either change this, learn more about this or stop the mutation, seems vital to discovering a cure for breast cancer.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Reseach Journal Entry #7- University 106
This is the link to my Wikipedia post:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breast_cancer#Epidemiology_and_etiology
18. ^ Braddock, Suzanne W., Jane M. Kercher, John J. Edney, and Melanie M. Clark. Straight talk about breast cancer from diagnosis to recovery: a guide for the whole family. Omaha, Neb: Addicus Books, 1994.
When I first read this assignment I thought it would be super easy. I had an idea of what type of information I could add to the Wikipedia site but once I got looking—it wasn’t so easy. The argumentative essay I am writing is about breast cancer and focusing mainly on the BRCA genes found in women. If the woman has the BRCA2 gene, she is 86% more likely to develop breast cancer in her lifetime, than a woman who doesn’t have the gene. The point I am arguing is whether or not to have the genetic testing done, and what testing positive for the BRCA gene means to the woman. I searched for articles through the Academic Search Premier Database. I found a lot of great articles but couldn’t seem to pinpoint one that I felt would add substance to the Wikipedia site. I had several books from the library that I used for my last paper so I decided to take a gander at the table of contents. Bingo! I found a few small sections about the BRCA genes. I felt as though the statistical information would give the site, which was about breast cancer in general, more data about the BRCA genes.
On the technical side of things, adding a citation to Wikipedia was really easy and virtually painless. However, as I had mentioned before, pinpointing which information was slightly more difficult. The reason I felt it was tricky was because initially I wanted to add to the BRCA gene page. There was so much detailed information, and the other articles I thought would help—would only have been redundant. I was stumped for a little bit, and caught myself not thinking outside the box! I stepped away from my computer and thought about all the ways that one would seek information about the BRCA genes. That’s when it struck me that I could add to the general breast cancer page! The help pages were very thorough, made the process of adding the citation very simple. I honestly never knew that I would be just that easy.
As far as comparing the differences in citing sources in Wikipedia or in an essay, it was somewhat similar but the challenge arose with something that would add high value to the Wikipedia site seemed to be a bit more challenging to me. Perhaps it’s because I have never edited a Wikipedia page before, but it just felt a little foreign to me. I also felt this overwhelming responsibility to add something that people will actually find interesting. When writing an essay, you form the idea about what the focus will be and go from there, so all your sources added together create the whole informative picture. With the Wikipedia site, I felt like I had to have a hard hitting bit of information. This assignment helped me to see how important citing sources are, and also helped me to understand exactly how Wikipedia works.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breast_cancer#Epidemiology_and_etiology
18. ^ Braddock, Suzanne W., Jane M. Kercher, John J. Edney, and Melanie M. Clark. Straight talk about breast cancer from diagnosis to recovery: a guide for the whole family. Omaha, Neb: Addicus Books, 1994.
When I first read this assignment I thought it would be super easy. I had an idea of what type of information I could add to the Wikipedia site but once I got looking—it wasn’t so easy. The argumentative essay I am writing is about breast cancer and focusing mainly on the BRCA genes found in women. If the woman has the BRCA2 gene, she is 86% more likely to develop breast cancer in her lifetime, than a woman who doesn’t have the gene. The point I am arguing is whether or not to have the genetic testing done, and what testing positive for the BRCA gene means to the woman. I searched for articles through the Academic Search Premier Database. I found a lot of great articles but couldn’t seem to pinpoint one that I felt would add substance to the Wikipedia site. I had several books from the library that I used for my last paper so I decided to take a gander at the table of contents. Bingo! I found a few small sections about the BRCA genes. I felt as though the statistical information would give the site, which was about breast cancer in general, more data about the BRCA genes.
On the technical side of things, adding a citation to Wikipedia was really easy and virtually painless. However, as I had mentioned before, pinpointing which information was slightly more difficult. The reason I felt it was tricky was because initially I wanted to add to the BRCA gene page. There was so much detailed information, and the other articles I thought would help—would only have been redundant. I was stumped for a little bit, and caught myself not thinking outside the box! I stepped away from my computer and thought about all the ways that one would seek information about the BRCA genes. That’s when it struck me that I could add to the general breast cancer page! The help pages were very thorough, made the process of adding the citation very simple. I honestly never knew that I would be just that easy.
As far as comparing the differences in citing sources in Wikipedia or in an essay, it was somewhat similar but the challenge arose with something that would add high value to the Wikipedia site seemed to be a bit more challenging to me. Perhaps it’s because I have never edited a Wikipedia page before, but it just felt a little foreign to me. I also felt this overwhelming responsibility to add something that people will actually find interesting. When writing an essay, you form the idea about what the focus will be and go from there, so all your sources added together create the whole informative picture. With the Wikipedia site, I felt like I had to have a hard hitting bit of information. This assignment helped me to see how important citing sources are, and also helped me to understand exactly how Wikipedia works.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Research Journal Entry #6- University 106
In the essay I just cited, I found it fairly easy to cite my sources. Last semester was a completely different story though. I have been out of school for ten years, and honestly don’t really ever remember having to cite anything in my high school English class. We were also never required to write a term paper either, which I find extremely unusual now, but that is beside the point. For some reason, working on this most recent paper and citing sources seemed to come naturally to me. Perhaps because I learned last semester or maybe it was because I changed my strategy this time around. Last semester I had a difficult time meshing my sources with the other information in the essay. I felt as though I was trying to force a square peg through a circle shaped opening! I believe the main difference for this essay was how I determined the information that would be a part of my essay.
