Hello, I’m Dominik and I’m a mechanical engineering major. I haven’t done much writing these past couple years, but hopefully my writing will improve over the year.

1. As I was reading the first chapter of “The Craft of Research” one point that hit home with me was when the author described the process of planning out a research project. Especially how as the project gets further into development, there will be cross roads, contradicting statements and opinions. It will be the job of the researcher to shift through all of the material uncovered and learn what actually happened. I would also like to learn more about how data is gathered, which isn’t necessarily a research method but it is part of process for data analysis. I use “NoScript” so every time I visit a website I see what scripts they use. On just about every website I see various trackers. Not to mention the outrage Windows 10 caused with its trackers. I’d like to know more about how data is collected and filtered through various third-parties until it reachs its’ intended target.

2. With the introduction of twitter and various social outlets, news now travels faster then ever. The problem is that a lot of news sources want to be the first to report it so often times so they use sources with little credibility. It’s important to learn how properly analyze sources and where you get your information.Also I think there’s a lot of possibilities with the tools of analysis we have today. Another topic I’d be interested in is seeing how various digital medias affect companies. To see how companies use digital humanities like videos and pictures to attempt guerilla marketing. Because I’ve seen various viral videos end up being staged publicity stunts. It’d be especially interesting to see how they incorporate it into social media.

3. I’d like to learn more about judgement and networking. As mentioned before I think it’s important to analyze your sources and check their credibility. Then, with data analysis as well as planning out a research project, it is important to understand the information that was gathered. Often times the information will be hidden, it wont be highlighted. All the new information will be needed to be processed and crosschecked with past information. With data analysis, the data might not have a clear cut point instead it might prove various theories. I think judgments and networking are keys to the foundation of a research project, they provide credibility and understanding.

Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. The Craft of Research. Chicgo: U of Chicago, 2008. Print. Keizer, Gregg. “EFF Condemns Windows 10 Data Collection.” Computerworld. N.p., 22 Aug. 2016. Web. 28 Aug. 2016.