The RSR – From The Idea To Sources

OMG Sophie How do I start my RSR?!!!

Some General Observations*

* Based on helping my LC and IB students

You feel swamped – you don’t know where to start. The RSR is puton ‘The Long Finger’. Its competing for time with other subjects

You take a long time to settle on a general area eg European historyor Medieval history and you may need to be ‘shoved’ to get this far.

You find it difficult to narrow your focus to a more specific topic areaand to develop a research question

You are reluctant to discuss your ideas with teachers and the school librarian. You struggle on alone when you don’t have to

You don’t know how/where to find the information you need

You find extracting ideas/themes/arguments from your reading difficult

The Research Process

Majority of Irish students are NOT taught how to use a library nor how to write a research essayStudents don’t realise that there is a methodology that they can follow

1. Find topic area2. Do background (initial) reading3. Develop the Research Question (RQ) and thesis statement4. Decide which sources are needed5. Research6. Read7. Evaluate8. Write first draft9. Recognise what is wrong/missing/should be emphasised/deleted from 1st

draft10. Revise draft(s)

This could be covered in a TY Module Why don’t you suggest it to the TY Co-Ordinator at your school????

Topic Choice & Research Question

Your Topic Choice and RQ is ImportantChoose something that interests you

Is worthy of research ie don’t choose a frivolous topic – 4 criteria will be discussed. Surprisingly Rihanna doesn’t count as ‘worthy’!!!

Your RQ will determine the resources you will need for your essay

Do your background reading in general reference sources (eg encyclopedia) to confirm your interest in the topic

Become familiar with the historical context surrounding their topic(social, political, cultural, economic etc.)

Take on the role of the investigator - what is the significance of thetopic you are researching? If you cannot answer this then why are you working on the topic???

Once settled on your general topic area narrow it into your RQ

1st criteria for a good RQDEBATABLE – a good RQ is debatable rather than factual.It is not a simple “yes or no” question but one that can be answered in more than one way

Too Factual

Who was the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence?

Debatable

What factors might explain the historical inaccuracies in John Trumball’s painting ‘The Declaration of Independence’?

2nd criteria for a good RQ

NARROW – a good RQ is narrow rather than broad (‘delightfully vague’).

Too broad

Why did the Roman Empire collapse?

Narrow

What aspects of the political system of the Roman Republicsurvived the rise of dictatorship and empire?

3rd criteria for a good RQ

SIGNIFICANT – The RQ should be one that historians would take seriously

Unimportant

Why are ping pong tables green?

Significant

What was the importance of ‘ping-pong diplomacy’ to relationsbetween China and the USA?

4th criteria for a good RQ

RESEARCHABLE – a good RQ is researchable rather than vague.Vague RQs will lead to aimless, narrative style essays

Vague

Why did Mexico have so many revolutions?

Researchable

How was the Porfirio Diaz dictatorship undermined in the decade prior to the Mexican Revolution of 1910?

A poorly chosen RQ is likely to lead to a long, rambling answerNarrative rather than analytical Perhaps resulting in lower marks???

IB Example - Formulating a Good RQ

The Library, St. Andrew's College

Move from the GENERAL (Broad) to the SPECIFIC (Focused)

Topic – English Topic A Comments

Religion in Literature Waaay too broad!!!

Religion in 19th Century Literature Still too broad

Religion in the works of the Brontes Better. Moving in the right direction

Religion in the works ofCharlotte Bronte

She wrote a lot!

Charlotte Bronte’s views on Religion in Villette and JaneEyre

Almost there

In what way does CB reveal her attitudes to religion in Villette and Jane Eyre?

Source: IBO

Sources

Caveat

Assuming

- you don’t have a school library

- you know how to search the internet

- you are a member of your local public library and know how to use a library catalogue

So, …

Sources - TypesYou only have to evaluate 3 sources of information in your RSR

Here’s where you’ll find help 1. Almanacs/Statistical Sources2. Atlases (Historical)3. Books & Ebooks4. Databases5. Dictionaries6. Encyclopedia7. Internet – Irish Sites and Linked Sites8. Magazines9. Newspapers10. People – Interviews, Associations, Museums and Archives11. Radio and TV

Warning

DANGER!!• This is NOT a

comprehensive listing of sources. It gives a flavour of what is available

Sources used at the start

Useful at the beginning stages of research

Dictionaries

Encyclopedia

Atlases (Historical)

DictionariesUseful to define an historical term – used to briefly describe the origin and general historical context of the term you intend to use eg neo-liberalism

They do not contain detailed analysis/interpretation of historical subjects.

