Student Question Word Cloud

After reading how Obama’s health care policy team created a word cloud indicating the most frequently used words and phrases in comments they received about health care, I decided to do the same with the questions I received from students via e-mail and Meebo chat this semester. The results can be seen at http://www2.bc.edu/~lissk/wordcloudf08.html . It’s more an impressionistic view of my electronic interactions with comm majors than it is anything useful, but I thought it would be fun to share.

Among my favorite bits: One of the largest words in the cloud – along with find, research, paper, topic, articles, and class – is “wondering.” I hadn’t realized how often students say “I was wondering…”

Then there’s this inadvertent but oh so logical progression from good to bad among the alphabetical list of words and phrases:

good .good articles. .good sources. .good thanksgiving. great .great depression. .hard time. .hard time finding.

Crunch Time: Research Help with Your Papers

The end of the semester, with paper and project deadlines approaching, is among the busiest time for students – and for me. I’m here to help with your research. Here are tips on different ways to get help.

1. Set up a time to get together. In person consultations are not always necessary, but 10 or 15 minutes together are often all it takes to jump start your research or get you past a stumbling block. (We can take more time if it’s needed.) E-mail me or contact me via the live help boxes on many of my pages and we’ll find a time that works for both of us. You can also drop in, but I may be out or with another student.
2. Ask a question online. Many questions can be answered without meeting in person. Send me an e-mail or use the live help boxes on my home page, course pages, and research guides. If I’m online, the live help box lets us chat without IM; if I’m not online, you can leave a message. (Just be sure to tell me who you are and how to get back to you.)
3. Check out sources and tips on the pages I created for specific courses or for broad communication subject areas. There are links to all of them, and to key databases, on the Communication Research Help by Subject page on the library’s website.
   

Remember that I have many students coming for help at this time, so be patient if I’m not available at exactly the time that’s best for you. But do let me know if you need help, and I will work with you in whatever way I can.