keithpearce

I enjoyed the online class and liked it better than I had anticipated. It seemed like these four weeks have past quickly. I guess time does fly when you have fun. This class has been a positive experience for me and I will cherish the information that I learned in this class and use it for future references.

I feel that the class was both adequately prepared and taught especially to be an internet class. Whenever I had any questions, Dr. Bidwell was always prompt with a response. The ONLY thing I would recommend is to offer the online readings a little further in advance. I just like to read ahead but that is just my personal preference. I felt rushed on some of the reading especially when my work schedule conflicted. Just from my past experience I do all my reading on the weekends in my leisurely time the week before I know something is due. Other than that, I absolutely loved the class!!! Thanks to everyone. It was nice sharing this online experience with ya’ll.

Share the frustrations you are experiencing in the research process.  Are you hitting obstacles in finding sources that help you understand your topic?  Are you having trouble understanding the articles you’ve found?  Are you having trouble finding time to do the research adequately while working and managing your personal life?  Read other students’ blogs and comment on what they are experiencing.

The Longwood library website has helped me and I have found my sources readily accessible.  I seem to comprehend the information well but need to concentrate on my bibliography. My biggest concern is finding the time to complete the school work.  I have to prioritize and put my social life on hold until I complete this class.  I recently found out that I have an interview/testing with the Virginia State Police June 20^th, so I also have added an intense physical fitness regiment to my already busy schedule. The key idea here is time management and I have had to prioritize while putting school first.  I know if I set my mind to it, I can achieve most anything. But overall, I like this internet class and have learned numerous techniques to improve my writing skills.  

1.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_and_seizure

Wikipedia is not a scholarly source for numerous reasons.

            1. Derived from .org

            2. Does not state author

            3. Anyone can modify the information

            4. The information is not backed by an expert

5. Wikipedia is not from a reputable organization (Wikipedia was been known to be wrong)

            6. It provides general information but not comprehensive

            7. The site does list when it was last updated by it is still not reliable

            8. Wikipedia even contains some advertising

            9. Not connected to a research center or University

2. 

 http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Search/SearchResults.aspx?txtKeywordSearch=fourth+amendment+vehicle+search+and+seizure&fromSearch=1

This above site is a scholarly source because:

            1. Government website/Government funded

            2. Instituted by the U.S. department of Justice

            3. Reliable source

            4. The material is recognized across the nation

            5. Contains no advertising

            6. Lists all authors and accreditations

            7. The material is posted by criminal justice experts

            8. It does list when the material was published

            9.  Answers all the research publication questions.  It answers the: who, how, what when, and where guide lines.

            10. Biased website

I learned the hard way in Longwood University undergrad that Wikipedia is not a reliable source especially when I received my first and only D on one of Dr. Burger’s papers just because I used Wikipedia as a source. Looking back on that paper I can see why Dr. Burger stated “that my paper was worthless because my source was worthless”. Throughout my college career and the refresher course on blackboard, I can see that Wikipedia is indeed useless. And I now agree with Dr. Burger in that the source of the paper is the most reliable piece of information and is the basis for any paper.

1.       Define plagiarism in your own words.  What have you learned through the reading assignments about plagiarism that you didn’t know before?

2.      What fears, if any, do you have about citing correctly?  I know that students often tell me that they “worry” about getting in trouble for plagiarism.  Such worry or fear may stem from students not understanding why or how to cite. 

3.      Sometimes the fear stems from “horror stories” students hear from other students.  Have you heard any “horror stories” about students being accused of plagiarism?  If so, what are they?

4.      As you are taking notes for your paper, are there things you are struggling to paraphrase or cite properly?

Read your peers’ blogs and respond to each.

1. Plagiarism is stealing/exhibiting other peoples: ideas, direct words, indirect wording, or papers.  I took the plagiarism quiz and received a 100. I considered the information as a refresher course, and to be honest, I had forgotten some of the information.  This was an effective learning tool.

2. I would never knowingly steal or take anybody’s literature; I have better moral values. However, my biggest fear is properly defining “common knowledge”.  Information that is “common knowledge” does not need annotation.  I deem this notion as a matter of personal interpretation although I recognize that there are particular guidelines.  Throughout my college career I have learned that when in doubt always cite it anyway.  J

3. Plagiarism does directly affect a person’s integrity.  My biggest concern is that I have an application in with the State Police and dad was telling me that one of the top candidates for last year’s school didn’t receive the job because one of his professors in college during the background investigation stated the candidate had copied and pasted an article and did not properly cite the material.  Well, the State Police considered this information as cheating and the potential cadet did not receive the job. This horror story has kept my attention has made me stop and think about how a concept can be so destructive to somebody’s future.

4. My biggest concern is to properly set up a Bibliography. I had some trouble with the last exercise and had to resort to the Bedford Handbook as a reference. I am adamant that I will not plagiarize but I have to be careful that I give proper accreditation within the paper.  

Bibliography

Chan, A. No, You May Not Search My Car! Extending Georgia v. Randolph to Vehicle Searches. Washington Law Review v. 82 no. 2 (May 2007) p. 377-401. (Electronic Version)  Retrieved on June 26, 2008 from http://py8en6ee7p.cs.serialssolutions.com.proxy.longwood.edu/results?SS_LibHash=PY8EN6EE7P&dbIDList .

