Identify a major purchase or event in your life such as buying a car

Write

In your initial discussion forum post,

• Identify a major purchase or event in your life such as buying a car, selecting a college, completing a Do-It-Yourself project, creating a project at work, purchasing appliances, or planning an event.
• Reflect on the steps you went through when researching a major purchase or planning for an event. In your reflection,
  • Explain how you applied the steps of the research process from Section 1.3 of the textbook as you conducted your inquiry. If you missed a step, explain why.
  • Describe the connection between information literacy and the inquiry you conducted to support your decision-making process.

Your initial post should be a minimum of 250 words. Next respond to two of your peers (50-60 words)

POST 1

Hello Class,

For this discussion I will be talking about my research process when I selected a college back in 2012. Before I joined the military and started going to UAGC, I first went to Eastern Kentucky University (EKU). When I was a senior in high school and the ACTs were coming up, I knew it was time to start researching where I would like to go. My first step (step 1) was to figure out what I wanted to major in. In this case, I was going for a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) specializing in photography. Step 2 was to figure out what schools around me offered BFA’s and schools that also had a photography program. Step 3 I had narrowed down my choices to two schools in the state that I was interested in, Western Kentucky University (WKU) and EKU. EKU ended up being high on my priority list because it was closer to home than WKU was. Step 4 was to figure out what I needed to score on the ACT to attend these schools. Then step 5 was to schedule a tour of campus to see if I would like it there. Finally, I had made my decision to go to EKU and after one semester I dropped out because I knew I couldn’t make a living off an art degree. Three years later (2015) I decided to join the military.

According to Wincklemann & Garcia (2021), “Information literacy is the ability to recognize a need for information and address that need by finding, evaluating and using information ethically, and legally” (Chapter 1, section 1). I could see how when doing research for my school back then I was using information literacy, but I never knew that’s what it was.  I see now that in doing things everyday we are in some way using information literacy. Me being HR and working customer service, I am using information literacy like it is going out of style.

After learning about all six steps of the research process I do feel like it will help all of us in completing the week 5 assignment. I am confident that by using these steps it will make it easier to complete the final assignment. I do feel however that the only thing I will struggle on is finding what topic to research and write about.

POST 2

Hi class,

I chose to discuss the planning of my wedding. After reading the six steps of the research process, I learned that I have utilized the steps multiple times while choosing vendors. Now that I have read the descriptions of all the steps, I am much better informed to use the steps as I finish the planning. There are many vendors involved in weddings. I chose to focus this discussion on only one, the venue.

Step One – Define the need and the audience (Winckelmann & Garcia, 2021). After much consideration, my fiancé and I decided to throw a whole wedding and invite our closest friends and family. This meant that there would be many children in attendance. Our main priority was making sure the venue was family-friendly and easily accessible to people from out of town.

Step two – Gather background information (Winckelmann & Garcia, 2021). Once I knew that we needed a family-friendly venue, I started brainstorming areas I knew had potential. I then googled venues around downtown and searched for venues using theknot.com and weddingwire.com to help filter venues. This was when I learned how expensive venues are in San Diego. I learned some venues included perks like child playrooms or dangers like easy access to the outside where children can wander.

Step three – Narrow the scope and define the research question (Winckelmann & Garcia, 2021). After creating a list of potential venues, my fiancé and I sat down and went through all the information accessible to us through the websites. We were then able to narrow the list down to five venues. I called each venue and scheduled a tour. During the tours, we were able to make real-time inquiries as they came.

Step four – Locate and evaluate information (Winckelmann & Garcia, 2021). During the tours, we were able to make real-time inquiries as they came.

Step five – Organize and synthesize Information (Winckelmann & Garcia, 2021). After we finished the tours, my fiancé and I had lunch and evaluated all the venues. We quickly ruled out three of them, as they did not feel like venue locations where we would want to have our wedding. We then looked at the final two we had on our list, and we knew out of the two which one we wanted to book.

Step Six – Review and communicate information (Winckelmann & Garcia, 2021).  Once we decided which venue we wanted, we called them to notify our confirmation. We then had to call the other venues to state we would not book with them.

I did not realize I was using the six steps. Honestly, we did not follow the steps linearly. Jumping between steps and much back and forth happened, but we went through all the steps. We ended up choosing the Museum of Natural History as our venue. When we tell our friends and family, the first thing they always say is, “that is so you guys.” We took the time to evaluate all options and found a venue that was fitting to he and I as a couple and catered to the families who will be in attendance. Now that I know all six steps, I am better prepared for the final vendors I must book.