Doing your research

Some distinctions: Vetting

We rely on institutions that refine informationCheck truth, comprehensiveness, reliabilityAssure that information is clear and conclusions

supportedAssess the strength of evidence for claimsEncourage examination of counter information

Scholarly review, editorial scrutiny

Some distinctions: Vetting

Vetted Sources Scholarly journals with

editorial boards Compiled sources of

knowledge (encyclopedias depend on editorial team)

Textbooks (check reviews) Edited media (becoming

less reliable)

Unvetted Sources Internet webpages Unedited media Interviews Conference proceedings Television programming

(with rare exceptions) Wikipaedia (although

working toward vetted)

Some distinctions: Vetting

Dealing with Vetting Library threshold used to be marker; no more Develop a web of reliable sources through your

reading Look for signs of editorial review Track disagreements among sources Always cross reference information Use unvetted material freely to point into vetted

material Direction of your work: Unvetted Vetted

Some Distinctions: Type of Source

Primary Sources created during time studied by participant in, or direct

observer of, events reflect individual viewpoint of

participant or observer

Value: what actually happened during event or time period.

Documents or statements

Interpretation required for conclusions about the events

Secondary Sources Created with distance from

events Putting events into a context May weigh conflicting accounts May reflect intent of author

Value: Sorting fact from imagination; placing into context

Quality depends on reliability of source

Some Distinctions: Type of Source

Complications Cannot always tell; do not

always divulge Really does not classify source

but source’s relationship to claim

Secondary sources use and sift primary sources: Are they right?

Primary sources are subject to their interests: Are they right?

Examples: Reporter who sat in the balcony

as Jefferson delivered inaugural Reporter who interviewed

Senators watching Jefferson’s inaugural

Newspaper reports of public reaction to speech

Newspaper editors reactions to speech

Scholar’s report of how Jefferson wrote speech

Clerk’s recording of speech

Some Distinctions: Type of Source

Advantages of Primary Give you direct

access Give you a richer

detail of event Free you from

accounts written for a different time

Advantages of Secondary Give you vetted sorting

of facts Give you relationship of

events to their history Give you a compilation

of observers and participants

Research TornadoAt most general level: Read from internet, magazines, unvetted

sources Read many sources Relatively unguided

Get general idea of subject Develop the direction of research

Note differences among sources Note key terms that might become

search terms Note any mention of sources that author

relied upon, note indications of quantity and quality

End by developing priorities

Research TornadoAs research progresses: Go to quality sources you

encountered earlier Use search engines to find vetted

material Move toward more focused sources

Read to deepen your knowledge

Record material for presentation Refine source list by quantity and

quality Refine key term list

End by assessing knowledge: identifying gaps

Research TornadoAs research ends: Use sources appropriate for

questions remaining Work back and forth from

readings to search engines and indexes

Looking for specific unknowns

Record information for presentation

Capture dissent from conclusions

You are ready to report.

Threads descending through the Tornado Your learning is focusing Your depth of understanding is increasing as you

read more narrowly

A trail of priority of “next” sources A trail of refinement on search terms An evolving plan for conducting your research

An emerging idea about what your report should contain.

Doing your research

Work from a realistic strategy Make intelligent decisions about that

strategy“Ten source” methodUse annotations to guide

Sample Bib entry 1

Don J. Kraemer, “’It may seem strange’: Strategic Exclusions in Lincoln's Second Inaugural,” Rhetoric Review, 27.2 (April 2008): 165-84.

Analyzes Lincoln’s criticism of South in speech; believes it turns in the middle of speech. Abstract on Google Scholar.

Sample Bib entry 1

Don J. Kraemer, “’It may seem strange’: Strategic Exclusions in Lincoln's Second Inaugural,” Rhetoric Review, 27.2 (April 2008): 165-84. [A30]

Analyzes Lincoln’s criticism of South in speech; believes it turns in the middle of speech. Abstract on Google Scholar.

Sample Annotated Bib entry

Kraemer, Don J., “’It may seem strange’: Strategic Exclusions in Lincoln's Second Inaugural.” Rhetoric Review, 27.2 (April 2008): 165-84. [A30]

Argues with claim that Lincoln spoke to “better angels.” Says criticism of S was aimed politically at RR. Used paralepsis to move them to his way of thinking. Makes case effectively.

Sample Bib Entry 2

Slagell, Amy R. “Anatomy of a Masterpiece: A Close Textual Analysis of Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address.” Communication Studies 42.2 (1991): 155–71.

Kraemer [A30] uses in a minor way without indicating quality. No description of content.

Steps in Research Process

On Websitehttp://www.wam.umd.edu/~jklumpp/comm498e/home.html

Specific Content for each group

Also on websitehttp://www.wam.umd.edu/~jklumpp/comm498e/home.html

Some final advice

Short cuts in research are often illusionsShort bib entry

Flexibility in notation with do you service Make decisions strategically But follow hot leads Always dual track as you proceed

Content and strategy of research