This book considers the specific information literacy needs of different communities of practice ... more This book considers the specific information literacy needs of different communities of practice from an international perspective KEY FEATURES • Focuses on communities of practice, including research, and higher education and their distinct information needs • Includes chapters from an international and experienced set of contributors • Presents an interdisciplinary perspective on the topic DESCRIPTION Pathways into Information Literacy and Communities of Practice: Teaching Approaches and Case Studies considers the specific information literacy needs of communities of practice. As such, the book fills a gap in the literature, which has treated information literacy extensively, but has not applied it to the area of communities of practice. Since every community of practice generates, seeks, retrieves, and uses resources and sources related to the cognitive structure being researched or studied, and the tasks being performed, the need arises to undertake studies focused on real user communities, especially at a graduate level. This edited collection presents contributions from an international perspective on this key topic in library and information science.
What makes a text readable? Although there are many studies concerned with readability from vario... more What makes a text readable? Although there are many studies concerned with readability from various perspectives, there have been no recent attempts to consider the field more generally, as an area of scholarly research as well as one that has practical significance. This book brings together the relevant literature and theories, and situates them within a unified account. Beginning with an historical treatment of the concept of readability and readability formulas, it goes on to discuss recent research on the subject from the perspectives of many fields, including psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, and text linguistics. The book will be invaluable to both scholars and practitioners who seek a single resource offering a comprehensive, principled discussion of the issues.
"Anyone concerned about readability formulas will love this book, for it begins by providing a concise summary of the history of this elusive concept and points out the many past accepted fallacies in the efforts to produce grade and age level correlations of materials for children to read and understand, and then points to a more effective way to discover readability. The authors take this quest in an excitingly new direction. Instead of searching for correlations of material written by adults (an odd thought for studying material for children), they search for the answer in the language properties of texts that can impede fluent reading and, equally important, what kinds of knowledge different readers (including children) need in order to unpack the meaning of the text. The book takes the search beyond the purported complexity of words and sentences to a linguistic analysis of the effects of self-embedded structures, branching of relative clauses, ambiguities of various types, the repetition of coherence, and the important but largely overlooked background knowledge of readers, all of which suggest the need for different definitions of fluency and comprehension than have been hitherto advanced." --Roger W. Shuy, Distinguished Research Professor of Linguistics, Emeritus, Georgetown University, USA
It is widely accepted among researchers and educators that the peer review process (the reputatio... more It is widely accepted among researchers and educators that the peer review process (the reputation of the publisher and examination of the author's credentials) are the gold standards for assessing the quality of research and information. However, in the contemporary research environment, the traditional gold standards are no longer sufficient, and the effective evaluation of information requires the consideration of additional factors, including: who has sponsored the research, who controls the dissemination of the research, what are the effects of dominant research paradigms, and what are the financial interests of authors, publishers and editors. The role of new technologies, including Web 2.0, is also addressed. Relevant examples such as controversies about positive evaluations of new medications that appear in peer-reviewed journals, the literature on Enron prior to the revelations that led to its collapse, and the suppression of research that does not conform to dominant paradigms offered to indicate the need for a more sophisticated and nuanced approach to evaluating information. Practical suggestions for the evaluation of information are an integral part of the text.
"This is an excellent introduction to assessing and evaluating research and unlike any book currently available. The traditional gold standards are clearly explained and critiqued, while the case studies are effective and accessible ways of concretely demonstrating why the contexts in which research is conducted, disseminated, and received matter" (Journal of Academic Librarianship).