In the early stages of writing my essay, I went to the library, and found several books that seemed like they might have some valuable information in them. I scanned over them at the library, and decided that five of them would come home with me. As I made the outline for my paper, I knew the main points I would like to focus on and from that, sought out that specific information. Compared to last semester when I went to the library, found books, found information and made that the basis of the paragraph and filled in around it. This time I already had the points I would like to have stronger supporting information, and found the pertinent information. Once I had those several sources, I wrote my paper according to my outline and then sifted through my sources, adding them in where I felt they best belonged. After I was finished with this essay, I went back and read the essay from last semester. What a world of difference this made! The paper this semester seemed to flow so much better and the sources I used had much more relevance to the paper.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Research Journal Entry 5- University 106
The reference resource that I decided upon was under the “Acronyms & Abbreviations”. Once I navigated to that page, I went on to the page where there were three acronym searching sites. They were Abbreviations and Acronyms of the U.S. Government, All that JAS (Journal Abbreviation Sources) and Acronym Finder. I decided to focus on the Acronym Finder. The type of information on this site is a resource that helps to find the definitions of over 750,000 acronyms, abbreviations or initialism. It also has the search option to find over 850,000 US and Canadian postal codes. Once you input an acronym you need defined, it pulls up all the possible results. There is also an option to filter the returned results into categories like; Information Technology, Military & Government, Science & Medicine, Organizations & School Etc, Business & Finance, Slang, Chat & Pop Culture or all definitions. The search tool also has the option to input a word, and then it will give a list of abbreviations. The results are all links that upon selecting them, it defines the word. Along the left side of the results has a ranking system. At the top of the page, where you input the word or acronym, there is an option to select “abbreviation”, “word in meaning” or “location”.
I used a couple of different strategies to learn more about some breast cancer acronyms. In some of my research I kept seeing a particular acronym- DCIS. I had looked it up at one point but it didn’t give the definition, it only defined the acronym. Another strategy was to input the general term of “breast cancer”. When I saw some of the acronyms it jogged my memory and I searched more terms I had come across, that I had found early in my research. Many of the acronyms looked familiar but searching it helped me to find, and define some of the terms I was unsure of. I believe that it will help to enhance my research projects.
This search resource will be helpful in many ways. Using this resource in my ethnography will give my paper a rich and authoritative stance. Know and utilizing the discourse within my community really helped me when I interviewed the breast cancer survivors. I was able to focus on what they were discussing during their support groups rather than wondering what in the world they were talking about. I could fully understand their acronym, even when they were using acronyms. There are so many acronyms in medical terminology, and to know the abbreviations or acronyms mean that I can dig deep into the community.
The entire reference resource page contains so much information! I’m excited to use this in upcoming projects in other classes.
I used a couple of different strategies to learn more about some breast cancer acronyms. In some of my research I kept seeing a particular acronym- DCIS. I had looked it up at one point but it didn’t give the definition, it only defined the acronym. Another strategy was to input the general term of “breast cancer”. When I saw some of the acronyms it jogged my memory and I searched more terms I had come across, that I had found early in my research. Many of the acronyms looked familiar but searching it helped me to find, and define some of the terms I was unsure of. I believe that it will help to enhance my research projects.
This search resource will be helpful in many ways. Using this resource in my ethnography will give my paper a rich and authoritative stance. Know and utilizing the discourse within my community really helped me when I interviewed the breast cancer survivors. I was able to focus on what they were discussing during their support groups rather than wondering what in the world they were talking about. I could fully understand their acronym, even when they were using acronyms. There are so many acronyms in medical terminology, and to know the abbreviations or acronyms mean that I can dig deep into the community.
The entire reference resource page contains so much information! I’m excited to use this in upcoming projects in other classes.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Research Journal Entry 4- University 106
When I first read the assignment to create a mind map, I thought it would be difficult to come up with that many unique terms. However; once I started, the flood gates opened! Doing a simple search with my generalized topic in mind, really helped to get me thinking in different ways. I felt that looking through the titles of the books as well as the descriptions, forcibly jogged my memory into conjuring up different off shoots from my topic of breast cancer.
When I started laying out my mind map, I did have a little bit of trouble putting everything into particular categories. Some of the terms were easy to decipher where they should go but others were slightly more ambiguous. One term that I had a hard time with is “multi-cultural aspects of breast cancer”. To me, that particular term doesn’t seem to mesh well with any others. As I started the organization process, I feel as though I have a firm grasp on what goes where and why.
This assignment helped me to see how narrow I can go with my research project. Although I feel as though I know basically what each unit will consist of, doing this project opened my eyes to other possibilities. Ultimately I believe that this will make for a much richer research paper.
When I started laying out my mind map, I did have a little bit of trouble putting everything into particular categories. Some of the terms were easy to decipher where they should go but others were slightly more ambiguous. One term that I had a hard time with is “multi-cultural aspects of breast cancer”. To me, that particular term doesn’t seem to mesh well with any others. As I started the organization process, I feel as though I have a firm grasp on what goes where and why.
This assignment helped me to see how narrow I can go with my research project. Although I feel as though I know basically what each unit will consist of, doing this project opened my eyes to other possibilities. Ultimately I believe that this will make for a much richer research paper.
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