J202 veterans' Words of Wisdom

• The class has taught me many things, but the most important is persistence. In the course of honing down my researching skills and improving my writing, the most important thing I learned was to never give up. I can remember many times when I almost threw away this paper. I was so frustrated because I was afraid I would never get it done or if I did, it would never be right. Well, I got it done. And even though it is not as perfect as I would like, I did the best job I possibly could in the given time.

• In conclusion, I can not stress the importance of constant work enough. This project would be impossible if left to the last week. It is a two-month search and I would suggest that any future students prepare themselves for such a time-consuming endeavor. While my attitude about this search passed through many stages, the finished product fills me with a feeling of great accomplishment.

• If I had to do this over again, the thing I would do differently is that I would narrow my question sooner, and get a working outline as soon as possible. As soon as I had that working outline, my life improved 100%. My hair became more manageable, and my teeth were brighter! Well, okay, not really. But the outline made the search infinitely easier -- I cannot stress enough how much more organized I was after that. Writing my thesis in the fourth warm-up did the same thing for me: helped me to organize my thoughts, and get a goal together for the project. This is a damn tough class (I can't imagine how people managed 50 sources while maintaining any quality at all), but what a ride!

• One, start your search early!!! I can not emphasize this more. If you start late, you will experience many problems. The books you want may already be checked out. You will find that your original question was too specific, as I did, and you will have to change your search. And the longer you delay, the more stress you will endure. So, don't procrastinate! Second, familiarize yourself with the Internet and computers early on. This will help you very much when you are nearing your deadline. Third, be polite to the staffs, whether they are in the library or in the computer lab....I found that the more respect you show them, the more patient with you they become...If you start early and you have some patience, you will do a good job!
  

• For prospective journalism students, I would recommend that you choose a public policy issue that is interesting and challenging to your thinking. Above all else, please remember that this is a term-long project, and should not be attempted to be accomplished in the last few weeks. Pacing yourself is a key element to success in this class. Even though I thought the workload in this class was excessive, I did learn the value of self-motivation and deadlines in the journalism field, which I am sure will be useful in the years to come. This was a tedious and time consuming project and I'm thankful that the end is near. I will be one of the proud few who can say I made it through and passed Info Hell.
  

• If I were to offer advice to someone attempting this course in the future, first and foremost I would say do not procrastinate. I worked steadily from day one and am finishing with just hours to go. Secondly, I would tell students to take advantage of this course. Really put effort into it, as it is this effort you will get out of it. Aside from being a wonderful learning experience for a future in journalism, it is a great personal achievement. You will feel a tremendous amount of satisfaction in return for all of the sweating and sleepless nights.
  

• Last, do not procrastinate. Two or three annotations a week is [sic] better than 40 at the last minute. Also, when you are done make sure to enjoy the coming of spring with a pilsner at Rennie's.
  

• Searching for sources is so much easier when you are focused. If you can't decide on a topic, brainstorm with a couple of friends. I found that brainstorming in a group helps to identify the issues you are concerned about [sic]. My best advice: Make a basic outline in the first week and expand it as you go, and write down every Internet address as you print."
  

• My search strategy --from the very general, then narrower and narrower until at the very end I was filling holes with statistics and examples--worked very well. One major plus of this strategy was that by the time I started looking for government documents I had several specific ones I wanted to start with [sic]. The downside was that I had a hard time rounding some of them up that late in the search. Another problem I had was 'information overload.' There are so many side issues to my topic it has been hard to stay focused and still do justice at least to major sub-topics.
  The only advice I could give the next journalism students in this class is a repeat of what was said in the beginning: start early, work steadily throughout the term, and don't panic.
  

• For the most part, my project went rather smoothly. I completed one annotation a day and this allowed me to keep up with the class. I decided to do all the books and general periodicals first, because they were the easiest for me to find. This seemed to work well for me because I got them out of the way early and was then able to concentrate on the more difficult annotations.... My advice to other students taking this class would be to start early, and keep a positive attitude. I am very pleased that I got my annotations done early, because it allowed me to focus on my essay without any pressure. The worst part about J202 was feeling behind and therefore panicking. If a student feels pressure, he or she should not panic. Instead, they [sic] should keep a positive attitude, and meet with a GTF [or the professor] to correct the problem early.

