An Introduction to Online Research 1.08a and 5.08a

Why You Must Know ThisYou are one of the first internet generations.  Prior to the ubiquitous presence of the internet, academic study happened in a controlled environment, in which the amount, quality and type of information that was presented to students was carefully filtered.  That is, when it came time to do a research paper, you went to your schools library and used the books that that school put in there for your to write a research paper.

With the internet comes less censorship and more information.  This has its pros and cons.  It is a good thing because students are no longer as inhibited due to their geographical or socio-economic status.  Its a bad thing because no one polices the internet.  Furthermore this is perhaps the first and only assignment you'll read that will help you determine what type of internet research leads to good papers and in turn good college prep writing.  

Not All Sites Are The Same

If we were studying, let's say, European History during the Enlightenment, and we had to do a research paper, we could browse the internet for a number sites and make a site list, by simply using the google tool bar and picking from the first 2-3 pages of links.  Of these, sites some would be better than others, but in general many of the "facts" would overlap.  Dates of the Enlightenment would be roughly the same; it would fall between the Dark Ages and the Modern Era; and people and their achievements would, for the most part, be appear uncontested on the majority of online sites.  

You, however, are currently an apologetics student.  Finding good research from Christian websites can be difficult because by its very nature a religion is much more complicated than the telling of history.  It includes history, to be sure!  But is also includes heated arguments over the accuracy of such history, the relation of knowledge to spiritual development and many more difficult issues.  Since not all of these issues are important in an academic paper, you as an apologetic student researching need to be

How to Complete a Devotional Assignment Correctly

How to Complete a Devotional Assignment Correctly

Every Devotional (Devo) assignment should have the following components outlined clearly in your submission.

Names: Your name goes here.

Verses Assigned: These can be found on the lesson reading page where the Devo assignment was first assigned.

Summary (written in paragraph form): The summary is one of the two most important parts of this assignment.

·      Practice writing clearly worded paragraphs. This includes using transitions effectively. (If you need help with what a transition is please look here: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/574/)

·      Summaries are not about you, but the text you’re are summarizing. If you are summarizing a Bible passage that uses “I”, “you” or “we”, these are references to the ancient writers and readers. You were not there, sorry. These words should not appear in your summaries.

·      Summaries are like baby bears, they need to be “just right”––not too long and not too short. A three-sentence summary is probably too short. A three paragraph summary is too long! So don’t write more than two paragraphs.

·      Remember the better the summary the easier and better quality the research question will be.

·      When you summarize, use present tense verbs, not past tense. For example, Moses throws his staff on the ground and it becomes a snake. NOT Moses threw his staff on the ground and it became a snake.

·      Put relevant verses in parentheses.

·      Proofread your paragraphs.

Morals or truths behind the text:

·      Here is where you can apply the moral or truth behind the text to yourself and to your understand of Christianity and the Church.

Personal Question:

·      This is where you get to reflect on the text in a “devotional” way. It’s expected that you will use “I” or “we” here.

Research Question: Apart from the summary, this is the other important part of the Devo assignments.

·      Your research question should be literary critical or historically critical. You only need to ask one carefully worded question. Two examples appear below.

·      The research question is not about you; that’s what the personal question was for.

·      Put relevant verses in parentheses.Do not use “what happens next” or “what if” types of questions. Stick to the text you are reading and show that you are reading it closely and thoughtfully.

EXAMPLE

Name: Isaiah Ben-Amoz

Verses Assigned: Numbers 6:1-21

Summary: In this passage, the Lord gives Moses instructions on how the Israelites should fulfill their vows, particularly their “Nazirite” vows (vs. 2). When a Nazirite vow is made, the one making the vow should not drink strong drinks (vs. 3), eat vine plants (vs. 4), cut hers or his hair (vs. 5), or go near dead things (vs. 6). The goal of these prohibitions is to become “separate” and “holy” (vs 5).

            The vow seems to last eight days (vs. 10), after which time, the person making the vow will bring a series of offerings to a priest at God’s Tent of Meeting, who will offer them to God. Interestingly, the hair of the person making the vow is included in this offering (vs. 18), and even after the author elaborates on a list of offerings, the text allows for anyone making a vow to bring additional offerings if they can afford it (vs. 21).

Morals or truths behind the text: Following through on our commitments, especially to God, may be demanding.

Personal Question: Have I made vows or promises that I could not follow through with or that I’ve been unwilling to follow through with?

Research Question: (Literary Critical Example): The author does not indicate that Moses ever delivered these instructions to the Israelites, so should we read this as a narrative or as some other type of literary genre, perhaps as notes?

(Historical Critical Example): What could the average Israelite afford to give to God (vs. 21), and are the mandatory offerings within the means of a normal Israelite?

An Introduction to Online Research Apologetics I 1.08a and 5.08a; Apologetics II 3.11 Reading 1

Why You Must Know This

You are one of the first internet generations.  Prior to the ubiquitous presence of the internet, academic study happened in a controlled environment, in which schools carefully filtered the amount, quality and type of information that was presented to students.  That is, when it came time to do a research paper, you went to your school's library and used the books that that school put in there for your to write a research paper.

