Memo Assignment Write a memo (not an message) to your boss, the senator’s Chief of Staff, outlining the scope of your investigation into the disaster. Be sure to request permission to begin researching. You must convince your boss that you have already begun the research and know the history and background of the disaster, as well as where to get information that will answer the list of questions she gave you. See the CE 333T Web site for more specifications.CE 333T Web See Prentice Hall Reference Guide for memo format (pp ).

In Lab this Week... Each person brings a draft of his/her memo. You will give and get a written and a verbal review of your draft. This activity involves constructive criticism: It’s a win-win situation.

Project Descriptions For those who do not receive a clear go-ahead, think about two things:  WHY is the senator who is your audience interested in this particular failure? What is the relevance of this international or long-ago problem to this senator today?  What is the technical failure? There may ALSO be regulatory, managerial or governmental failures, but you will have to write a “Technical Description” section in your final report.

Possible Research Methods Observe Solicit expert opinion Collect and synthesize information from published and unpublished sources Conduct tests Make calculations Create preliminary designs

Research: Discovering and Developing Information Published Resources  Printed articles, books, catalogs, etc.  Electronic databases  WWW Unpublished Resources  Oral and written (but unpublished) records interviews, correspondence ( )  Empirical Studies surveys, observations, experiments, tests

Evaluating all Sources of Information 1.Does the information answer important questions for your research? 2.Is the information current? Can you determine the date of publication? 3.Are presented facts and figures from reliable sources? 4.Can you detect any biases in the way that information is presented? 5.Can you determine the author’s credentials and qualifications? 6.Is the publisher/sponsor credible? (for WWW sources, check the domain).

Evaluating Internet Sources 7. Is the site updated regularly? -- check dates 8. Is the site well designed? 9. Is the writing grammatical and clear? 10. Does the source make any biases absolutely clear? Does it make its purpose clear? -- check “About” page

Research Ethics: In-Class Exercise Assume you are writing a paper on global warming for an Environmental Engineering Conference. On a scale of 1 (most credible) to 5, rate the following sources in terms of credibility with your audience. (Greenpeace’s URL) (The EPA’s page on global warming)

Evaluating Internet Resources Where does page originate? Is a single individual as reliable as university, major company, or government agency? Beware of ~NAME in directory path of URL. Page may be in personal directory. Check the domain. If source is a company, is the page advertising?

Evaluating Internet Resources A reliable site should make clear how it is organized and maintained. At least one page should include development info. When was site last updated? Check out this resource:

What about Wikipedia?Wikipedia A collaboratively produced collection of articles. Name is a conflation of “wiki” and “encyclopedia.” In response to recent criticism, has heightened peer review process. peer review Is a Wikipedia article a credible source of information for your investigation?

Strategies for Researching Be as specific as possible in your search.  Learn how to combine keywords. Choose the best search engine. Google loads faster than other engines. See this article on search engines.See this article on search engines Consult a librarian. Set a timetable for research. People are also sources of info., but they have to be reliable and credible

Documenting Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism Don’t plagiarize unintentionally -- copying more than 5 words in a row from another source without attribution is plagiarism in engineering writing.plagiarize Consider these writing strategies:  Quotation, paraphrase, summary If in doubt about whether to cite source, cite it!  Improper citation is way better than no citation. UT’s Scholastic Dishonesty policy

Search Strategies Subject search  uses keywords Snowball search  moves back in time – begins with recent publication Citation search  moves forward in time -- begins with key paper Star search  looks at “star” journals or institutions

Keyword search: the most common type. Use careful keyword searches.  Qualify your search by adding words: toll roads Austin traffic 2005

Snowball (a) and Citation (b) Douglas (2003) Physical Rev. Letters, MIT Nicol et al. (1998) Gaiver (1996) Phys. rev. Letters Bardeen (1994) Haus (1975) IEEE Journal Lugovoi (1976) Optics Haus (1978) Internat’l J of Elect Auschnitt (1986) Applied Phys Lett Glasser (1995) IEEE Trans (a) (b)

Search Tools: Indexes and Databases Science Citation Index  a CD-ROM in the McKinney Library Academic Search Premier  Covers trade and industrial publications as well as journals published by professional societies. EI Compendex  also the Engineering Index Annual (abstracts)  even covers conferences Dissertation Abstracts

More Search Tools Web of Science – links to cited articles Web of Science  on UT Library web site SciFinder Scholar – download from McKinney Engineering library SciFinder Scholar  Includes conferences and dissertations, etc.  Has elegant search engine Others?

Collecting Information: Interviewing Gather necessary information Prepare effective questions  focused  few yes/no  one at a time Don’t interrupt Allow time for response Convey interest  tone of voice & body language Write thank-you letter