Is using a cellular telephone while driving really that serious that there should be laws prohibiting it?

Rob Miller - I103 – SP2014

To seek answers to that question, I began my search on the Indiana University East Library page:

http://www.iue.edu/library

There I found a list of “Top Library Resources” which could be used to search for information.

I decided to start my search in the LibGuides A-Z Index listing.

To enter it I simply clicked my computer’s mouse on the

hyperlink.

The LibGuides A-Z index listings hyperlink directed me to an alphabetically organized resource list. As distracted driving is a law

enforcement topic, I decided to look at what resource databases were available under tab “C” in hopes of finding a criminal justice

link.

Under the “C” tab I was presented with a long list of databases and freely available resources that began with the letter “C.” As the database lists were arranged alphabetically I simply scrolled down the list until I found

the “Criminal Justice” link. I simply clicked on the “Criminal Justice” hyperlink to progress forward.

The link led me to the search area in the ProQuest Criminal Justice database. There I initially performed an open search for the term “distracted driving.” While partially filling in the search term a drop down menu appears, as part of a auto-complete feature, displaying various search options pertaining to the boundaries which are being typed. I simply clicked my computer’s mouse on the phrase I liked and searched the term by simply clicking on the search magnifier.

The results of this basic search found 376 resources for consideration. As this was a limited search with a fair amount of results returned, I decided to

see if I could slim the results down just a bit further.

I then performed an advanced search by simply clicking the “Advanced” search option. This allowed me to enter more specific search parameters. I entered “distracted driving” in the search box, and added the limiters “cellular telephone” OR “texting” to make the “distracted driving” search more specific to those terms. Additionally, I was looking for full text documents and made it part of the search terms.

This advanced search allowed me to narrow my search results down significantly while providing me with more resources most specific to my research needs. As a result, I was able to narrow my results down to 34 results.

Looking over this results page I noticed that the very first return discusses “Traffic Safety” with an abundant amount of highlighted areas indicating a match for the advanced search parameters. I decided to click my computers mouse on the “Full text – PDF” option to view the material.

The “Full text – PDF” option directed me to this three page full text document. A review of the document found some important points regarding distracted driving and my topic. The only negative side to this document is its age and the current accuracy of the statistical information provided in it.

I returned back to my results page to begin looking over the remaining results to see if there are any which could be of value to my research. I came across the third return which was titled, “Cell Phones and Police Agencies.” Although the text is a bit older (Jan. 2004), I decided to take a look at it anyway so I clicked on the “Citation/Abstract” hyperlink to take a quick peek.

What I found again was some very valuable information regarding content and information, but again the age of the resource brings me some concern. I like how this abstract points out some very important statistics to use for my project, and although the information is out dated it also provides direction toward another credible government source (the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) site where I can go look to find the most current statistics needed.

To this point the biggest thing I have found with my search is the age of the resources being found. I then decided to tweak my search limiters a bit more to try and discover more current information. To do that I simply went back into the “Advanced” search option and adjusted the Publication date so it would find the relevant documents published within the “Last 12 months.” I then hit the “Search” button again to see what I could find.

This search returned a much narrower amount of results but a more current resource article. What I found was of the “7 results” only two of the articles would even be considered valuable for me to review. The first article titled “Watch out for distracted drivers” seems to be the most valuable and very current (Aug 2013). I decided to click on the hyperlink to see what I could view.

Clicking on this link took me to the Citation/Abstract page for this document. It took me there because there was no document available to view, BUT this page points me in the right direction that I can turn to view it.

As I scrolled down the Citation/Abstract page I was provided with all of the valuable information necessary to find this article whether it be in a library or on an online search. Here I see that this article was published on the National Safety Council website starting on Page 4 of the Aug. 2013 publication.

One last thing I would like to discuss about the ProQuest database is its ability to generate citations on certain document. Here I will use the “Full text – PDF” document titled Traffic Safety to demonstrate how this works. From the document page simply click on the “Cite” feature near the upper-right hand corner of the screen.

A box will appear on the screen with a generated citation that I can simply copy and paste into my resources/bibliography page of my paper.

Additionally there is a dropdown box which allows me to select which style of citation I want to use. This nice feature saves me on time while producing a proper citation.

Opinion

After using the ProQuest database to search for resources, I felt that the database itself was very functional, simply, and resourceful. It was very simply to navigate around especially when it came time to jump back a few screens to change some search parameters or add some limiters. I have found through this search that my topic isn’t really a very simple subject to find information on immediately since distracted driving relates to a multitude of actions – it takes some digging and forming of clever words or phrases. The database’s ability to allow the user to throw in some limiting terms can really help in finding the type of information being sought, but also I found that if you make the search terms too specific you could also miss out on some other valuable resources or information which can get you pointed in another direction. The database has many great tools built into it which can help any student or researcher when completing research or a paper. To me the citation tool is valuable in so many ways as improperly citing something is always something I worry about. I found ProQuest to be a valuable tool which I will continue to use.