With the internet comes less censorship and more information.  This has its pros and cons.  It is a good thing because students are no longer as inhibited due to their geographical or socio-economic status.  In the past only the rich schools in the nice areas had the most information, but this is no longer so.  On the other hand, although its a good thing that no one polices the internet, this lack of content review has led to tons of bad information.  You really have to seek out quality information on the internet. 

Not All Sites Are The Same

If we were studying, let's say, European History during the Enlightenment, and we had to do a research paper, we could browse the internet for a number sites and make a site list by simply using the google tool bar and picking from the first 2-3 pages of links.  Of these sites, some would be better than others, but in general many of the "facts" would overlap.  Dates of the Enlightenment would be roughly the same; it would fall between the Dark Ages and the Modern Era; and people and their achievements would, for the most part, appear uncontested on the majority of online sites.  

You, however, are currently an apologetics student.  Finding good research from Christian websites can be difficult because, by its very nature, a religion is much more complicated than the mere telling of history.  Religion includes history, to be sure!  But it also includes heated arguments over the accuracy of such history, the relation of knowledge to spiritual development, and many more difficult issues.  Since not all of these issues are important in an academic research paper, you need to ensure that you are looking in the right places and for the right types of information.

For instance, if you are doing a research paper on the origins of the Greek Old Testament, you want to stay away from ministry and pastoral sites whose goal is evangelism or pastoral care.  Why? Well, these sites may have general statements about the Greek Bible, but they are not experts.  Their information may be good for a conversation over coffee, but not for a research paper.  In a research paper, the goal is to get the experts' opinions.  (You'll see a situation where this applies in Apo I lesson 5.02, in which the course asks you to read a part of an article from Leaderu.com, but to disregard part of the article because the writer stepped outside of his own expertise and writes inaccurate information.)

Here are the Following Guidelines for Internet Research Sites in Apologetics:

1) (Public) Library Websites.  The best research comes from academic journals.  To find these go to your local city library and get a library card.  Then go home and look on their website.  They likely have encyclopedias, and journal data bases which make finding research pretty straight forward.  Ebrary is a great tool if your school or public library subscribes to it.  In addition, for those of you affiliated with a local Christian school look on your library's webpage.  Some of your high school libraries will also have this accessibility, but your pretty much guaranteed to find it at you public library for free.  Ask a librarian for if need be.

1a) If your library has access to EBSCO, one of the leading academic journal search engines, then you'll have access to more research than you'll ever need.  In EBSCO, the following databases are helpful for this course: Atla Religion, OT Abstracts or NT Abstracts.  An alternative to EBSCO is Jstor; it is equally as good.  If you have access to one or both of these databases through your school's or public library's webpage, I highly recommend you take advantage of it!  You will use these in college all of the time, so why not learn how to use them now and get ahead of the game!

2) Google Books.  books.google.com offers a great range of Christian Apologetic books in full or limited preview.  Books that are not previewed, obviously should not go in your bibliography.

3) .edu.  If you are doing an academic research paper, where better to go than to the academy?  In google's "advanced search options," which are found at the bottom of the page after you make an initial search, you can limit your search to solely .edu sites by using the last field (the domain field) at the bottom of the advanced search page.

4) Google Scholar.  At Google.com under the "more" option at the top of the google homepage, you can select "Scholar".  The problem with Scholar, is that many times you come across journal articles that require you to have access to EBSCO or Jstor (see 1a above) to actually look at.  But sometimes it will have good free websites too!

5) a Wiki Bibliography.  Wiki sites (wikipedia, conservapedia, etc.) DO NOT qualify as academic research!  However, the bibliographies at the end of wiki sites may count as good research.  

Rules of Thumb

1) Make sure the site has articles which are authored by people who put their name on their work.  Ensure that at least some of these authors have Ph.D.'s in the field of study by simply looking at the "about" link on the website, or googling the author.  


2) Avoid "ministry" sites.  They often have a different objective.  This includes sites like answersingenesis.com


3) Ask me about a site before using it if you are unsure about it.  One of the leading causes of low grades on a research paper is that a student used a website with poor information.  


4) When in doubt don't use it.  


5) Use a book!  I know it's archaic to suggest, but sometimes going to your local school or public libraries (yes your public libraries have good Christian research books!) and looking up a book is the fast way to get good info.  Believe it or not they tend to be easier to use once you get the hang of it because if your standing in the right section of the library, you can find a book that will help you even though you were not looking for that specific book.  The problem with the internet is that you need to know what you are looking for to find the right info.  Besides, it'll do you good to get out of the house every now and again if you are able.  


This is perhaps the first and only assignment you'll read that will help you determine what type of internet research leads to good papers, and in turn, good college prep writing.  Bookmark this page and come reread it as needed.  All of this info should help you, not just in my course, but in other courses and when you get into college.  Now go search!