research fundamentals workshop for class visits
TRANSCRIPT
RESEARCH FUNDAMENTALS Selecting & Evaluating Resources
Zora Neale Hurston, Writer/Anthropologist/Adventurer
Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.
Research: What It Is
Strategic exploring Discovery Questioning Logical organization of findings
Research: More On What It Is
Brick:It includes your thoughts, questions, observations about the primary source material.
Mortar/Cement:It consists of prior inquiry and findings by veteran scholars that supports, answers some or all of your questions. It can also refute (can still be helpful).
Research: What It Is Not
Random accumulation of
assorted thoughts Other people’s
opinions minus your own observations and interpretation
Never-ending exploration
of a topic
Jean-Jacques Annaud, Filmmaker
To do the writing, I have to have time to do research.
Two Simple Questions When deciding whether a source is useful
to your project, ask yourself:
Does the book or article directly address my thesis statement or offer some background information/contextual framework that can be worked into my introduction?
Is it printed in a publication respected in academic circles?
Strategy Suggestions
If possible, pick a topic that you are interested in, or modify the generic topic that you have been assigned.
Do you have a complex question? Break it into parts.
Use sources such as encyclopedias to get an overview of your topic.
Write out a list of related and alternate terms based on what you learn from the above step.
Another Strategy Suggestion: Follow Bibliographic TrailsIn The Craft of Research, Booth, Colomb and
Williams remind usthat :
[Research is] a profoundly social activity that connects you to both those who will use your research and… [also] connects you and your readers to everyone whose research you used (273).
You can view research as a network of connected ideas. You are actually expected to build upon inquiry already made into the subject. Its just important to give credit to those who pointed the way.
It may be a useful source if it…
has notes and a bibliography. is printed by a scholarly or otherwise
respected publisher. is posted on a respected, reputable
website. is peer reviewed. is written by an authority in the field (do
background check). was recently written.
If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?
Albert Einstein, Physicist/Inventor/Writer
What are the origins of the “shotgun”
house, and why did it become a popular architectural style in the
southern U. S.?
Imaginary Research Topic
Types of Sources
Primary Sources • Are original documents or works of art • Supply raw data used to test hypothesis
Selected example: Blue print of a shotgun home
More Types of Sources
Secondary sources •Analyze primary sources• Help professionals to stay current (Chapter in this text)
The Shotgun House: An African Architectural Legacy 58John Michael Vlach
Selected example: Book chapter placing shotgun homes in historical context
More Types of Sources
Tertiary sources• Compile and analyze secondary sources
• Are usually reference books such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, etc.
Also see: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ENVI/vernacular.html
More on Types of Sources
http://library.uwsp.edu/guides/webtutorials/primary.htm
Quiz: What Type? Built to Meet Needs: Cultural Issues in V
ernacular Architecture (click on “Contents”)
A Field Guide to American Houses
Map of southern neighborhood containing shotgun homes
Photographs of shotgun homes
Magazines Versus Journals
Architectural Digest (Popular )
Art & Architecture Journal (Trade) (Scholarly)
Checklist: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/guides/spmaterials/
Buildings & Landscapes: Journal of the
Vernacular Architecture Forum
In the Olden Days
GIL & Previewing a Book
More Previewing a Book
Even before you have the book in hand you can do a basic evaluation by paying attention to the:
author’s credentials (may have to use internet) date of publication (older books are not necessarily bad) number of editions published reputation/standing of the publisher
Note: These earmarks work for web pages too.
More GIL
More Previewing a Book
More Previewing a Book
When you have the book in hand, and
to help you decide if the content matches your purpose, take a look at the: book jacket table of contents preface and/or intro illustrations appendices bibliography
GALILEO
More GALILEO
Henry David Thoreau,Writer/Philosopher/Activist
Simplify. Simplify.
Simplicity
Step back and observe what you have.
Do you need to do a better job of responding to your thesis? Or will what you have sufficiently do the job?
By Pete McKee From Cartoonstock.com
Happy hunting
Works Cited Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. The Craft of
Research. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008. 68-101. Print.
“Evaluating Sources of Information.” Purdue Online Writing Lab. Purdue University, 2010. Web. 12 April 2010.
Georgia Perimeter College. RSCH 1203: Research Skills and Technology. Georgia Perimeter College, 2008. 78-86. Print.
“Guide to Library Research at Cornell: Seven Steps to Effective Library Research.” Olin and Uris Libraries , Cornell University. Cornell University, 2010. Web. 28 April 2010.
“Learn to Find, Access and Manage Information.” University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries. University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2010. Web. 26 April 2010.
Copywriting, additional content & presentation design by
Jené Watson
Georgia Perimeter College-DecaturLearning & Tutoring Center
Spring/Summer 2010