"This has been one of the most enjoyable and thought provoking books I have read for a while. Not only is it well written in a style which is easy to read, the authors use of narrative in the case studies leaves you with a very strong message about how to assess research and how all researchers are influenced by their belief systems and previous experiences." (Library Management)
“This book arms its readers with the right questions for instances when they need to assess the value of the research of others, particularly when mediated by print and broadcast media. In this short text they learn how economic, political, or social self-interest may motivate the misreporting of findings into spin or, at the other end of the scale, fraudulent claims that can have devastating impacts on people's lives and their livelihoods.” (Library & Information Science Research)
What makes a text readable? Although there are many articles concerned with readability from vari... more What makes a text readable? Although there are many articles concerned with readability from various perspectives, there have been no recent attempts to consider the field more generally, as an area of scholarly research as well as one that has practical import. This book brings together the relevant literature and theories, and situates them within a unified account. Beginning with an historical treatment of the concept of readability and readability formulas, it goes on to discuss recent research on the subject from the perspectives of many fields, including psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, and text linguistics. The book can serve as a one-stop resource for both scholars and practitioners who seek a single source offering a comprehensive, principled discussion of the issues. It fills a significant gap, since there is no other book on the market that even attempts such a comprehensive treatment of readability.
REVIEWS: "Anyone concerned about readability formulas will love this book, for it begins by providing a concise summary of the history of this elusive concept and points out the many past accepted fallacies in the efforts to produce grade and age level correlations of materials for children to read and understand, and then points to a more effective way to discover readability. The authors take this quest in an excitingly new direction. Instead of searching for correlations of material written by adults (an odd thought for studying material for children), they search for the answer in the language properties of texts that can impede fluent reading and, equally important, what kinds of knowledge different readers (including children) need in order to unpack the meaning of the text. The book takes the search beyond the purported complexity of words and sentences to a linguistic analysis of the effects of self-embedded structures, branching of relative clauses, ambiguities of various types, the repetition of coherence, and the important but largely overlooked background knowledge of readers, all of which suggest the need for different definitions of fluency and comprehension than have been hitherto advanced." --Roger W. Shuy, Distinguished Research Professor of Linguistics, Emeritus, Georgetown University
It is widely accepted among researchers and educators that the peer review process (the reputatio... more It is widely accepted among researchers and educators that the peer review process (the reputation of the publisher and examination of the author’s credentials) are the gold standards for assessing the quality of research and information. However, in the contemporary research environment, the traditional gold standards are no longer sufficient, and the effective evaluation of information requires the consideration of additional factors, including: who has sponsored the research; who controls the dissemination of the research; what are the effects of dominant research paradigms; and what are the financial interests of authors, publishers and editors. The role of new technologies, including Web 2.0, is also addressed. Relevant examples such as controversies about positive evaluations of new medications that appear in peer-reviewed journals, the literature on Enron prior to the revelations that led to its collapse, and the suppression of research that does not conform to dominant paradigms offered to indicate the need for a more sophisticated and nuanced approach to evaluating information. Practical suggestions for the evaluation of information are an integral part of the text.
web document]. Available URL: http://www. library. csi. …
Recent technological innovations have substantially altered the ways in which colleges and univer... more Recent technological innovations have substantially altered the ways in which colleges and universities deliver essential services. Among the academic units most notably affected by technological change has been the academic library. This paper will consider the impact of recent and ...
This guide is intended to point you to resources on federal agencies and locating statutes and co... more This guide is intended to point you to resources on federal agencies and locating statutes and court cases.
Pathways into Information Literacy and Communities of Practice, 2017
Abstract This chapter argues that information literacy is not comprised of a set of context-indep... more Abstract This chapter argues that information literacy is not comprised of a set of context-independent skills. Rather, it argues that information literacy is a way of thinking about information in relation to the context in which it is sought, interpreted, and evaluated. In making this argument, this chapter focuses on critical thinking, the ability to effectively evaluate information and research. It suggests that effective critical thinking crucially involves an awareness of the research conventions and practices of particular disciplines or communities and includes an understanding of the social, political, economic, and ideological context of the creation and dissemination of research. This chapter claims that neither the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education nor the Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education provides sufficient criteria for critically evaluating research. In so doing, it examines some of the specific contextual factors that affect, within communities of practice, which research questions are asked, research findings, and the dissemination of research.
