The Technology Trap

Cars are fabulous tools, aren't they? You get in one and it will take you places you would never dream of walking to...

But does the car do this all by itself? Once you turn it on, can you just leave it to its own devices and expect to end up where you want to go? You don't actually have to know the road rules, do you? Can't the car take care of that by itself? What if you press the cruise control button? Does that mean you can make yourself a cup of coffee and expect the car to take care of the driving?

Not in this decade. I can't vouch for the advances in the transport industry that may come in the rest of this century, but for the time being you still need to drive the car in order to get anywhere (and not crash and burn).

Yet, strangely, when it comes to computers, a lot of people are happy to let the technology do the driving. This isn't completely unusual, as hardware and software designers go out of their way to make things "user friendly", which is more or less code for "does most things without user interference... er... input".

Basically, most designers assume most people are hopeless when it comes to technology, and the more the tools can do by themselves, the more likely people are to use them (after all, it requires less brain power on the users' behalf). So computer programs do a lot of things without you telling them to.

This can create a number of problems:

It's easy to assume that what the tool does on its own is all it does, when it might have a wide variety of uses and applications that need your input.

You can fall into the habit of trusting the machine to know what it's doing, but computers can't make value judgements (it's all maths to them) and it is very easy for them to get off track.

While they can't make value judgements, they can make assumptions. Computer programs also like to believe they know what they're doing - and sometimes they'll over-ride what you want them to do, assuming they "know better".

For an example, the grammar and spell checkers on your word processing program can pick up many genuine errors, but they also flag anything they don't recognise or understand... and they also miss things that they haven't been programmed to notice. Since any language other than maths is usually too fluid for computers to completely understand, that means a lot of things are marked as being wrong when they might not be, or not marked at all when they should be. So, like a car, you should use a spell checker, but not trust it to find its way on its own. You still need to pay attention to your own words in order to guide the tool so you can make sure the end product says what you want it to say.

It's the same with bibliographic software and other programs. You need to know what you are doing so you can make sure the tool is doing what you want it to. Don't just hit the cruise control button and assume it will all work out.

What is the Technology Trap?

It's when you rely on the technology instead of learning the ins-and-outs of things for yourself. It's when you never learn how something works when the computer isn't doing it for you, so that you can stay in control of what the computer is doing.

If you don't know how to write a bibliography, how will you know if the bibliographic software is doing it correctly? What would happen if there was a problem with your computer and you couldn't use the tool? Would you be able to do it manually?

If you don't know the difference between "too" and "to", how will you notice if you've used the wrong one - especially if the spell-checker doesn't pick it up?

Tools are great, and they should be used - but you should always be in the driver's seat, paying attention to what they're doing and guiding them. Technology is no replacement for knowing what you're doing.

Bibliographic Software

What is Bibliographic Software?

Bibliographic Software (also known as Reference Management Software and Citation Software) is a computer program that allows you to generate bibliographies. The "big one" that most universities use and offer to their staff and students is Endnote, but there are others. This wikipedia page offers a comparison of different types of Bibliographic Software. BiblioScape, which has favourable reviews from a variety of sources, also has a cut-down freeware version of its Citation Software called BilbioExpress

Essentially, you input all of the relevant bibliographical information about your book/article/webpage (such as: author, publisher, date, etc), and the software will help you arrange that information in a variety of ways. Most programs will also allow you to make notes on each entry, file them in "libraries". Many also offer the ability to link to a file or url so that you can

The programs are very useful tools that can enhance your research in a number of ways, such as:

They help you keep track of your sources - If you make a note of every book or article you come across in your research that you thought was particularly interesting or relevant, then you have a better chance of finding it again later. Especially if you add notes such as quotes that caught your attention or "talks about problems with hatcheries" to jog your memory.

They help you stay "in style" - Most of the good programs are programmed with the main citation styles (APA, MLA, Harvard, etc), and the really good ones will also have "house styles" for some of the major journals. This means you don't have to track down the style guide to makes sure your citations are structured correctly - the program will do it for you.

They help you create lists - Say you want to find all of the references you have that were published in the USA, or you merely want to find all of the sources for which you have PDF copies. A good Bibliographic Software program will let you run special searches that can help you create different lists for different purposes.

They can help you sort out your recipes - Okay, this one isn't related to research, but it does help illustrate the fact that a good Bibliographic Software program has multiple uses. Keep a list of all of your favourite recipes, what books they're in and what ingredients they use. Then, the next time you can't quite remember where that great recipe for asparagus soup is, you can do a quick search and track it down.

However, as much as I love and praise Bibliographic Software, it can be very easy to fall into the "Technology Trap" with these programs. Make sure you read the forthcoming entry on the Technology Trap, and remember to stay in the driver's seat.

