The Research Process–Picking a Topic

These are some of the current news stories that interest me

• Gun Politics in USA Link
• This is a well known issue in USA and also a major issue considering the recent incidents. This has affected a huge amount of people and devastated their families.
• The most interesting part of the news story is the fact that the same constitution that's suppose to protect the American citizens, has contributed to this situations current status. The protestors against the Gun control laws are using the second amendment as a weapon in their protest. Sadly, the country consider the well being of a individual citizen more important than the well being of the entire country.
• Being a citizen of a country where Gun control laws are at a high level, I have a bipolar belief on this topic. Some of my friends get offended by my comments on this topic, which is not surprising when I think of how many firearms I have seen in Georgia. The opinion that I have is from a complete perspective and it will be hard to comprehend for some people.
• Obesity in America Link
•  The National Institution of Health defines obesity as having too much body fat. Its been described as the fastest growing public health issue for the US.
• In Sri Lanka (Where I come from) we walk almost everywhere to get our work done in the outdoors, but in USA almost everyone drives everywhere. Its very interesting that there are Drive-throughs for everything, even banks have Drive-throughs. Also the food here is mostly unhealthy junk food, which happens to be cheaper than the healthy real food. It is the small things that makes the big difference.
• In order to come up with a good research paper for this topic, I will have to go deep into a lot of other aspects of this story.
•  High Medical Bills Issue Link
• The medical expenses in USA is very high compared to other countries in the world. Statistics say around 15% of the population doesn't have medical Insurance. 
• It is interesting that In USA getting ill could end up bringing yourself to bankruptcy even with medical insurance. 75% of the people who filed for bankruptcy had health insurance.The fact remains that except for billionaires, every person who lives in America is one major illness away from bankruptcy.
• When writing a research on this topic I would be able to support the fact that a huge problem exists, but I will not be able to come up with a possible solution or at least something close to it.

Rhetorical Tricks in Action

Mass Media has an immense impact on the public and most of the time the public grabs the first opinion on a news, based on whats presented to them. The harsh truth is that most of the time mass media does not take a neutral point when presenting facts. As a result of this, media has the ability to cloud the judgement of the audience towards reality. 'Rhetorical Tricks' are counter argument tricks that are one of the most efficient ways of achieving and winning arguments but usually most of the times these counter arguments do not make sense at all.
Sadly though, majority of the audience does not grab the facts of an argument, they like to be fed with opinions and praises the person with better charisma regardless of the facts the speaker presents. 'Rhetorical Tricks' are perfect tools to achieve such success. In my opinion I would rather call it an 'Art of Deception' than mere tricks, because the most interesting part of 'Rhetorical Tricks' is the fact that most of the time the audience is unaware of such deception being used on them.

Below are several instances of 'Rhetorical Tricks' used in News Programs

• Rachel Maddows segment on Dick Morris - Video
• In the segment, the presenter used 'Ad Hominem' through out the whole show. She often shined out Dick Morris's personal life and actions and tried to tangle it with the his job and tried to question his judgement.
• Rachel Maddows segment on NRA and Gun Control - Video
• This segment was very interesting. Instead of using a counter argument, Rachel Maddows was pointing out the 'Rhetoric Tricks' that NRA has used on public to justify their opinions. This itself was a very effective counterargument.
• NRA uses 'False Cause' to back their argument on opposing Gun Control. They say that Guns are not the problem , the problem is Hollywood. 

In the end, every opinion is relative to the state of mind. Some believe even the most senseless facts and some have an open mind and a more different perspective. 

Research Reflection

Are you researching effectively? What in your process do you think you'll need to change?

In short, No. I honestly think my research skills can be improved immensely. Picking a topic and presearching has been a problem for me when researching. Although being a Computer Science major is an advantage when finding resources in the Internet, its hard to search for something when you really have no clear idea of what you are looking for.

How information literate do you think you are? Which information literacy skill do you need the most help in (locate, evaluate, use)

I think I am at a good standing when it comes to information literacy. I do a pretty good job in locating information as well.


Why is it important for you to know what research is?