Preface 1. Introduction 2. Readability Formulas 3. Grammar and Readability 4. Meaning in Words an... more Preface 1. Introduction 2. Readability Formulas 3. Grammar and Readability 4. Meaning in Words and Sentences 5. Coherence and Discourse 6. Towards A Theory of Readability
This guide will help you understand how to use the MLA citation format for both in-text citations... more This guide will help you understand how to use the MLA citation format for both in-text citations and works cited lists. It includes some more commonly used source formats. For complete information, please consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research
ABSTRACT How easy is it to read a text? How clearly does a text express ideas and emotions? These... more ABSTRACT How easy is it to read a text? How clearly does a text express ideas and emotions? These questions are inextricably bound up with the concept of readability. Educators and librarians are often charged with the formidable task of selecting reading material for children of widely diverse cognitive and reading skills. It is no surprise that many librarians and educators have welcomed and endorsed tools that claim to use objective criteria to make selections and recommendations. Given the influence readability formulae have over the reading materials offered to children and young adults in schools and libraries, a closer examination of the principles that underlie them is in order. Do these principles really enable readability formulae to offer a sound, scientific way of evaluating the difficulty of texts? In this paper, the authors examine the linguistic criteria that form the basis for readability scores and argue that the criteria commonly used in readability formulae do not constitute a satisfactory basis for assessing reading difficulty. They then discuss a number of factors that they believe should be considered in developing more robust means for assessing the ease with which a text can be read. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The literature on information literacy often assumes that there is an inherent link between the n... more The literature on information literacy often assumes that there is an inherent link between the need for information literacy and what is commonly referred to as the information explosion. This assumed link is reflected in programs of information literacy instruction offered by ...
This paper is concerned with the problem of how the speakers of a language are able to identify l... more This paper is concerned with the problem of how the speakers of a language are able to identify linguistic expressions with the thematic roles of verbs. The mechanisms through which such roles are assigned are well understood for many human languages: the thematic roles of ...
This book considers the specific information literacy needs of different communities of practice ... more This book considers the specific information literacy needs of different communities of practice from an international perspective KEY FEATURES • Focuses on communities of practice, including research, and higher education and their distinct information needs • Includes chapters from an international and experienced set of contributors • Presents an interdisciplinary perspective on the topic DESCRIPTION Pathways into Information Literacy and Communities of Practice: Teaching Approaches and Case Studies considers the specific information literacy needs of communities of practice. As such, the book fills a gap in the literature, which has treated information literacy extensively, but has not applied it to the area of communities of practice. Since every community of practice generates, seeks, retrieves, and uses resources and sources related to the cognitive structure being researched or studied, and the tasks being performed, the need arises to undertake studies focused on real user communities, especially at a graduate level. This edited collection presents contributions from an international perspective on this key topic in library and information science.
What makes a text readable? Although there are many studies concerned with readability from vario... more What makes a text readable? Although there are many studies concerned with readability from various perspectives, there have been no recent attempts to consider the field more generally, as an area of scholarly research as well as one that has practical significance. This book brings together the relevant literature and theories, and situates them within a unified account. Beginning with an historical treatment of the concept of readability and readability formulas, it goes on to discuss recent research on the subject from the perspectives of many fields, including psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, and text linguistics. The book will be invaluable to both scholars and practitioners who seek a single resource offering a comprehensive, principled discussion of the issues.
"Anyone concerned about readability formulas will love this book, for it begins by providing a concise summary of the history of this elusive concept and points out the many past accepted fallacies in the efforts to produce grade and age level correlations of materials for children to read and understand, and then points to a more effective way to discover readability. The authors take this quest in an excitingly new direction. Instead of searching for correlations of material written by adults (an odd thought for studying material for children), they search for the answer in the language properties of texts that can impede fluent reading and, equally important, what kinds of knowledge different readers (including children) need in order to unpack the meaning of the text. The book takes the search beyond the purported complexity of words and sentences to a linguistic analysis of the effects of self-embedded structures, branching of relative clauses, ambiguities of various types, the repetition of coherence, and the important but largely overlooked background knowledge of readers, all of which suggest the need for different definitions of fluency and comprehension than have been hitherto advanced." --Roger W. Shuy, Distinguished Research Professor of Linguistics, Emeritus, Georgetown University, USA
It is widely accepted among researchers and educators that the peer review process (the reputatio... more It is widely accepted among researchers and educators that the peer review process (the reputation of the publisher and examination of the author's credentials) are the gold standards for assessing the quality of research and information. However, in the contemporary research environment, the traditional gold standards are no longer sufficient, and the effective evaluation of information requires the consideration of additional factors, including: who has sponsored the research, who controls the dissemination of the research, what are the effects of dominant research paradigms, and what are the financial interests of authors, publishers and editors. The role of new technologies, including Web 2.0, is also addressed. Relevant examples such as controversies about positive evaluations of new medications that appear in peer-reviewed journals, the literature on Enron prior to the revelations that led to its collapse, and the suppression of research that does not conform to dominant paradigms offered to indicate the need for a more sophisticated and nuanced approach to evaluating information. Practical suggestions for the evaluation of information are an integral part of the text.
