Wiggling

Using suggestions from the Big 6 Synthesis step “Classify and group information using a word processor, database or spreadsheet.” I created a spreadsheet for all my notes under the larger categories of Genetics, History/Identity, and Action, then I tagged those notes with subcategories of information such as: population genetics, evolution, ancient origins, so I can easily sort and filter my notes and connect them. I linked a sample of my spreadsheet in my last post, here is the link: http://mypage.iu.edu/~kbmulder/redheadinfogo.xls

So far, in my research on redheads, I’m finding a few different strings of subjects, which I came up with in my initial questioning: the genetics of redheads, the history/identity and myths about redheads, and now I’m finding more and more about special health problems that redheads have. Some of these include conditions that I know (redheads don’t tan well and are more susceptible to burns and skin cancer such as melanoma) and then there are the things I didn’t know (redheads have a different tolerance of pain and anesthesia and can be prone to the condition endometriosis). There has been much medical research in the field of dermatology, anesthesiology, and other disciplines to discover this. I haven't found much on the subject of Action - what to do about redheads going extinct. I think this might be because the only way to get more redheads is for redhead gene carriers to have children, or genetic altering, which is highly controversial and unethical.

More questions I ask myself: Do I start including the health risks of being a redhead in my topic? Do the health risks align with theories of natural selection, and thus contribute to the extinction of redheads? Who will care if redheads become extinct or have particular health problems? If redheads are really going extinct, why would we want to save them?

The themes that I’ve found in my reading and my additional questions that have evolved out of the examination of resources, makes me want to raise awareness of the redhead dilemma. That is where the “Save the Redheads” idea came from, and my idea to form a pretend organization. With this goal in mind, I think that will help me narrow down the information I use, but does this mean that I’ve skipped some Wiggling and Weaving process? I need to keep in mind that every time I think about what I’ve read and make connections, that I’m involved in those steps without really thinking about it.

I met with a high school media specialist yesterday to talk about collection development for another class of mine, but we ended up talking a lot about inquiry because she has started implementing the Big 6 model at her school. She said that her students always want to leave out part of step 4 and 5 (4.2 Extract relevant information and 5.1 Organize from multiple sources), and jump straight to their presentations. I wonder if I am feeling a little anxious myself, about getting to the product stage.