Research a foreign concept?

[RJSamp]

reinventing the Wheel

Having done a ton of research in my day (4 filing cabinets full of bugle stuff, 100Gb of images and music files, a bugle collection, 6 published manuals, 10 tapes, 8 CD's and LOTS of Civil War books, magazines, diaries)....here's my spin on this.

Come up with more compendiums, bibliographies, searchable articles, FAQ's, blogs. Online. When they ask the question for the 1,000th time.....point them to the online data.

And quit your bitchin'.

This is 2004. Electronics, on demand technology, Google, TeraBytes of data were not conceived of back in our college days, WWW, email, TelNet, Gopher, IRCL. None of us were trained in how to do internet based research. Let alone research.

If we know about tin bullseye canteens with beeswax lining.....why go out and research it Again and Again and Again and.....What a Frickin' waste of time, research effort, and human minds.

Publish your findings and go onto something else. Yes Olive oil is sweet oil is used for waterproofing hot gun barrels that were recently swished out with Boiling (not hot, but Boiling) hot water.

Get past the gear.

Stop reinventing the wheel.

Find answers, publish them.

and then move on.

We don't need to keep re-researching the already researched research, do we???

Reading an original diary, letter or a stack of papers from the bowels of a library / historical museum / governmental archives is research..... reading someone's research (a book, magazine, an article, a posting) is learning, not research.

Everyone wants fast answer's, and accurate. What kind of weapon did the 2nd Wisconsin Infantry have? When? What quantities. From which depot. Seems to me someone up hear may have already researched the question....and knows the answers (Madeus article in Gaff's Book always good for this)....

So answer the question, point him in the right direction, or move on to a topic you'd like to discuss.

I'm not in this hobby to find out what kind of button's were used by the 15th Indiana in 1863.....but I'll bet someone is....so let 'em.

Don't reinvent the wheel, what a waste of time.....you'll end up like the Akron Ohio tire companies.....

RJ Samp

[JimKindred]

Re: Research a foreign concept?

"We don't need to keep re-researching the already researched research, do we???"

No, we do not need to do that and that was not my point when I started this thread. It was not dealing with new research but encouraging the use of the research material that has been put into readily available sources. Such as The Columbia Rifles' Compendium and other common sources.

It is not so much encouraging people to research new information but getting them to stop being lazy buggers and wanting to be spoon fed that information that is easily found with just a little effort on their part.

[RelicRoomGuy]

Two Notes About Research

Contradictory notes, actually - but here goes:

1. Librarians do not, in general, have claws, fangs, or exceptional halitosis - often they are under-utilized professionals who would LOVE to help people do research - but the general public doesn't take advantage of it! And hey, there's the wonderful "Interlibrary loan" thing: you see the expensive book you desperately want on Amazon, you write down author, title, and ISBN, and you ask your local library for it - they may actually buy it, but nine times out of ten they'll get it for you shortly by ILL. For free. Now, I know this is old hat to researchers - but it's stunning how many folks don't know this!

2.The contrary note: when people are doing their "research" by asking you - the experienced campaigner - electronically or otherwise - they're getting something the library can't necessarily give them: your judgement. Any teacher'll tell you a student CAN go out, get printed material of bad quality, and draw absurd conclusions - and defend them as if they were sacred writ, simply because he read them! "If it's in print it's true", right? So...it's not bad strategy to for them to ask people whose opinions they respect...of course, the proper answer is often to say, "Read such-and-such".

[ElizabethClark]

Re: Two Notes About Research

I think it's the scaly skin that sets people off of reference librarians. :) I bake mine cookies, and she will find any book I want to read, anywhere in the nation.

I agree there's no need to reinvent the wheel, but new information is always coming to light, and it's entirely possible that the Established Wheel is now a bit flat, and the New Wheel is more accurate than the Established version--but the only way folks will discover that is to look into things for themselves, and make their own conclusions.

I can't count on two hands the number of requests I get each week for what amounts to a complete research paper, neatly presented to the inquirant. I don't mind giving odd answers, and pointing someone toward a good fishing hole, but I do get frustrated when questions are repeatedly asked, when even a VERY basic search of real information will turn up some answers. I'll still respond, though--at least pointing them toward the very basic info, and hoping that will spark new information.

There is a new series of posts here in the forum on Research 101-105--good reading for anyone who was let down by the government schools, and doesn't actually know how to form a question and go in search of the answer, whether on-line or in hard-copy.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Research a foreign concept?

Hallo Kameraden!

"We don't need to keep re-researching the already researched research, do we???"