"This is an excellent introduction to assessing and evaluating research and unlike any book currently available. The traditional gold standards are clearly explained and critiqued, while the case studies are effective and accessible ways of concretely demonstrating why the contexts in which research is conducted, disseminated, and received matter" (Journal of Academic Librarianship).
"This has been one of the most enjoyable and thought provoking books I have read for a while. Not only is it well written in a style which is easy to read, the authors use of narrative in the case studies leaves you with a very strong message about how to assess research and how all researchers are influenced by their belief systems and previous experiences." (Library Management)
“This book arms its readers with the right questions for instances when they need to assess the value of the research of others, particularly when mediated by print and broadcast media. In this short text they learn how economic, political, or social self-interest may motivate the misreporting of findings into spin or, at the other end of the scale, fraudulent claims that can have devastating impacts on people's lives and their livelihoods.” (Library & Information Science Research)
What makes a text readable? Although there are many articles concerned with readability from vari... more What makes a text readable? Although there are many articles concerned with readability from various perspectives, there have been no recent attempts to consider the field more generally, as an area of scholarly research as well as one that has practical import. This book brings together the relevant literature and theories, and situates them within a unified account. Beginning with an historical treatment of the concept of readability and readability formulas, it goes on to discuss recent research on the subject from the perspectives of many fields, including psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, and text linguistics. The book can serve as a one-stop resource for both scholars and practitioners who seek a single source offering a comprehensive, principled discussion of the issues. It fills a significant gap, since there is no other book on the market that even attempts such a comprehensive treatment of readability.
REVIEWS: "Anyone concerned about readability formulas will love this book, for it begins by providing a concise summary of the history of this elusive concept and points out the many past accepted fallacies in the efforts to produce grade and age level correlations of materials for children to read and understand, and then points to a more effective way to discover readability. The authors take this quest in an excitingly new direction. Instead of searching for correlations of material written by adults (an odd thought for studying material for children), they search for the answer in the language properties of texts that can impede fluent reading and, equally important, what kinds of knowledge different readers (including children) need in order to unpack the meaning of the text. The book takes the search beyond the purported complexity of words and sentences to a linguistic analysis of the effects of self-embedded structures, branching of relative clauses, ambiguities of various types, the repetition of coherence, and the important but largely overlooked background knowledge of readers, all of which suggest the need for different definitions of fluency and comprehension than have been hitherto advanced." --Roger W. Shuy, Distinguished Research Professor of Linguistics, Emeritus, Georgetown University
It is widely accepted among researchers and educators that the peer review process (the reputatio... more It is widely accepted among researchers and educators that the peer review process (the reputation of the publisher and examination of the author’s credentials) are the gold standards for assessing the quality of research and information. However, in the contemporary research environment, the traditional gold standards are no longer sufficient, and the effective evaluation of information requires the consideration of additional factors, including: who has sponsored the research; who controls the dissemination of the research; what are the effects of dominant research paradigms; and what are the financial interests of authors, publishers and editors. The role of new technologies, including Web 2.0, is also addressed. Relevant examples such as controversies about positive evaluations of new medications that appear in peer-reviewed journals, the literature on Enron prior to the revelations that led to its collapse, and the suppression of research that does not conform to dominant paradigms offered to indicate the need for a more sophisticated and nuanced approach to evaluating information. Practical suggestions for the evaluation of information are an integral part of the text.
web document]. Available URL: http://www. library. csi. …
Recent technological innovations have substantially altered the ways in which colleges and univer... more Recent technological innovations have substantially altered the ways in which colleges and universities deliver essential services. Among the academic units most notably affected by technological change has been the academic library. This paper will consider the impact of recent and ...
