Library and Information Science Commons^™

Narratives Of Sexuality In The Lives Of Young Women Readers, Davin L. Helkenberg

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In recent years, research on adolescent sexuality in Young Adult (YA) Literature has included a discussion of its potential role in sex education. Based on the extensive yet problematic presentation of sexuality within these texts, it has gained both support and opposition. However, very few empirical studies have been done on how readers say YA Literature has informed their sexual lives.

This thesis investigates how narratives of sexuality found within YA Literature may inform the sexual lives of young women readers by examining both readers’ experiences and YA texts. First, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 female participants (aged 18 …

Using A Pearl Harvested Synonym Ring For The Creation Of A Digital Index On Giftedness, Nichole E. Mortimer

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis examined the use of a pearl harvested synonym ring in the creation of a digital index on the subject of giftedness, with the goal of better defining the available information in the field and facilitating information retrieval. The pearl harvested synonym ring was used in the retrieval of citations relating to giftedness in the ERIC database. A content analysis of these citations provided the list of topics that would form the basis of a digital index. When the topics retrieved using the pearl harvested synonym ring were compared to the indices of two textbooks on gifted education, they …

Creating A Comprehensive Search Strategy For Research On Learning Disabilities Using The Pearl Harvesting Information Retrieval Framework, Salsabel Almanssori

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The migration of libraries to the digital realm has created new opportunities for information sharing; however, the abundance of available literature has made locating relevant research studies on specific learning disabilities a difficult task, one that existing search strategies have not adequately addressed. Moreover, definitions of specific learning disabilities have evolved and the nature of this field is interdisciplinary, creating a confusion of possible search terms for the topic. The present investigation used the Pearl Harvesting Information Retrieval Framework to create a comprehensive search strategy for locating research on learning disabilities. The analysis produced four groups of harvested search terms …