nobody likes the “bad boys” who insult and degrade their partners while wearing pastel polos with popped collars, people like REAL bad boys who wear leather jackets and take a lot of care in how they shape their pompadour and carry around stiletto switchblades and care about their communities and ride a motorcycle and rebel against the government and says stuff like “NOBODY insults my gal” and gets in fistfights with dudes who catcall their girlfriends. THOSE bad boys are the guys everyone wants.
Student: I can’t find any scholarly articles on this subject!
Me: Okay, what’s the subject?
Student: Creating a culture of sharing in west-coast technological companies.
Me: Alright, and what/where have you tried searching?
Student: I searched “creating a culture of sharing in west-coast technological companies” on the library website!
Me:
I’m still mad about this because it happens frequently. Students at all levels of education need library and research instruction–they should get it before graduating high school, they should be getting it in several different classes in college, and there should be something in grad school–seriously, there are people in my master’s program who don’t know anything besides Google.
And don’t say “they should have learned in [previous level of university education].” Do you think every person continues education within a few years of their first degree? THEY DON’T. Even if they did get a then-good introduction to research, you think nothing changed between 2008 and 2018? How about the doctoral student I met today whose last degree–and last experience with academic libraries–was in 1996? How about the guy in my master’s cohort who got his bachelor’s degree in 1987?
Because look. See that very specific topic the student wanted? There may or may not be actual scholarly articles about it. But here are a few things you can do:
First, zoom out. Start broad. Pick a few phrases or keywords, like “tech companies” and “culture.” See what comes up.
Actually, back up. First, does your library’s website search include articles, or do you have to go into a database? My library’s website searches some of our 200+ databases, but not all. And you’ll need to find (in advance search or adjustable limiters that pop up after your initial search) how to limit your search to scholarly and/or peer-reviewed articles.
What other keywords are related or relevant? For the search above, you could use a combination of “silicon valley,” “company/ies” or “organization/s,” “sharing,” “collaborative,” “workplace culture,” “social culture,” “organizational culture,” and those are just the ones I can come up with off the top of my head.
Did you find something that looks promising? Great! What kind of subjects/keywords are attached (usually to the abstract, sometimes in the description section of the online listing)? Those can give you more ideas of what to search. Does it cite any articles? Look at those! Some databases (ilu ProQuest) will also show you a selection of related/similar articles.
If you’re researching a very specific topic, you may not find any/many articles specifically about your subject. You may, for example, have to make do with some articles about west-coast tech companies’ work cultures, and different articles about creating sharing/collaborative environments.
That said, this student did the right thing: they tried what they knew to do, and then reached out for help.
They tried what they knew to do, and then reached out for help.
I get goddamn professors pulling this shit, there is not one single level in the academy where research literacy isn’t lacking.
This loosely translates as “there is no fundamental problem with this and I have no issue with the people who enjoy it but it makes me personally deeply uncomfortable”
“It’s not a trigger so I don’t want to appropriate that terminology; but I really don’t like it and don’t want to read/see/hear it.”
“it will not give me psychological distress but HOT DAMN I will die happy if I never see it again”
I honestly think people forget that the church and state are supposed to be separate. Give me one non-religious reason against same sex marriage. One non-religious reason against stem cell research. One non-religious reason against safe abortions. Go ahead.
I HAVE BEEN SAYING THIS FOREVER THIS IS LITERALLY LIKE MY GO TO ARGUMENT FOR EVERYTHING
oh i know exactly what your talking about some fitness companies literally try to sell the body and not the clothing itself
if i may hijack my good pal nikkis post, i rep a company called GRRRL and their entire brand is based off of women of all kinds and They Never Photoshop. Ever. plus their shit is dope and hella comfortable and high quality and affordable.
they use top level athletes all across the world regardless of what they look like and name their sizes after them so you can see which athlete youre built like. and the COOLEST PART is if they dont carry your size???? THEY WILL CUSTOM MAKE SHIT FOR YOU.
if you live in canada and you want a 20% discount you can use my code “GAYGRRRL”
their leggings are hands down the best ive ever tried. they never get in the way and never fall down and if u dont believe me heres a video of me squatting 250# wearing them and they dont even budge. (also i have kind of an awkwardly proportioned body and they fit me great anyways)
QueerGalaxies 