This guide is intended to point you to resources on federal agencies and locating statutes and co... more This guide is intended to point you to resources on federal agencies and locating statutes and court cases.
Pathways into Information Literacy and Communities of Practice, 2017
Abstract This chapter argues that information literacy is not comprised of a set of context-indep... more Abstract This chapter argues that information literacy is not comprised of a set of context-independent skills. Rather, it argues that information literacy is a way of thinking about information in relation to the context in which it is sought, interpreted, and evaluated. In making this argument, this chapter focuses on critical thinking, the ability to effectively evaluate information and research. It suggests that effective critical thinking crucially involves an awareness of the research conventions and practices of particular disciplines or communities and includes an understanding of the social, political, economic, and ideological context of the creation and dissemination of research. This chapter claims that neither the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education nor the Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education provides sufficient criteria for critically evaluating research. In so doing, it examines some of the specific contextual factors that affect, within communities of practice, which research questions are asked, research findings, and the dissemination of research.
Preface 1. Introduction 2. Readability Formulas 3. Grammar and Readability 4. Meaning in Words an... more Preface 1. Introduction 2. Readability Formulas 3. Grammar and Readability 4. Meaning in Words and Sentences 5. Coherence and Discourse 6. Towards A Theory of Readability
This guide will help you understand how to use the MLA citation format for both in-text citations... more This guide will help you understand how to use the MLA citation format for both in-text citations and works cited lists. It includes some more commonly used source formats. For complete information, please consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research
ABSTRACT How easy is it to read a text? How clearly does a text express ideas and emotions? These... more ABSTRACT How easy is it to read a text? How clearly does a text express ideas and emotions? These questions are inextricably bound up with the concept of readability. Educators and librarians are often charged with the formidable task of selecting reading material for children of widely diverse cognitive and reading skills. It is no surprise that many librarians and educators have welcomed and endorsed tools that claim to use objective criteria to make selections and recommendations. Given the influence readability formulae have over the reading materials offered to children and young adults in schools and libraries, a closer examination of the principles that underlie them is in order. Do these principles really enable readability formulae to offer a sound, scientific way of evaluating the difficulty of texts? In this paper, the authors examine the linguistic criteria that form the basis for readability scores and argue that the criteria commonly used in readability formulae do not constitute a satisfactory basis for assessing reading difficulty. They then discuss a number of factors that they believe should be considered in developing more robust means for assessing the ease with which a text can be read. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The literature on information literacy often assumes that there is an inherent link between the n... more The literature on information literacy often assumes that there is an inherent link between the need for information literacy and what is commonly referred to as the information explosion. This assumed link is reflected in programs of information literacy instruction offered by ...
This paper is concerned with the problem of how the speakers of a language are able to identify l... more This paper is concerned with the problem of how the speakers of a language are able to identify linguistic expressions with the thematic roles of verbs. The mechanisms through which such roles are assigned are well understood for many human languages: the thematic roles of ...
Discusses Internet access in public libraries, filters, censorship issues, First Amendment rights... more Discusses Internet access in public libraries, filters, censorship issues, First Amendment rights, and intellectual freedom. Suggests that the Internet is a resource, and that the level of library service is dependent on what it can afford to provide, consistent with its mandate to serve the community's information needs.
Focus on Research (http://focusonresearch.wordpress.com/?p=48&preview=true) discusses the Draft ... more Focus on Research (http://focusonresearch.wordpress.com/?p=48&preview=true) discusses the Draft Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement on the environmental effects of the proposed building of the Keystone XL Pipeline, which was released by the US State Department. on March 1, 2013. The report concludes reassuringly that “environmental and climate change impacts are manageable.” As reported in InsideClimateNews, however, the relatively benign conclusions of this reportl were based on analyses provided by companies with significant ties to the oil and pipeline industries. Could the financial interests of the researchers who provided the analyses for the report have an impact on the conclusions reached in the report?