Getting Ready for a New Year - Northern Hemisphere

Back from Christmas/New Years and already it feels like the holidays are miles away?

If you're halfway through your academic year, what sort of things could you be doing for second semester to improve on first semester?

If you haven't been getting much mileage out of your library, this would be a good time to find out what sort of mid-year programmes they run. Most academic libraries have introductory and study-skills courses at the beginning of every semester, and a lot of them also offer other courses and programmes throughout the year. The library is probably the single most useful tool you have at your disposal, so make sure you are milking it for all it's worth.

Start thinking ahead to the next academic year. It may seem very far away at present, but it never hurts to give a thought to the future - there may be things you need to take care of before the Summer break if you want next semester to run smoothly for you.

Take an audit of last semester's performance. How did you do, study wise? What sort of things could you be doing to improve for this semester? Today is the perfect time to start a few new habits - even if it's the second or third time you've tried to start them.

Now is the perfect time to start looking at how you intend to organise your research, readings and files. Finding information in the first place is great, being able to find it again later when you need to use it is better. Make sure you keep physical material (books, print-outs) somewhere central, and organise them in a way that's easy for you to navigate. Electronic resources should be filed in the simplest, most straight-forward way you can, and you should have one place where you keep notes for where everything is (I recommend a "library" in one of the bibliographic software programs, like Endnote or BiblioExpress). Filing all of last semester's material is a great way to work out what you want to do with this semester's stuff. Sure, it seems anal retentive, but you'll thank me for it when your big assignment is due.

Get some exercise. Sure, Winter is cold, and the colder it is the more you want to just sit somewhere warm and do very little. Bad idea. The better your overall fitness is, the better your ability to study will be. Go to a heated pool, take up yoga or brave the weather and go for a run. Whatever you do, make sure you do it at least once a week so it becomes part of a pattern. As your fitness improves, you'll find everything else gets just that much easier as well.

Getting Ready for a New Year - Southern Hemisphere

Ready for a new year's worth of study?

For those of you living in the Southern Hemisphere, still enjoying Summer Vacation, there are a few things you should be thinking about in the lead-up to semester one.

If you didn't use your library and it's services a lot last year, you might want to look at booking into an orientation session, or one of their various study courses. It doesn't matter if you are in First Year or Fourth Year, you can still attend these sessions and find out what the library has to offer. Trust me, it will make your life easier.

If you haven't already, you should start thinking about what subjects you intend to take this year. While you're at it, take a look at some of the subjects you could be taking next year. Why? Because there might be a couple you would really like to take, but they have prerequisite subjects. If there is a subject on your wish-list for next with prerequisites, you should enrol in those prerequisites for this year. You may find that you have to contact an academic advisor before you complete enrolment for this year. It's better to find out now than some-time during O-Week.

If you are returning to studies, you should take an audit of your study patterns from last year. What worked well for you, what didn't work at all? What did you mean to do (and would probably have performed better had you actually done it), but didn't do? Why didn't you do it, and what can you do to make sure you do it this year? For example, did you have grand plans for having all of your research done a week before the assignment was due, but found yourself still looking for quotes the morning of the due date? What happened? What can you do to improve that situation?

If this is your first year in a university or college, one of the best things you can do is find out about what mentor programmes are available. Mentors are usually students in their second or third year of studies who have already learnt most of the ropes, and are happy to help you know what to expect. Because they are students, not teaching staff, they know what it's like to be a student dealing with the system. Very useful.

Take an afternoon to sort out your files on your computer. It's always a great idea to have different folders for different semesters, and have everything from last-year put somewhere out of the way (but easy to find) before you start the next year. If you had a lot of PDFs and readings saved to your computer from last year, but you don't need them any more, this is a great time to free up some space. However, before you get rid of them, you should make some notes about them in a bibliographic softward program like Endnote or BiblioExpress (Endnote costs serious money, but you can probably get it for free through your university; BiblioExpress is freeware, and quite good, if not up to the same standard as Endnote). That way, if it turns out that you need to find that information again later, you have a fighting chance of remembering where it came from and tracking it down.

Take up a new sport. Walking, running, swimming, Ultimate Frisbee, OzTag... whatever you think you might be able to keep up on a weekly basis. If you're already involved in a sporting team or activity, that's fantastic, but if not you should really look at what sports are available in your university community (or just your community). Nothing helps you studies as much as improving your general over-all fitness, plus it will give you an outlet for any stress you might build up as a result of your studies. It's a great idea to take up this sport now, rather than after you start lectures, as it means you'll be able to consider it as a normal part of your week by the time you have to start scheduling your tutorials. Otherwise, there's a good chance you'll never quite get around to it.