[nabs-l] Fwd: research techniques and assistance

Fri Jan 22 04:53:06 UTC 2016

Use the help if it's there, guys!
Car07:11 AM 8/25/2014, Derek Manners via nabs-l wrote:
>I can't speak to the accessibility options but just generally, your 
>research librarians are bored and would love to help you out. I rely 
>on mine all the time. Also, I also tend to read a lot of articles 
>that don't pan out so I also think this is pretty common.
>
>I'd also agree with the comment about needing to know something 
>about the topic. My approach is to google/Wikipedia the topic or 
>topics first. Then check my textbook if the topic is in there. Then 
>I do a little searching. But if I get stuck, I turn to the research 
>librarian pretty quickly to get moving.
>
>Best
>Derek
>
>PS
>I use zoom text so that is why I can't speak to the accessibility options.
>
>Sent from my iPhone
>
> > On Aug 25, 2014, at 10:00 AM, justin williams via nabs-l 
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> >
> > Oops, How did that not go to the list?
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Mary Fernandez
> > via nabs-l
> > Sent: Monday, August 25, 2014 9:56 AM
> > To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> > Subject: [nabs-l] Fwd: research techniques and assistance
> >
> > I think Justin meant to send this to the whole list
> >
> > ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > From: justin williams <justin.williams2 at gmail.com>
> > Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 09:53:05 -0400
> > Subject: RE: [nabs-l] research techniques and assistance
> > To: Mary Fernandez <trillian551 at gmail.com>
> >
> > I take each paper as a separate entity as far as accessibility is 
> concerned.
> > I take a day of two and just do the research.  In other words, I have no
> > intent to write the paper, but to simply get the articles I want and figure
> > out my base for the paper.  Folks, I spend 6 to 8 hours, but I get 6 to 7
> > articles and sometimes more, though I have found any more than 
> about 9 or 10
> > more cumbersome  then helpful.  I work  out all the accessibility issues
> > before I do anything with writing the paper.  Don't forget your nls books,
> > or books on the blio.  Sometimes the articles are pdfs, and other 
> times they
> > are web based; I try to stick to web based, but that is not 
> always possible.
> > Pdfs can be made accessible in a variety of ways, but sometimes, none of
> > those ways are adequate; the article can still become unusable.  I have
> > found google scholar inaccessible for obtaining the articles, If 
> someone has
> > a tip for this, please share.  I write down my citations for each articles
> > and save them in a separate file.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Mary Fernandez [mailto:trillian551 at gmail.com]
> > Sent: Monday, August 25, 2014 9:44 AM
> > To: justin williams; National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> > Subject: Re: [nabs-l] research techniques and assistance
> >
> > All,
> > I think this is a fabulous topic! First, research skills are ones which are
> > not necessarily intuitive, and which all successful college students learn
> > to refine and perfect throughout their college career.
> > Unfortunately, there are numerous accessibility barriers with databases and
> > eBooks, which others have access too readily. Part of the answer, and
> > Ashley, you are on the right track, is to learn how to most effectively use
> > databases, and search tools like Google Scholar.
> > Most universities have workshops that students can attend, and which focus
> > specifically on research, many times even by topic. Through my senior year
> > in college, it wasn't strange for a class, which had a major research paper
> > do at the end of the semester, to have a class scheduled at the 
> library, and
> > have a reference librarian show us the tips and tricks. The other half of
> > the equation, is to be creative with using your assistive 
> software, a lot of
> > times websites are inaccessible enough to be a nightmare, but sometimes
> > there is a hidden work around, like using the different cursor modes in
> > Jaws, right clicking instead of pressing enter, etc. This makes things more
> > time consuming than they ought to be, but unfortunately, until we can get
> > this trend of technology being developed inaccessibly reversed, 
> we must live
> > with that reality.
> > As far as articles, that's part of research. You do your best to 
> narrow down
> > the material you get back by using good search terminology, by 
> categorizing,
> > by reading the abstract, but at one point you have to just read the
> > articles. No one article is going to give you all the information 
> your need,
> > that's why you use so many citations at the end of the day, 
> because one part
> > of one paper may be of relevance, but the other twenty pages aren't. Good
> > research takes time, and the better you get at it, the better you become at
> > using that time more efficiently.
> > As far as PDFs, I've been suggesting to students to ask for Adobe Pro from
> > VR or to purchase it if possible. If you take the time to learn some
> > accessibility remediation techniques with Adobe, many tutorials are
> > available online, you can tag your own pdfs and fix reading order and
> > navigation. It won't be perfect, but at least it'll make them legible.
> > Kurzweil 1000 is also incredibly useful. If it's 2 AM and the paper is due
> > in six hours, not that I've ever been there, you can save pdfs to your pc,
> > run them through Kurzweil and that way the articles become legible if not
> > perfect.
