I-Search Paper: What I Learned

Zach Morgan

Mrs. Lester

Hon W Lit/comp

13 May 2010

I-Search: What I Learned

     My first research question was, “What are the causes of suicides among veterans?”  The answers that I found were that veterans often turn to substance abuse, feel depressed, and feel rejected by society after returning from war; therefore, they turn to suicide.  These soldiers turn to substance abuse because they feel that drugs and alcohol are a good way to relieve them of pain; however, this is only true on a short-term basis.  In the long run, this substance abuse only causes them to act out in violent ways and either hurt themselves or their friends and family.  Also, if the veteran overcomes the urges of suicide these substances will shorten their life.  The soldiers often feel depressed because of the memories of enemies that they have killed and because of the sights of their fallen comrades.  They could also feel depressed due to guilt that they may feel.  This guilt could arise if they survived and their comrades died; therefore, leading them to think that they should die too.   Another reason that veterans may become depressed is if they feel like they bear a burden because of their memories of war.  This could be a mental strain that they put on themselves or a physical limitation that could make them feel like they are less able to perform daily activities.  The final reason that I found that soldiers commit suicide is if the soldier feels rejected by society.  The main reason that this problem can leads to suicide is because the soldiers have been affected by many other things, such as a mental or physical limitation and that combined with substance abuse or depression can cause the soldier to detach themselves from society and isolate themselves.  Another thing that causes soldier to feel rejected by society is if the world changes while they are gone.  For example, changes in technology and daily human activities could be too much for a soldier to have to return home and cope with.  The source that helped me answer this question was my interview with Dr. Paul Fisher.  Dr. Fisher helped me the most by both answering my question directly using his own person knowledge and opinions, but he also sent me links to information sources to help me gain a greater understanding of the causes of suicides.  The information that Dr. Fisher provided helped me arrive at the answers to my research question.  I believe that these are the main causes of suicide among veterans; however, I believe that this issue cannot be answered as simply as this, and that there are endless possibilities.  I also believe that this issue determines on the individual soldier and that these answers cannot be used to describe all of the veterans.  This is true because while one soldier may become depressed, another may start substance abuse and cut himself off from society; therefore, all cases are different.  To sum it all up, I believe that this is my most important research question and that it has helped give me inspiration for my entire research project.

    My second research question was, “Do aspects of a soldier’s life such as age, gender, and background affect whether or not they commit suicide?”  One answer that I found was that age and gender have a lot to do with whether or not a veteran will omit suicide or sufferer from other post service issues.  In my research I found that men are more susceptible to considering suicide as an option once returning from war.  This factor has been proven to be caused because men in war feel more attached to their comrades than women due, and are therefore more likely to suffer from a mental problem due to grief or separation from their comrades.   Another reason for this statistic is that men are much more likely to develop substance addictions once they return home; therefore, they are put at an even greater risk of suicide.  The source that helped me answer this question was a news video called “Vets’ Suicide Epidemic”, and was from a CBS Evening News report.  This video addressed which veterans were most likely to try and commit suicide and why.  This video was very informational and contained interviews with families and experts on veterans’ suicides.  All of the information in this video helped me answer my research question.  I believe that this is a very important part of my research project because when I answered this question I helped to understand which veterans were most likely to commit suicide and why these types of veterans were committing suicide over the others.  All in all, this research question was the easiest to answer, but it also surprised me because I thought that women would have been more likely to commit suicide.

