Literature search

Like toothbrushes – but invisible – this hazardous soup comes between every mother and child. No nursing woman can avoid pumping a stream of industrial by-products into the pure new life at her breast. No less than in the sea, no less than to the birds and seals and turtles, many of the changes affecting us arrive unrecognized for what they are. This excerpt is from Carl Safina’s Eye of the Albatross book.

I’m a mother and reading this shot straight to my core and made me think how all in the world is interconnected, and our pollution links us all whether we want it too or not.

This week I started my research. The topic relates to plastics in the Oceans.  

I dutifully watched the lectures provided about how to best look up research material in the hope that it would streamline my searches… well it didn’t.  I still found myself following links in different directions and then getting caught up in other related topics! Or, what more frequently occurred this week was that I signed petitions against using plastic straws again (Click here to watch the Turtle with straw up nose – it might change your view on ever using a disposable plastic straw again), banning super trawlers in Australia, and found out about organising a coastline clean up event, and ways to live more plastic free. 

As interesting as it was I had to rein myself in. Not an easy task as I’d be bitten by the inquiry bug. 

I don’t know about you, but I find looking up research material a rush. All that information out there and I get to find it and use it in my work, while paying homage to those who originally came up with the idea(s), or who performed the research that discovered something that I want to reference. However, it can also be kind of depressing and frustrating. The material itself can be depressing. In this instance, plastics in the oceans. Oh my gosh – the amount of plastics ending up in the oceans is disgusting. It’s estimated that between 5 – 13 million tonnes of plastic end up in the oceans each year! It’s polluting our oceans and killing animals throughout the entire food chain. And it’s us humans that are putting the plastics into the environment. From the small microbeads (sign the ban the bead petition Ban the bead) that some beauty conscious people are using for smoother skin, to plastic bags, drinking straws, soda bottles, tyres, and everything plastic in between. Annoyance overwhelmed me a couple of times at the realisation that we have huge oceanic rubbish tips constantly collecting plastic. 

OK, enough ranting about the sorry state of affairs in the oceans… So what worked in the research gathering process? Google scholar is great. I find it very useful for finding peer reviewed journal articles and for getting the references already prepared in APA format. This saves times and lessens the risk of typing any of the reference details incorrectly. Massey library website is helpful. As a distance student, I love the book ordering service and use it frequently. As a bonus, I also get to meet the friendly, or not so friendly, Posties that deliver my ordered books.  There are also a few good databases on the website to access literature, although I can’t always get full access to everything I would like too.  

Of the peer reviewed papers I’ve collected this week, I’ve been using the skills of skimming and scanning the text, and looking for key words. I’ve also challenged myself to reviewing a paper in 5 mins, and then rewarding myself with a cookie afterwards. I also find taking notes as a mind map works best for me. I don’t function in a linear fashion, so it’s not surprising that taking notes growing out of a central topic suits me.