Cancer Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread "Our snark is a boojum," came a whisper as we were crossing the street. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread Restrictions and Comments on Sources* I have found that students sometimes don't have a good idea what good sources or acceptable sources are, especially with Web pages, and all too often take short cuts that compromise their research, sometimes fatally. The more important part of a term paper is the library research: spending time in the library, finding and reading references, and organizing the information found therein. Clunky writing with good information is much better than good wordsmithing without content. In particular, the role of Web pages in library research is unclear. The old policy -- that no Web page was an acceptable source -- is still safest, but in astronomy if nowhere else it is becoming true that some data is available nowhere but on-line. (Images from spacecraft are a particularly prominent example.) The hazards of Web pages as references cannot be overstated, but their convenience is clear. Accessing Web pages seems like it's fast and easy, thanks to search engines, and it's something you can do from home over a modem. But Web pages are often unreliable sources, and often are terribly biased, incomplete, or downright fraudulent, and it's risky business telling which is which. As a relevant case in point: if you write a paper on the Soviet/Russian Mir space station based only on NASA Web site sources -- and there's a bunch of them, and they look good -- you will end up with a horribly biased paper. I know. I gave D's to people who did this. You should only cite Web pages if it is clear that the information presented there is not yet available in any other form. (That means available to anyone, not that you personally didn't have the time or patience to track it down.) This is because there is very little quality control on Web pages, and many pages disappear without warning. For example, one can find "latest news" sites that have lain unaltered for years. You can also find pages that want you to believe they are authoritative but much of the content is made up out of the desires, prejudices, and personal/political agenda of the page author. Links to press releases, to electronic forms of on-line release of hard-copy publications, and so on, are all very bad form. It is my experience that most Web page citations are made by students who have procrastinated and try to do all their library research in a single late night over the Web, and this is an inexcusable practice. Citing a Web address for information that has appeared in print is unforgivably sloppy scholarship and I will lower your paper grade for doing it. Rules on Sources for the Term Paper You MAY NOT cite any Web site in the [this institution].edu domain. You MAY NOT cite any Web site in which you had any role in setting up the site. You MAY NOT cite any source whose title or name includes any of the words "Dictionary", "Handbook", or "Encyclopedia". You MAY NOT cite the textbook for this class or the lecture notes for this class. You MUST have at least five different sources in your reference list. If you cite a Web site, it must be "straight from the source": for example, you can use as a reference a nasa.gov site for information about NASA projects, or a boeing.com site for information about a booster made by Boeing. Other sites are NOT ACCEPTABLE AS REFERENCES, although they may be useful in your library work as pointers to definitive sources. Any paper violating any of these rules will receive an F. Find other sources, and cite them, for any material you might want to cite from these "forbidden" sources. (Incidentally, violating the second one, that is, setting up your own Web site for use as a false reference, is academic dishonesty, not merely careless scholarship. The course syllabus states the instructor's policy with respect to academic dishonesty.) This is supposed to be a library research paper. That means go to the library, dig around for sources, and look stuff up. Giving the instructor reason to think you didn't go to the library, or did so without effect, is a good way to get an F on your paper. __________ * As posted spring semester 2000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread How did I do that? It hurts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread Rollercoasters ain't got nuthin' on me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan D. Hurricanes Posted March 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread This scanner kicks ass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread Y'know, if I was driving into this crummy traffic-snarled mess of a metropolitan area from out of town, I would have tried hard to avoid getting into this place during the evening rush hour if I could possibly have done so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread and today i bought more dvds (like about 15) as one of the local "best buy" type stores in Australia are closing down. Well I guess that is going to tie me over until April probably (assuming i watch one per day). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread Maybe we can work up a lynch mob to deal with textbook thieves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread See I knew the "Day were nothing went right" would happen. I was just not ready for it. Again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread These dice seem not to obey the probability distribution function one would expect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan D. Hurricanes Posted March 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread Gummy bears! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread Procrastinating yet again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan D. Hurricanes Posted March 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread I came across a dissertation today by Howard Duck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread I've done everything for you You've done nothing for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan D. Hurricanes Posted March 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread Seen on TV guide: Justin Beiber: The Last Exorcism Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SatinKitty Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread I just overate and I haven't been this stuffed since I can remember. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread This town needs an enema. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Archer Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread Between KISS, The Eagles, and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer you have everything that was wrong with music in the '70s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread Watched some concert footage today, Queen in Montreal, it was awesome. KISS in south America...it was interesting. Not KISS from 1976...Kiss from 2011, new material but 2 guys in their 60's with their hired guns. The crowd was rockin' but the performers..wigs aside, Paul still looks pretty good for his age, and his voice is still pretty good. didn't really see Thayer solo but I guess he's singing on their latest - kind of interested to hear him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread I am always surprised at how empty this place gets during Finals Week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread NO COLDS! *cough* dammit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread To go and do, or sit and stew? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread I can only hope to be as romantic as....Richard Nixon? couple of cute college kids... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread What precisely is so hard to understand about "full width at half maximum"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Re: The Non Sequitor Thread "Dave's not here, man." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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