• From the beginning I had trouble knowing where to go for information. While Janus is a nice start, the number of sources I came up with through the UO catalog made it obvious that I would have to go elsewhere. Lexis/Nexis was a tremendous help....I got the stalking law[s] from every state...I also go all of my legal journal articles from Lexis...The two most difficult categories to fulfill [sic] were institutional sources and interviews. Institutional sources were difficult because I found the organizations I contacted to be somewhat unresponsive. Some I wrote letters to or left messages for [but they] failed to get back to me at all, or when they did, it took more than three weeks. I finally gave up...and turned to the WWW for most of my institutional sources.

• To my fellow "Info Hell" victims, work on your outline before you begin any research. The outline helps to narrow down your focus. Don't count on the Internet for all your sources because the ones you TRULY need are still sitting in good ol' Knight Library. I can't stress the importance to BACK UP all your work EVERY DAY. Computers tend to give up when you desperately need them the most. I lost 50 percent of my work two weeks before the due date. Don't skip lectures. Good Luck

• I can't stress enough to start early. Pick a topic you will enjoy researching....bribe friends into proof reading, it really helps. Buy an extra print cartridge and lots of paper. Reward yourself when you are through...This project takes every spare moment you have, so allow for plenty of time to get it down. Set goals like two or three annotations a week....Stay focused and take good notes on your sources....And overall don't panic. It is over soon enough.

• My biggest low was getting my institutional sources. I sent letters to more than fifteen institutions...The first few weeks of the term I received three different institutional sources. Two weeks before the project was due I received another one...The Monday and Tuesday before my project was due I received my other two [institutional] sources...An important search strategy...was utilizing the librarians...Tom [Stave], the governments documents man, helped me figure out Lexis/Nexis and gave me tips on other ways to maneuver throughout [sic] the library.

• The strategies that worked for me the best was first to relax and realize that it will all be over soon enough....What didn't work for me was spreading my annotations out over a couple of weeks...[When] I had to do ten or fifteen annotations at one sitting I found I learned more....[I]f you are like the majority of the class and decide to procrasinate, give yourself two weeks to do the cramming. This is not a project one can do in a short amount of time...any work you can get done early do it!!!

• [S]pend as much time as you can on compiling annotations; the sooner you have 35 sources the sooner you can weed through them and decide which ones are relevant to your topic. If a source just doesn't seem to relate directly to your topic, get rid of it. It is much easier to locate an additional source, than to incorporate a weak annotation into your essay.

• [R]elax and realize that this project doe not have to be [your] entire life...typ[e] up annotations as they are completed, rather than doing it [sic] all at once. Taking careful, neat and organized notes is extremely important....Completion of this project brings a huge sense of accomplishment. I never dreamed I would survive this class with my sanity, but I did.

• [T]he essence of [this project] is pace....I have a lot of friends who will be up until 2:00 a.m. Thursday night finishing their annotations and hoping that there are enough hours before it is due to write the rest of the project. Pace is everything.

• One of the things I would have done differently is to do my interviews sooner....The people I interviewed had excellent sources that I could have used for my annotations....One research method that worked well for me was to collect all my books first and then the government documents....[Get] government documents early because they can be tricky to find and are a little difficult to read...

• Start early....While it may be possible to do the whole project in two or three weeks, it is much better to have the time to do it [sic] right. It really comes down to the ability to say, 'This source is worthless, I'll find another,' instead of having to say, 'I don't have time to find another.'

• I spent several early mornings on the phone with 'think tanks' in Washington, D.C. I was amazed at the amount of help these strangers were willing to offer me....[P]ick a topic that YOU want to learn about....Don't be afraid to ask questions--people are willing to help.

• Do a thorough job on the warm-up assignments because they help when writing the final paper. Start writing the final paper early so that there is enough time to do many drafts. Have a friend look over it at various intervals. Good luck!

• The toughest part of this assignment was breaking out from under Janus. Once I discovered other indexes and databases my like got a whole lot easier. Also, I learned the joys of the Law Library. It was a great resource....Get your interviews and institutional sources early!!!! Remember to keep records of everything that you think may benefit your research, especially e-mail addresses!!! Make sure to start your essay as soon as possible and then edit, edit, edit...and then edit some more.

• The petrifying rumors that surround this class are only that, rumors. Any student who is determined to stay on track and is not discouraged easily will not have any problems completing this class. Frustration is inevitable, but the way in which you deal with your frustration is the key to passing this class

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