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William C. Bonaudi Library's Down the Research Rabbit Hole | Issue 11 | Mattias Olshausen, eLearning Coordinator | Truth Seeking

01/12/2021
profile-icon Rhonda Kitchens

Image of Mattias Olshausen with Issue 11 of the William C. Bonaudi Library's : Down the Research Rabbit Hole

 

 

In your last job at Central Washington University (CWU), you were working on a research project.  Tell us about it. How many people were involved? What was the topic? Where are you at with this research? Did you discover anything interesting or find more questions?

 

I worked as a Research & Instruction Librarian at CWU for about two and a half years. It was my first full-time job out of grad school. In that position, I had faculty status, and part of my professional development involved doing my own research and getting peer-reviewed articles published. For the last such project I undertook at CWU, I teamed up with a couple of my colleagues, Elizabeth Brown and Lauren Wittek. Since we all taught library research skills, both in credit-bearing courses and one-off lectures, we were interested in finding out how much of an impact our teaching, and exposure to library services in general, had on students’ command of these skills over the course of their studies at CWU.

To this end, we sent out a survey to the whole student body. It’s difficult to sum up the results in a paragraph or less, but we did find evidence that students typically had more confidence in their research skills the higher their class standing was. It was hard to tell how much credit we ourselves could claim for that improvement. If nothing else, though, our instruction of first-year students in introductory classes gave them a place to start by demystifying some of the multitudes of resources at their fingertips.

I’ve moved on to other projects here at Big Bend, but Lauren and Elizabeth can use the results of the survey to further develop library programs and services at CWU.  This is the nature of academic research – it often does not produce earth-shattering conclusions, but it’s still worthwhile if it produces evidence on which we can base decisions, as well as spur future research, either by ourselves or others who read our work.

 

As a Librarian, what is the hardest question you have ever been asked.  How did you solve it?

I can’t recall a particular “hardest question” I’ve been asked. As a rule, though, the more challenging reference questions are the half-formed ones. Sometimes patrons aren’t really sure what they’re looking for or have a hard time putting it into words. Good reference librarians learn how to help patrons flesh out their research topics/questions, partly by teasing out what the patron really is and isn’t interested in. If you have a choice in the matter, there’s not much point in writing a research paper on something you find boring.

 

In your off-work life, do you have an area you casually research as more of a hobby and intellectual interest?

There are many such areas for me. I love history, and there are some historical topics I’m passionate about to the extent that I’ll willingly read dense textbooks on them, such as modern German and Russian history. Partly, I do this to better understand how human societies evolve, rise, fall, and recover; but also because history contains endless stories of triumph and tragedy that can be more thrilling than fiction.

I also have more obscure interests. Since I was a kid, I’ve enjoyed watching hawks, eagles, and other birds of prey. At the moment, I’m obsessed with observing golden eagles, which are much more reclusive than the magnificent baldies I grew up seeing in Western Washington. I use maps and information from the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, the Nature Conservancy, and other agencies or organizations to know where to look for them. Watching falconry and rescue videos on YouTube has helped me identify the few goldens I’ve been lucky enough to spot so far.

 

What book, poem, or study have you read that engaged you so deeply you were changed?

One of the most interesting books I read in the last couple of years was Lying About Hitler, by Richard J. Evans. It was about a Holocaust denial-centered libel case at which the author, a distinguished British historian, appeared as an expert witness. The testimony of Evans and his fellow historians were critical to winning the case, as it proved both that the plaintiff (writer David Irving) was a Holocaust denier and that there could be no honest, reasonable basis for Holocaust denial. They made a powerful statement about the importance of serious, truth-seeking, evidence-based research.

This book didn’t change me per se, but it confirmed my respect for history as an academic discipline. Before getting my Library & Information Science degree, I earned an MA in History. While I am on a different career path now, I remain proud of that accomplishment. 

