Wiggling

As illustrated by the web in my previous post, I have been trying to sort the information I find into groups. The groups are based on my original questions.  Although I have had the questions in mind throughout the information gathering process, it seems like a good time to formally revisit them and determine whether I am finding effective answers.  Additionally, I've been reading and thinking about what constitutes quality questioning.  I've looked at a few models for distinguishing types of questions.  I like way Jim Burke classifies questions into 3 types- factual (in the text), inductive (through evaluation/interpretation), and analytical (through connections & relationships).  I will include the classification for each of my questions in parentheses.

1. What is the best definition of creed? (factual)

Well, I have found several definitions.  Examining the word's etymology, from the Latin, appears to give the most authentic definition.  This question was useful for building essential knowledge about creeds, but it was very easy to answer... not a very deep question.

2. Who uses creeds? (factual)


This question seems simple, but it gave me quite a bit of trouble.  I feeling like I left so many resources untapped here.  I looked at creeds for a couple religious groups, yet I also left out many.  The same applies for political ideologies and professions.  I did not have time to examine every single entity that could conceivably have a creed, and therefore, I know I will feel as though my final product is missing certain perspectives.

As I found information to answer this question, I also found answers to a question I did not think to ask initially.  Who does not use creeds?  In his questioning toolkit, Jamie McKenzie talks about these divergent questions that are sometimes formed by turning around our original ideas and expectations.  I also looked into the "why" of both the original question and the new question.


3. What are some of the earliest creeds on record? (factual)

It was hard to find concrete answers here.  As I worked through the inquiry, though, this question seemed less important.  I focused my attention on the content and themes of creeds more than their history.


4. What are the most common themes in creeds? (inductive/analytical)

I made some connections here as I was gathering information, but I think that this piece will come together more in the weaving stage.


5. What is the difference between a creed, an oath, a pledge, and a mission statement? (factual) Are the terms interchangeable? (factual, potentially analytical)

I realized that I definitely had some misconceptions about creeds.  Studying dictionary definitions helped me out a lot here.  Again, I will have better conclusions here after the weaving stage.


6. What elements should I include in my person creed? (analytical)

This is definitely the least documented question of my inquiry so far.  I've formulated some ideas mentally, but they are not on paper (or screen) yet.


I have quite a bit of background in searching for quality sources for academic assignments.  I have a mental checklist of attributes to look for in web-based sources- author's & publisher's credentials, currency of content, and professionalism in presentation.  It seems that wikipedia is better regarded now as an information source than it was when I started college seven years ago, but I still avoid it as a definitive source.  I did read the article about creeds, though, to find information that I could substantiate with other, more professional sources.  Most wikipedia articles also provide links to the source material for further reading, and that can be helpful too.  In this inquiry, I tried to use the official website of religions/organizations in order to read their creeds.  Sometimes that was impossible.  For example, there is no official creed for atheism, but some individual atheists have developed their own creeds.  It's not my role to determine whether one is more valid than another.  I just have to value those perspectives as representative of a human belief experience.  Other sources had more obvious authority.  I trusted my church's preacher (who has an education from a noteworthy Bible college) to have an authoritative understanding of the church's use/non-use of creeds.  I used dictionary.com for definitions.  It's validity is evidenced through citations of established dictionaries such as Webster's and the World English Dictionary.  Finally, I used Academic Search Premiere and Google Scholar to locate eBooks and articles that come from reputable sources.

Now that I have gathered the information that seems to satisfy my questions, it is time to start weaving it together as I look for clues as to how I will present my information to an audience.  I am still nervous about how the back half of this project will shape up.  There is still a lot of work to do.  I think that this is the place where many young students who are inexperienced at inquiry are at risk for becoming overwhelmed and giving up.  Reading information sources is often the easy part, but shaping it into something of one's own can be intimidating.