Yes and no, IMHO.

The State of the Art of CW Research, and the current turning pivot or "Hinge Point" of our collective CW knowledge continues to grow, gain depth and range, and move into areas, fields, and topics unknown or unheard of 15, 20, 30 years ago.

However, the segment of the "CW Hobby Umbrella" that seeks it the most, and actually needs and uses the most" remains a dismally small percentage in the first place; and second, falls victim to the "burn out rate," "turnover rate," "quit rate," and "exodus rate." Meaning the so-called FMC side of the scale cycles and grows at a far greater rate than the PHA end (say 40,000 versus 1,000...).

In brief, the "producers, users, and sharers of research" leave at a faster rate than those "ignorers of research, limited consumers, and actual connnsumers of research."

Or to put it simply, the lad who is researching the differences between
Steubenville and Cincinnatti blouses leaves to be replaced by 10,000 on their way to Skinner Joe's Emporium and Pakistani Import House on Sutler Row to buy a blanket weight "sack coat" so he can take the field in time for the battle.

Granted:

1. There is a small "Bootstrap Effect" taking place. ArmiSport did "acquiesce" and add more correct "P1853 3rd Model Enfield" barrel bands to their ACW not used 4th Models (but they cyanide gas them to look like color case hardening, instead of correctly heat-bluing them).

2. And, there are smart and enterprising vendors realizing there is a small demand for items perceived by the buyers as a “notch up” from the “Run of the Mill Mainstream” vendor wares- and serve that supply and demand by offering still incorrect items with some minor cosmetic or verbal enhancements (such as taking an incorrect Federal shoe, making some minor cosmetic improvements/changes- and them marketing it and selling it as
“representative of a common generic Confederate brogan) to appeal to that segment of the CW Community interested in a “little more authentic” item (largely in name and advertising only.

IMHO, we are not “re-researching,” but some of us ARE constantly refining and re-refining our research techniques and the new discoveries we make; information found, brought to light, and shared; the analysis and inferences we make; and the application and adaptation/adoption of that to our knowledge of the CW solider (or civilian); and the interplay and interface between that and our impressions and activities.

While a great deal of shared research and knowledge is currently wasted in Cyber Space Limbo as a result of the collapse of this Forum’s previous incarnation- there is an increasing number of posts and questions seeking “Short Attention Span Info Hits and Bytes” as well as “Immediate if not Sooner Answers.” Not so much for the Hinge Point of CW research; not so much for how it translates into knowledge and application for impressions and activities; but rather as cyber entertainment, self-indulgence,
self-gratification, self-promotion, and the “Way Cool” feeling it gives someone to associate with and Glowing Screen play with some of the “shakers and movers,” and “Big Dawgs” in the CW Community.

Others mileage may differ.

Curt-Heinrich Schmidt

[RelicRoomGuy]

Re: Two Notes About Research

Oh, yeah, I forgot about the ones who want a whole research paper...! (Must've repressed the memories.) For those, my old drill sergeant's saying comes to mind: "There is no such thing as a stupid question - there are only stupid PEOPLE, asking questions..."

But since research IS a lost skill, sometimes you have to meet 'em halfway - point 'em toward good sources and be thankful if they don't actually have to be taught to READ!

[Glenn Milner]

Re: Research a foreign concept?

Folks,
I think we might be very unpleasantly surprised at the number of "authentic" reenactors who have never engaged in any of the following activities:
- procured a library card (often free for the asking)
- done basic research in a library
- made appointments with museums and examined original artifacts
- voluntarily read a book from cover to cover (on any subject much less the CW)
IMO, it's just a reflection of the general laziness of American society. After all, the great god TV teaches us that we "deserve" anything we desire, right now. Oh yes, and we also "deserve" absolute comfort and safety as well. Something to think about when you're purchasing that SUV with the great god TV mounted to its roof.
Glenn Milner

[James Masson]

Re: Research a foreign concept?

Having just come out of high school and entering college I found that my research skills were a bit lacking in some areas. In high school you're taught how to research on the internet, which is fine, but there are times when you need to read a book. And what's worse is that most teachers will not require their students to read books when writing papers. Thankfully I took quite a few AP classes and they helped boost my research skills some, but I still found that I was lacking in some respects.

James Masson

[JimKindred]

Re: Research a foreign concept?

James,

Mining information from the sources is an aquired skill much like map reading and like any thing else the more you practice the better you will get at it. You have taken the first steps, you have tried to find the answer yourself, something many won't do. It is folks like you that those of us don't mind helping because it is clear that you will take the information we give and work with it.