 

Mattias and friends mountain climbing

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Opposing Viewpoints in Context is one of the most assigned, most suggested, and most used databases.

Why?

And did you know there are six other databases in the series?  If you know how to use Opposing Viewpoints, you also will have no problem with:

Global Issues in Context

Biography in Context

Science in Context

Student Resources in Context

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This is a ten-minute overview of how to find the library, where to find
Opposing viewpoints, how to use it, and more.

This database is hand curated for your success. 

 

Image of Lindsay Groce with Issue 5 heading

 

Interview with Lindsay Groce, Chemistry Instructor at Big Bend Community College. 

What is your mental space when it comes to research?  Do you have a plan? Are you random?  Is it a research rabbit hole or a carefully planned expedition?

 

I did a presentation one time that was an attempt at inspirational and I talked about how most people think of success as linear.  You learn the things, you earn the piece of paper, you get the job, etc.  My trajectory has always been a little on the non-linear side…in life, so too with research.  Well, it might be linear, but on some sort of wacky 2-dimensional surface – I am picturing, like, a Möbius strip, or an M.C. Escher drawing.  I try to approach research with the same curiosity that draws me to science.  I like to put myself in the mindset of a scientist, which I think in our heart of hearts, is really the mindset of a child, wondering at the world around us.  “I wonder why…” is an expression that never ceases to excite me.  From there, you springboard into resources – What all can I learn about this?  What background info do I need to better understand the mechanisms for why this happens?  This leads to some answers, but usually more questions and then you just go from there.  I can be more disciplined in my approach, but I usually choose not to.  I am a big fan of the research rabbit hole – there is joy in the journey.  

 

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To keep up with your profession, what are your go-to books, blogs, journals, social media follows, and/or people?

 

I have been a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) since I was an undergrad.  I keep up-to-date on chemistry stuff there – Journal of Chemical Education is one I have spent time wading around in lately.  I follow a lot of the pop-science Instagram and Facebook pages – IFLS, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Crash Course, Scientific American, Popular Science, and of course ALL of the science memes.  I participated in the March for Science a few years ago in Seattle, so there is a group of scientists from a variety of disciplines that have an active Facebook page I like to follow (March for Science – Seattle).  In terms of authors and personalities, I will forever love me some Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, Carl Sagan, Hank Green, Bill Bryson, Michio Kaku, Sam Kean – I tend toward the scientists that also take seriously their role of public educator…they also tend to be the best storytellers!  I love books about the history of science, in general; chemistry, specifically; and the periodic table – The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean, I just read The Pluto Files by Neil deGrasse Tyson, The Elements by Theordore Grey (which is visually stunning along with interesting facts).  Part of my teaching style involves telling stories about the personalities, embedding discoveries in their historical contexts, and trying to put real faces and circumstances to the science.  

What's the best presentation or workshop you have ever pulled together in the name of science excellence?

 

It took me 5 years to do what is traditionally a 2-year Masters program because I was working on it part-time while I was working full-time.  In the summer before my last year, I went into my advisor’s office and said, “I know that you will be invited to speak at an international conference next year [he always got international invites – he is kind of a big deal].  I want you to pick one and take me with you.”  That was how I got to go to Japan.  My research was in its final stages, but the story the data were telling was not coming together the way we hoped.  I had to put together a poster with the data we had and our best ideas as to what it all meant.  I gave the poster presentation on my research during my allotted session and was selected for one of three Outstanding Student Poster awards that were given based on votes and feedback from the conference attendees.  It was a huge honor.      

 

Lindsay Groce in googles

What would people be surprised to know about you?

 

I think that people might be surprised to know that I was not originally interested in teaching.  It is so much a part of who I am now; it is sometimes hard for even me to believe that.  My plan when I graduated was to work in a lab somewhere and be a scientist.  I was not picturing having the opportunity to train future scientists.  I feel very fortunate that Big Bend took a chance on me so that I could try it out and experience the elation of watching light bulb moments, being present for important milestones for the students, and help guide them towards whatever all comes next academically and life-wise.