    My third research question was, “Why has the suicide rate increased in recent wars rather than in previous wars?”  One answer that I found was because of the advances in technology on and off of the battlefield.  On the battlefield, many things can cause soldiers to become confused and hamper their mental abilities.  For example, a majority of the enemies that they are fighting are untrained civilians who have been threatened by terrorist groups.  This type of enemy causes soldiers to forget that the enemies are human; therefore, they are more likely to be hurt mentally because of the guilt they may feel from killing the innocent civilians.  I believe that this causes a problem because the soldiers relate the civilians to the normal life that they have left behind.  Another advancement in technology is causing a problem for veterans; this problem is that the weapons are a lot more powerful and brutal.  Therefore, soldiers are in a lot more danger and have to be on edge because the enemy can always harm them.  These new weapons can also cause trauma that can lead to mental disabilities that have a direct correlation with suicide and its effects.  Off of the battlefield, things such as society and technology changing everyday life can create a problem for soldiers when they return home.  Things such as economic crisis’s and advancements in everyday communication such as cell phones and the internet could cause soldiers to feel lost when they come back to a strange new world that is nothing like the one that they left before the war.  The sources that helped me answer this question were my expert, Dr. Fisher, and a SIRS database article called “Iraq, Afghan Vets at Risk for Suicides.”  The database article helped me because it talked about the way the world of war has changed which affects veterans.  It described the atmosphere of war as a heavy burden on soldiers, and how it affects them for the rest of their life.  My expert answered this research question directly and helped me understand how the changing world can be a troublesome thing for veterans to have to return home to.  All of the information provided by my expert and the information obtained from the database article helped me answer my research question.  I believe that this was an important part of my research project because it helped me gain a basis for why the suicide rates are going up now instead of another time.  I was over all expecting the factor of modern warfare to play a key role in veteran’s suicides, and I was not surprised at this information.  All things considered, this research question was my favorite one to learn about and was very interesting to research about.

    I believe that this project has been very beneficial to me because I have learned a lot about my topic and about researching skills.  I am proud of all of the new information that I have gained about this topic, and I am also proud of my ability to use my research skills to find this information.  I am mainly proud of my ability to tell the credibility of a source.  This is true because I used to just use the first source that came up in a Google search, but now I know how to find the perfect source to answer my questions.  This has also helped me to be assured that my information is true, because I do not want to sound stupid when I am describing my issue to other people.  Another thing that I am proud of that have learned from this project is how to use web tools to organize my information and research sources.  One of the new tool that I was able to use this semester was Evernote. Evernote helped me keep all of my sources organized in one convenient location, and the program was very easy to use.  One other organizational tool that I was introduced to was Netvibes.  Netvibes is a learning portal that contains information that can be easily accessed by both myself and others who are looking to find out the information that I have compiled from this project.   I enjoyed using Evernote because it has features that are similar to I-Google, but is more centered on user creation instead of set applications.  I am also proud of my creativity during this project in the creation of all of my Multigenre elements.  I believe that I did a good job with coming up with good ideas for my Multigenre elements as well as my ability to create a piece that would effectively help my research project.  I am also proud of my artistic ability and my ability as a writer in creating my Multigenre elements.  In conclusion, I believe that I did an excellent job with this research project in all areas, and I am proud of my work.

    I believe that if I could have gone back and changed things that I did about this project it would be to spend my class time more wisely so that I did not have to complete everything last minute and at home.  The most important thing that I wish I hadn’t put off would be my interview.  This is true because I waited until I only had a couple of days left before I started sending out requests for a interview.  This delay combined with slow responses made the interview a stressful process.  I would have also liked to have added a lot more elements to my Netvibes page because I only did the bare minimum, and I would have liked to played around with the features some more.  I would have also liked to have done some more in-depth research on the mental aspects of suicide, because I only found out a little on the effects of war on the brain as it relates to suicide.  This issue is very important because the veterans that suffer from suicide have risked their lives to fight for our country, and we need to find a way to help them in any way possible.

    In general, I believe that I did a good job with this project and have really learned a lot from it.  However, I would give myself a `B’ on this project because of my lack of attention to the final elements of the online portion of the project.  To be honest, I believe that I could have done much better finishing up my Google site as well as my Netvibes page.  I believe that, in comparison to me work from last semester; I have done much worse in getting everything done and putting forth my best effort.  However, I have gained a lot of knowledge about my topic, and I will never forget he research and organizational skills that I have learned from this research project.  I have also learned more about my web tools such as Google, Netvibes, and Evernote.  I believe that my new found knowledge will help me in my future school career as well as in the rest of my life.

    I believe that my online elements were the weaker portion of my research project for this semester, and I am a little disappointed in them.  I failed to thoroughly complete my Google site, and I did not spend as much time as probably should have on it.  However, I believe that over all my Netvibes and Google site show how much I have learned about this topic, and they also reflect some of my creative aspects.  I also believe that these elements allow others to see the work that I have accomplished and the information that I have compiled and put into a very accessible place.  I believe that this information could help someone else if they were locking for knowledge on veterans’ suicides.  Therefore, my digital elements show my effort and what I have accomplished as a student this semester.