Are male and female authors given equal critical attention? Focus on Research (http://focusonres... more Are male and female authors given equal critical attention? Focus on Research (http://focusonresearch.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/women-and-literature-who-reviews-and-who-gets-reviewed/ ) refers to two pieces that suggest that, despite notable progress, women authors are far less likely to be brought to the attention of scholars or the general public. What is the impact of this lack of critical attention for the inclusion of women's writing in the literary canon?
The politically conservative Bradley Foundation funds "research and educational projects, program... more The politically conservative Bradley Foundation funds "research and educational projects, programs, and other activities that effectively further[its] philanthropic intent and honor [its] legacy. What is the relationship between the political nature of the activities of the Bradley Foundation and the research it sponsors? See Focus on Research (http://focusonresearch.wordpress.com/2013/01/24/bradley-foundation-political-advocacy-and-the-funding-of-research/) for some discussion.
S&P is supposed to objectively rate the safety of financial products. However, the Justice Depart... more S&P is supposed to objectively rate the safety of financial products. However, the Justice Department claims that the firm inflated the ratings of mortgage investments in order to make them appear safer than they really were, thereby contributing to the financial crisis of 2008. Ratings agencies are paid by the very institutions whose products they rate. What is the significance of this conflict of interest? See Focus on Research (http://focusonresearch.wordpress.com/2013/03/13/standard-poors-research/) for some discussion.
Pathways into Information Literacy and Communities of Practice: Teaching Approaches and Case Studies, 2017
This book chapter (in Pathways to Information Literacy and Communities of Practice: Teaching Appr... more This book chapter (in Pathways to Information Literacy and Communities of Practice: Teaching Approaches and Case Studies, edited by Dora Sales and Maria Pinto.) argues that information literacy is not comprised of a set of context-independent skills. Rather, it argues that information literacy is a way of thinking about information in relation to the context in which it is sought, interpreted and evaluated. In making this argument, this chapter focuses on critical thinking, the ability to effectively evaluate information and research. It suggests that effective critical thinking crucially involves an awareness of the research conventions and practices of particular disciplines or communities and includes an understanding of the social, political, economic, and ideological context of the the creation and dissemination of research. This chapter claims that neither the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education nor the Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education provide sufficient criteria for critically evaluating research. In so doing, it examines some of the specific contextual factors that affect, within communities of practice, which research questions are asked, research findings, and the dissemination of research.
Mario Bisiada's review of Readability: Text and Context in LINGUIST List (http://linguistlist.org... more Mario Bisiada's review of Readability: Text and Context in LINGUIST List (http://linguistlist.org/issues/27/27-4553.html) contains some significant misinterpretations of the book as well as spurious objections.
Since the early twentieth century, quantitative methods have been used to assess readability, tha... more Since the early twentieth century, quantitative methods have been used to assess readability, that is, how easy or difficult a text is to read. So popular have these methods become that publishers use them to show that their books are appropriate for particular grade levels, the popular word processing program Word incorporates a readability formula to help writers write more clearly and one of the largest academic digital publishers, Gale, includes a readability measure in its description of articles in its databases. Nevertheless, quantitative readability formulas have repeatedly proven to be very poor measures of how readable a text is. In this presentation we contend that one major reasons for their poor performance is that they ignore all but the most superficial linguistic properties. We argue that if we are ever going to be able to develop robust readability assessment, we must look at what various linguistic disciplines, including psycholinguistics, theoretical linguistics and text linguistics, have identified as properties that can interfere with text comprehension. We will examine briefly a few of the linguistic properties which can be shown to interfere with reader comprehension: (1) extraposition and self-embedding, (2) the semantic effects of “garden path” constructions, and (3) the difficulty in processing narratives containing embedded narratives. Our goal is to show that applying linguistic concepts and insights to the issue of text difficulty can help us to develop a better understanding of what makes a text easier or more difficult to read.
