Intro to Research

Intro to ResearchRoaring Twenties Annotated BibliographySo, why should we care about research?

There are bigger questions in life!You will be using information to make important decisions!Which car should I buy?Which doctor should I choose?Which colleges should I apply to?Should I take this medication?

You want to be able to ensure the information you choose is reliable, credible, current, balanced, relevant, and accurate!

Things to Think About. . .What kind of information are you looking for?Facts?Opinions?News Reports?Research Studies?How much information do you need?Where would be a likely place to look?

Traditional Print SourcesBooks and textbooksNewspapersAcademic and Trade journalsGovernment Reports and Legal DocumentsPress Releases and AdvertisingFlyers and PamphletsMultimedia (TV broadcasts, public meetings)

Internet-Only SourcesWeb SitesWeblogs/ BlogsMessage boards, discussion listsMultimedia

Primary SourcesDocument or physical object which was written or created during the time under study. These sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular event. Some types of primary sources include:ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS (excerpts or translations acceptable): Diaries, speeches, manuscripts, letters, interviews, news film footage, autobiographies, official recordsCREATIVE WORKS: Poetry, drama, novels, music, artRELICS OR ARTIFACTS: Pottery, furniture, clothing, buildingsOther types of primary research include: interviews, surveys or questionnaires, and observations

Examples of Primary SourcesDiary of Anne Frank - Experiences of a Jewish family during WWIIThe Constitution of Canada - Canadian HistoryA journal article reporting NEW research or findingsWeavings and pottery - Native American historyPlato's Republic - Women in Ancient Greece

Secondary SourcesA secondary source interprets and analyzes primary sources. These sources are one or more steps removed from the event. Secondary sources may have pictures, quotes or graphics of primary sources in them. Secondary Sources Generally Include. . .JOURNAL ARTICLESMAGAZINE ARTICLESBOOKS ABOUT THE TOPIC THAT ARENT FROM THE TIME PERIODTEXTBOOKS

Examples of Secondary SourcesPaper on Social Media: a scholarly article about the affects of social media on teensReport on Shakespeare: a book about his lifeResearch Paper on Cells: a biology textbook

Primary or Secondary?Youre writing a report on Japanese cuisine:An interview with a Sushi chef on his techniqueAn article from Food and Wine magazine about teppanyaki You are putting together an informational presentation on French Bulldogs:A book describing the characteristics of the breedYour observations on your own French Bulldog at homeYou are writing a paper on the history of the computer:A book about the most influential people in the computer worldAn autobiography written by Bill GatesYou are doing a report on the Civil War:The Gettysburg AddressA history textbook

Hmmm. This one looks good.How can I tell for sure?How do we know if a web source is credible?Its okay to be confused!There are billions of websites out thereMany of them are not worthy of your time and dont belong in your bibliographies!Sometimes its very hard to tell treasure from trashSometimes Web developers dont want you to understand the difference

13What are the various reasons people choose to publish on the Web?How is Web publishing different from traditional print--book, magazine, newspaper--publishing? Who filtered (or selected) those resources for quality?Remember:Anyone can publish anythingon the Web!

It is your job, as a researcher, to look for quality!

14In the old days, we had good old print to rely on. Books and magazines still go through a filtering process for quality. Before they are published, they are double-checked by authors and edited for accuracy by a variety of professionals. This is nOT the case with material on the free Web.

Okay, so how do we know if a site is good?Yeah, and how can we be sureour teacher will think its good enough to cite?Think of CARRDSSCREDIBILITY / AUTHORITYACCURACYRELIABILITYRELEVANCEDATESOURCES BEHIND THE TEXTSCOPE AND PURPOSECREDIBILITY / AUTHORITY :Who is the author? What are his or her credentials? Education? Experience? Affiliation?Does the authors experience really qualify him or her as an expert? Is it a 7th grader doing a report on WWII?Does he or she offer first-hand credibility? (For instance, a Vietnam veteran or a witness to Woodstock?)Who actually published this page?Is this a personal page or is it part of the site belonging to a major institution? (Clues pointing to a personal page: ~ tilde, %, users, members)

17You discover an author has a Ph.D. Do you need to investigate any further? What if her degree is in physics and the site she wrote is on Shakespeare?Is everything on Geocities bad? Would your teacher question you citing a source that resided on a free server? ACCURACY:Can facts, statistics, or other information be verified through other sources? This is why you need more than one source when researching.Based on your knowledge, does the information seem accurate? Is the information inconsistent with information you learned from other sources?Is the information second hand? Has it been altered?Do there appear to be errors on the page (spelling, grammar, facts)?

18Spelling and grammatical errors are important clues that a site ought to be avoided as a source. Be on the lookout for information that just doesnt feel right.RELIABILITY:Does the source present a particular view or bias?Is the page affiliated with an organization that has a particular political or social agenda?Is the page selling a product?Can you find other material to offer balance so that you can see the bigger picture?Was the information found in a paid placement or sponsored result from the search engine?Information is seldom neutral. Sometimes a bias is useful for persuasive essays or debates. Understanding bias is important.

RELEVANCE:Does this information directly support my hypothesis/thesis or help to answer my question?Can I eliminate or ignore it because it simply doesnt help me?

20Research is not a contest. It doesnt matter how many sources you collect. What does matter is their quality and their relevance!DATE:When was this information created? When was it revised? Are these dates meaningful in terms of your information needs?Has the author of the page stopped maintaining it?If this material has not been updated in quite a while you should be concerned.(Be suspicious of undated material.)

21Can you give examples of when it would be more or less important to have your site be current? Is it important that an author keep a site maintained?SOURCES BEHIND THE TEXT:Did the author bother to document his or her sources? Use reliable, credible sources?Were those references popular, scholarly, reputable?Are the hyperlinks reliable, valuable?Do the links work?

22Be very suspicious of information that appears out of nowhere. Unless this is a completely original source some documentation ought to be present for you to take the page seriously.SCOPE / PURPOSE:Does this source address my hypothesis/thesis/question?Is it material I can read and understand?Is it too simple? Is it too challenging?Who is the intended audience?Why was this page created? To inform or explain? To persuade? To sell?

URLs as clues to content.com=commercial sites (vary in their credibility).gov=U.S. government site.org=organization, often non-profit. Some have strong bias and agendas.edu=school or university site (is it K-12? By a student? By a scholar?).store=retail business.int=international institution.ac=educational institution (like .edu).mil=U.S. military site.net=networked service provider, Internet administrative site.museum=museum.name=individual Internet user.biz=a business.pro=professionals site~=personal siteJust as you evaluate your sources . . .We will evaluate your work based on the quality of the sources you select.

Evaluate carefully. Dont settle for good enough!

Quality always counts!Which is credible?You are trying to figure out which movie to watch tonight. . .http://www.imdb.com/user/ur1391596/comments?ref_=tt_urv http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/movies/20140110__Her___Alone_with_the_lovely_voice_in_his_computer.html You are trying to research a political figure in preparation for election. . .http://www.barackobama.com/?source=site_20131217_splash#get-the-factshttp://www.cbsnews.com/news/poll-americans-split-on-obama-approval/You are trying to do a report on the Czech Republic. . .http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_Republichttps://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ez.html

Helpful Websites/ Places to find SourcesGoogle Scholar: http://scholar.google.com JSTOR: http://www.jstor.org South Lyon High School Library: http://destiny.oakland.k12.mi.us/cataloging/servlet/presentadvancedsearchredirectorform.do?l2m=Library%20Search&tm=TopLevelCatalog&l2m=Library+Search If you find a source you like, look at what that source cites to find more sources!