Corr, K. A law enforcement primer on vehicle searches. Loyola University Chicago Law Journal v. 30 no. 1 (Fall 1998) p. 1-25. (Electronic Version)  Retrieved on June 26, 2008 from http://www.lexisnexis.com.proxy.longwood.edu/us/lnacademic/api/version1/sr?csi=7327&sr=TITLE%28ARTICLE%3A+A+Law+Enforcement+Primer+on+Vehicle+Searches%29&secondRedirectIndicator=true .

Guerra, Sandra. Domestic drug interdiction operations: finding the balance. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (0091-4169) 01/01/1992. Vol.82,Iss.4;p.1109-1161 (Electronic Version)  Retrieved on June 26, 2008 from http://csaweb108v.csa.com.proxy.longwood.edu/ids70/results.php?id=1&SID=8pjnv1e5frsfqd653ruscdkp41 .

Khan, A N. Police and Criminal Evidence Bill 1983, Part 1. Police Journal  Volume:56  Issue:2  Dated:(April-June 1983)  Pages:164-173(Electronic Version). Retrieved on June 26, 2008 from http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=89030 .

Moore, R. (2005). Search and seizure of digital evidence.  New York: LFB Scholarly Pub. (Electronic Version) Retrieved on June 26, 2008 from http://csaweb113v.csa.com.proxy.longwood.edu/ids70/results.php?id=1&SID=4jm37qe9aj694u55icbosbi2a5 .

Regini J.D.  FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 68, 7, July 1999, 26-32, (6 pages). (Electronic version) Retrieved on June 26, 2008 from http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Search/SearchResults.aspx?txtKeywordSearch=vehicle+search+seizure&library=&querytype=all&fromsearch=1 .

I so many key words that I could not keep track of them.  I kept refining my search until I found the information that I wanted to include in paper. It took a time and patience to find the material I was inquiring about.

Blog exercise using different key terms to narrow the search

Spanking as a discipline

While conducting this search I did not specify any particular field or a particular source. I wanted to see how many relevant “hits” there would be for each defined topic using the key words listed below. The results were astonishing.

Key Words                                         Number of articles found via library

Spank the baby (lol)                             1750

Physical punishment for children            19196

Discipline, Child, whipping                    2562

Spank, children, punishment                  1952

Adolescent, punishment, whipping         960

Key Words                                         Number of articles found via Google

Spank the baby                                    487,000

Physical punishment for children            842,000

Discipline, Child, whipping                    53,000

Spank, children, punishment                  499,000

Adolescent, punishment, whipping         934,000

Key Words                                         Number of articles found via Google with .gov

Spank the baby                                    344

Physical punishment for children            25,800

Discipline, Child, whipping                    1,170

Spank, children, punishment                  1,890

Adolescent, punishment, whipping         280

I used the same key words throughout the exercise just to inquire about the number of relevant hits.  From my past research experience, I have found that the Longwood library database is still the best place to find articles especially when the field of the search is narrowed.  Conducting research using the Google search engine is just out the question; the results are too broad and have too many unwanted hits.  Although, by using the Google refined search under  .gov I was able to dramatically narrow the search to relevant information.   I found this exercise very helpful and enjoyed looking at the results for the search topics.

Quiz

I learned a great deal from the online quizzes.  I deem the online material as a type of refresher course especially since it has been awhile since undergraduate English. English is an essential part of our everyday life and communication with others.  The online material helped me to understand that being a prolific writer is important whether it is from a graduate class or just being able to properly express oneself. 

The difficult part for me in my writing is keeping the same verb tenses throughout a paper.  I have a tendency to switch from past tense to present tense even within the same paragraph.  I have learned to overcome this bad habit by thoroughly proofreading and by exhibiting proper writing techniques. 

I do not have any questions about grammar, but I am not saying that I know everything about proper grammar either.  However, I have discovered that the more I write, the more I feel comfortable about writing. By reading numerous books and typing papers, I am able to expand my vocabulary along with my writing capabilities.  Good writing comes with practice.

How does the fourth amendment govern law enforcement relating to motor vehicles?

Hello fellow students,

1.         My name is Keith Pearce.  One of my ambitions after I finish this graduate degree is to follow in my father’s footsteps and become a Virginia State Trooper.  I currently have an application in with the State Police but with the unfortunate budget cuts, my application has been put on hold.   I am a good natured country boy with a strong work ethic.  In what little spare time I find, I like fishing, camping, hunting, and just being outside in general.  To be totally honest, I took this course so I could graduate on time, however I think it will be fun at the same time.  I hope to obtain useful knowledge such as: improving my writing skills, learning how to write a blog without cursing this computer (lol), and acquiring knowledge that I can use for future references.

2. I despise computers/technology.  In my entire college career, this is only my second online class.  I managed to obtain an A in my last online class so I do not think that comprehending the material will be a problem; however I am a hands on kind of guy and prefer lecture classes. My biggest concern with this class is learning how to properly create a blog.  I am computer illiterate and get easily frustrated with computers.  I do not think that the course material will be too difficult just by looking over the syllabus and starting my readings.

3. I am interested with the drug aspect of criminal activity and would like to be involved in the drug task force unit. I would be interested in search and seizure laws/procedures regarding law enforcement.  

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