Paper Presented at the 28th European Systemic Functional Linguistics Conference, Pavia Italy, July 2018
This presentation examines briefly a few of the linguistic properties which can be shown to inter... more This presentation examines briefly a few of the linguistic properties which can be shown to interfere with the ability of readers to comprehend texts: (1) extraposition and self-embedding, (2) the semantic effects of “garden path” constructions, and (3) the difficulty in processing narratives containing embedded narratives. Our goal is to show that applying linguistic concepts and insights to the issue of text difficulty can help us to develop a better understanding of what makes a text easier or more difficult to read.
PowerPoint slides of talk presented at the Conference of the International Journal of Arts & Scie... more PowerPoint slides of talk presented at the Conference of the International Journal of Arts & Sciences, May 30, 2017 at McGill University, Montreal.
Goal: A digital library and repository dedicated to documenting the culture and history of North ... more Goal: A digital library and repository dedicated to documenting the culture and history of North American Jews. The project is incorporated in the United States as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. It is intended to be both a teaching and research tool. The library and repository (very much an ongoing project) can be found at https://www.najculture.org/ .
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"Anyone concerned about readability formulas will love this book, for it begins by providing a concise summary of the history of this elusive concept and points out the many past accepted fallacies in the efforts to produce grade and age level correlations of materials for children to read and understand, and then points to a more effective way to discover readability. The authors take this quest in an excitingly new direction. Instead of searching for correlations of material written by adults (an odd thought for studying material for children), they search for the answer in the language properties of texts that can impede fluent reading and, equally important, what kinds of knowledge different readers (including children) need in order to unpack the meaning of the text. The book takes the search beyond the purported complexity of words and sentences to a linguistic analysis of the effects of self-embedded structures, branching of relative clauses, ambiguities of various types, the repetition of coherence, and the important but largely overlooked background knowledge of readers, all of which suggest the need for different definitions of fluency and comprehension than have been hitherto advanced." --Roger W. Shuy, Distinguished Research Professor of Linguistics, Emeritus, Georgetown University, USA
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=FM5ZAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=bailin+critical+assesment+of+research&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiR95eq05DKAhUDTCYKHe6fDxAQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=bailin%20critical%20assesment%20of%20research&f=false
http://store.elsevier.com/product.jsp?locale=en_US&isbn=9781843345435
"This is an excellent introduction to assessing and evaluating research and unlike any book currently available. The traditional gold standards are clearly explained and critiqued, while the case studies are effective and accessible ways of concretely demonstrating why the contexts in which research is conducted, disseminated, and received matter" (Journal of Academic Librarianship).
"This has been one of the most enjoyable and thought provoking books I have read for a while. Not only is it well written in a style which is easy to read, the authors use of narrative in the case studies leaves you with a very strong message about how to assess research and how all researchers are influenced by their belief systems and previous experiences." (Library Management)
“This book arms its readers with the right questions for instances when they need to assess the value of the research of others, particularly when mediated by print and broadcast media. In this short text they learn how economic, political, or social self-interest may motivate the misreporting of findings into spin or, at the other end of the scale, fraudulent claims that can have devastating impacts on people's lives and their livelihoods.” (Library & Information Science Research)
REVIEWS: "Anyone concerned about readability formulas will love this book, for it begins by providing a concise summary of the history of this elusive concept and points out the many past accepted fallacies in the efforts to produce grade and age level correlations of materials for children to read and understand, and then points to a more effective way to discover readability. The authors take this quest in an excitingly new direction. Instead of searching for correlations of material written by adults (an odd thought for studying material for children), they search for the answer in the language properties of texts that can impede fluent reading and, equally important, what kinds of knowledge different readers (including children) need in order to unpack the meaning of the text. The book takes the search beyond the purported complexity of words and sentences to a linguistic analysis of the effects of self-embedded structures, branching of relative clauses, ambiguities of various types, the repetition of coherence, and the important but largely overlooked background knowledge of readers, all of which suggest the need for different definitions of fluency and comprehension than have been hitherto advanced." --Roger W. Shuy, Distinguished Research Professor of Linguistics, Emeritus, Georgetown University