> > Last, not all databases are created equal. Depending on your subject, you
> > may want to filter through subjects when choosing databases, for the
> > humanities I  found EPSCO databases to be really accessible, Jstor,
> > PsychInfo, the Oxford databases, and quite a few others were very good. And
> > some won't be. There are so many tips and tricks to conducting research, so
> > I strongly suggest seeing if a college does those research workshops, and
> > just taking the time to figure out what works for you and what doesn't.
> > Unfortunately, there isn't a universal answer when it comes to
> > accessibility. We must advocate for manufacturers and 
> universities to become
> > responsible for only procuring and implementing accessible learning tools,
> > but that's a battle that has to be fought outside the research library!
> > Thanks.
> > Mary
> >
> >
> >> On 8/25/14, justin williams via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> >> It just depends on what I am looking for; I take pieces parts of
> >> several articles, and just put them together into a research paper.
> >> It helps to no something about your topic.  If you have no knowledge
> >> about a topic, get a book from nls to start you off, then fine your
> > articles.
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sofia
> >> Gallo via nabs-l
> >> Sent: Monday, August 25, 2014 7:33 AM
> >> To: Helga Schreiber; National Association of Blind Students mailing
> >> list
> >> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] research techniques and assistance
> >>
> >> I also have to read a lot of the article to see if it's relevant but I
> >> thought this was true for everyone?
> >>
> >> Sofia
> >>
> >> Sent from my iPhone
> >>
> >>> On Aug 25, 2014, at 4:10 AM, Helga Schreiber via nabs-l
> >>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Hi all! I have the same questions as Ashley. For me, research is not
> >>> so easy as well!! Hope to hear from you soon. Thanks  so much and God
> >>> bless!!  :-)
> >>>
> >>> Helga Schreiber
> >>>
> >>> Fundraiser Coordinator for Phi Theta Kappa, Alpha Delta Iota chapter.
> >>> Member of National Federation of the Blind and Florida Association of
> >>> Blind Students.
> >>> Member of the International Networkers Team (INT).
> >>> Independent Entrepreneur of the Company 4Life Research.
> >>> Phone:  (561) 706-5950
> >>> Email: helga.schreiber26 at gmail.com
> >>> Skype: helga.schreiber26
> >>> 4Life Website: http://helgaschreiber.my4life.com/1/default.aspx
> >>> INT Website: http://int4life.com/
> >>>
> >>> "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
> >>> whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John
> >>> 3:16 Sent from my iPhone
> >>>
> >>>> On Aug 25, 2014, at 3:17 AM, Ashley Bramlett via nabs-l
> >>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> Hi all,
> >>>>
> >>>> Its been my experience that research is very challenging. Have you
> >>>> run into these issues?
> >>>>
> >>>> Not all databases are fully accessible, although that has been
> >>>> better in the past couple years.
> >>>> For instance, academic search complete and other Search complete
> >>>> databases do not let you change the combo box from the default and
> >>>> to read "or". This means it would look for search terms A and B or
> >>>> search term C.
> >>>>
> >>>> Other challenges I've had are evaluating if the article is relevant.
> >>>> I do read abstracts first and think through it. It seems like I read
> >>>> most of an article only to realize its not relevant.
> >>>> Also, some articlesare pdfs with words smashed together; I end up
> >>>> asking a reader to read them.
> >>>>
> >>>> What assistance have you had with research? All school libraries
> >>>> have reference librarians at a certain desk. Do you just ask them
> >>>> where to look? Have you needed or wanted more help learning the
> >>>> databases and electronic references? Has the librarians worked  1 on
> >>>> 1 with you? At the community college and my university, Marymount,
> >>>> they did assist me a little privately to get me started. They gave
> >>>> me specific instructions on what to click on and which boxes to
> >>>> check to get what I needed. I needed to limit to full text, for
> >>>> instance; also if I needed recent articles, I was taught how to
> >>>> write in
> > the date range.
> >>>>
> >>>> These references seem inaccessible. Was that your experience?
> >>>>
> >>>> a.. Encyclopedia Britanica
> >>>> b.. Credo reference
> >>>> c.. Gale biography in context
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Also, books are not accessible and libraries have lots of them.
> >>>> How do you direct readers to find what you need? I've tried asking
> >>>> for headings and table of contents. This does not always work. Is
> >>>> skimming relevant chapters the best thing?
> >>>>
> >>>> Thanks.
> >>>> Ashley
> >>>> _______________________________________________
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> >
> >
> > --
> > Mary Fernandez
> > "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will 
> forget what
> > you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
> > --
> > Maya Angelou
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Mary Fernandez
> > "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will 
> forget what
> > you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
> > --
> > Maya Angelou
> >
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