How do you approach the finding sound answers in what seems like a whirlpool of pseudoscience?

 

First of all, I love this question.  It is so timely and important.  When I start any class at the beginning of a quarter, we go back and talk about the scientific method.  All of the students can go through the rote, monotone recitation of the scientific method, but I try to get them to really start using it - to start thinking like scientists.  This involves being skeptical, asking questions, and being curious.  We can apply this to finding sound answers in the wonderful and terrible thing that is the internet.  We find a claim, whether it is something about the utility of masks for preventing the spread of COVID-19, or the current record high temperatures in Siberia and then it is the 5 W’s.  

Who: Who is telling the story and what do they have to benefit from telling it that way?  Do I trust the source that the information is coming from (and we could get into what all would go into earning that trust – peer review, scientific track record, qualifications, who paid for the study?, etc.)?     

What: What are the data telling me?  Go straight to the graphs.  Analyze the axes.  Look at the scope and scale of the collection of the data – Is it a big sample size?  Does it represent the population it claims to?  How was it collected?  Is there a valid trend?

Where: What is the source of this information/claim?  Who is the intended audience?  Where is the information published?  Why is it coming from this source in particular?  

When: Why is this being presented at this way at this time?  Is the storytelling political?  Is it urgent?  Is it even current?  Check the date.  

     

Why: The why part is encompassed in some of the other W’s, but ultimately, why is this claim being made?

 

So, really, there are a couple of pieces to this.  First, you have to do some critical thinking about the claims that you see.  Second, you have to understand that science is a process.  Science is a method by which we know things about the world.  As such, when you are in the middle of an experiment, or an experience that is being studied, the models created to explain the various phenomena are subject to change. 

 

It is hard to make valid conclusions in the middle of collecting data.  As scientists, it is our role to interpret and report findings to the best of our ability with the data that are available.  That does not mean that things will not change in the next week or the next year or the next decade.  That is the beauty of science, its fluidity.  The value of the scientific method is in the way we can change our minds and models as new information becomes available.  When we are researching claims made on the internet, or even just reading headlines on the internet, we have to be scientists. 

 

Everyone could use a little more science these days.    

 

STEM cat image...if you are going to stem..you have to CHEM!

 

#BigBendCCBookChallengeBookTalk.

Month: March

From: Amanda Miller

Book Title: The Queen of the Tearling, by Erika Johansen

Book Cover of the Queen of Tearlings

"Kelsea Raleigh Glynn is 19 years old and uncrowned queen of the Tearling.
She is an orphan raised in isolation, a lover of books, and social justice.
Around her neck sits the royal jewel that marks her as the heir-apparent,
known as the Tearling Sapphire. On her 19th birthday, a group nine
armored knights arrive at her guardians' cottage to escort her to New
London and her throne. Once there, Kelsea must depose of her uncle,
the regent, and begin the process of bringing her kingdom
back from the brink of destruction. This formidable task takes on new
meaning for her when she realizes that the kingdom's enemies are both
within and without the borders.  kingdom's enemies are both within and
without the borders. Slave traders who have profited from the dubious
truce her mother agreed to and the Red Queen of Mortmesne, a
seemingly immortal sorceress. As Kelsea discovers the magic that lays
within her and the sapphire she wears she begins to question what events
in the past led them to this self-destructive road. She seeks answers
to the beginning of the Tearling history, the crossing from the old world
to the new one. And what went wrong with the founder's dream of a
"better world." I listened to the unabridged audiobook read by
Katherine Kellgren. This is an unforgettable tale, both written
and narrated, of destiny, magic, and the fight against malevolent
forces bent on dominating the world.

 

As the first book in this trilogy wrapped up questions remained... what is the
crossing? What were the original settlers running from?
What happened to the dream? "

 

 

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