"Anyone concerned about readability formulas will love this book, for it begins by providing a concise summary of the history of this elusive concept and points out the many past accepted fallacies in the efforts to produce grade and age level correlations of materials for children to read and understand, and then points to a more effective way to discover readability. The authors take this quest in an excitingly new direction. Instead of searching for correlations of material written by adults (an odd thought for studying material for children), they search for the answer in the language properties of texts that can impede fluent reading and, equally important, what kinds of knowledge different readers (including children) need in order to unpack the meaning of the text. The book takes the search beyond the purported complexity of words and sentences to a linguistic analysis of the effects of self-embedded structures, branching of relative clauses, ambiguities of various types, the repetition of coherence, and the important but largely overlooked background knowledge of readers, all of which suggest the need for different definitions of fluency and comprehension than have been hitherto advanced." --Roger W. Shuy, Distinguished Research Professor of Linguistics, Emeritus, Georgetown University, USA
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=FM5ZAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=bailin+critical+assesment+of+research&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiR95eq05DKAhUDTCYKHe6fDxAQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=bailin%20critical%20assesment%20of%20research&f=false
http://store.elsevier.com/product.jsp?locale=en_US&isbn=9781843345435
"This is an excellent introduction to assessing and evaluating research and unlike any book currently available. The traditional gold standards are clearly explained and critiqued, while the case studies are effective and accessible ways of concretely demonstrating why the contexts in which research is conducted, disseminated, and received matter" (Journal of Academic Librarianship).
"This has been one of the most enjoyable and thought provoking books I have read for a while. Not only is it well written in a style which is easy to read, the authors use of narrative in the case studies leaves you with a very strong message about how to assess research and how all researchers are influenced by their belief systems and previous experiences." (Library Management)
“This book arms its readers with the right questions for instances when they need to assess the value of the research of others, particularly when mediated by print and broadcast media. In this short text they learn how economic, political, or social self-interest may motivate the misreporting of findings into spin or, at the other end of the scale, fraudulent claims that can have devastating impacts on people's lives and their livelihoods.” (Library & Information Science Research)
REVIEWS: "Anyone concerned about readability formulas will love this book, for it begins by providing a concise summary of the history of this elusive concept and points out the many past accepted fallacies in the efforts to produce grade and age level correlations of materials for children to read and understand, and then points to a more effective way to discover readability. The authors take this quest in an excitingly new direction. Instead of searching for correlations of material written by adults (an odd thought for studying material for children), they search for the answer in the language properties of texts that can impede fluent reading and, equally important, what kinds of knowledge different readers (including children) need in order to unpack the meaning of the text. The book takes the search beyond the purported complexity of words and sentences to a linguistic analysis of the effects of self-embedded structures, branching of relative clauses, ambiguities of various types, the repetition of coherence, and the important but largely overlooked background knowledge of readers, all of which suggest the need for different definitions of fluency and comprehension than have been hitherto advanced." --Roger W. Shuy, Distinguished Research Professor of Linguistics, Emeritus, Georgetown University
Nevertheless, quantitative readability formulas have repeatedly proven to be very poor measures of how readable a text is. In this presentation we contend that one major reasons for their poor performance is that they ignore all but the most superficial linguistic properties. We argue that if we are ever going to be able to develop robust readability assessment, we must look at what various linguistic disciplines, including psycholinguistics, theoretical linguistics and text linguistics, have identified as properties that can interfere with text comprehension.
We will examine briefly a few of the linguistic properties which can be shown to interfere with reader comprehension: (1) extraposition and self-embedding, (2) the semantic effects of “garden path” constructions, and (3) the difficulty in processing narratives containing embedded narratives. Our goal is to show that applying linguistic concepts and insights to the issue of text difficulty can help us to develop a better understanding of what makes a text easier or more difficult to read.
Paper Presented at the 28th European Systemic Functional Linguistics Conference, Pavia Italy, July 2018