Macmillan Concise Dictionary of World History

Dictionary of Irish History Since 1800 – Hickey and Doherty (eds)

Dictionary of Ancient History (OUP)

Dictionary of American History

Dictionary of the History of Ideas

Specialised eg New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians

Encyclopedias

Researching a subject about which you have very little background information???

READ AN ENCYCLOPEDIA ARTICLE ON YOUR TOPIC

as you are not yet in a position to corroborate what you will be reading with other sources

World Book Online Encyclopedia/Encyclopedia Britannica – fee based on web

Women’s Studies Encyclopedia: History, Philosophy and Religion (1999)

New Encyclopedia of Islam (2001)

International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences – useful for politics

Encyclopedia of Medical History

Encyclopedia of Military History: From 3500BC to the Present (Harper & Row)

Atlases (Historical)Illustrate important changes over time – battles, migrations etc.

A picture is worth a thousand words

Historical Atlases

Times Atlas of World History

Muir’s Atlas of Ancient and Classical History

Atlas of the Greek World

Atlas of the Roman World

.

Sources Used Later In The Research Process

Almanacs/StatisticsAn almanac is a book of facts/statistics usually in a tabulated format. Statistics in an almanac refer to the previous years figures or even earlier!

Use statistics to back up your argument

CSO – Central Statistics Office

ESRI- Economic and Social Research Institute

Irish Census data – 1911 Census

World Almanac and Book of Facts

UN - Statistical Yearbook, United Nations Statistical Office

European Political Facts, 1918-1990

Historical Tables, 58BC-AD1900

International Historical Statistics: Europe, 1750-2005, 6th ed.

BooksVery useful to the novice researcher for their broad and deep coverage of a topic.

Peer reviewed.

Bibliography - use it to find other resources on your topic area.

Too many to list or comment upon individually – use the ‘classic’ author in the subject eg Laurence Rees on Nazis.

Use your Local public library – search their catalogue online, if the item not in stock ask for an Inter Library Loan – small cost???

Is there a university or college nearby? Get a reading card – fee???

Book Reviews – useful for analysis/criticism

Help for students on how to evaluate print sources of information on my Blog

EBooks

Free – warning – some of these books may be still in copyright so you cannot view full text

Free - Project Gutenberg – older, out of copyright books. Useful when tryingto find an older ‘classic’ in the field. Does not contain new books giving newanalysis/interpretations.

Limitation - books out of copyright in USA may still be in copyright in Europe and vice versa

Subscription service may be the answer BUT!!!...

there can be print limitations. Some services limit each printing session to 5 pages per session

Databases

Useful for full text articles and book reviews

EBSCO – History Reference Centre

JSTOR – collection of journals from a wide range of disciplines.

Fee based and require a password

Are they available at a local library/college/university???

Save time – read the abstract – summarises what the work is about

Internet – A Few Caveats

Beware of Wikipedia – open architecture - use cautiously.Every class will have its ‘Wiki Wallies’

Do you know about Google Scholar?

Do you know about suffixes eg .edu (educational) .com (commercial organisation)

Invisible or Deep Web – Do you know how to search it???

Date accessed – essential to quote this in your bibliography

Go to my Blog for help on how to evaluate a website

http://librarysac.wordpress.com

Internet – The Deep Web

Are you aware that searching Google is not searching the entire web??

Do you know how to search the deep or invisible web?

Deep web sites include:

Intute Infomine DeepPeep IncyWyncy

WWW Virtual Library Complete Planet InfoPlease

Internet – Irish History

You should be aware of these if doing an Irish History RSR

Bibliography of Irish History – www.rhs.ac.uk/bibl/ireland.asp

CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts – www.ucc.ie/celt/links.html

Documents on Irish Foreign Policy – www.difp.ie

Great Hunger Collection Online – www.quinnipiac.edu/x912.xml

Irish Resources in the Humanities – www.irith.org/index.jsp

Defence Forces Military Archive – 1922 Military Census

Internet – Linked Sites

Focus on history and have a large number of links to specialised history sites

Gateway to world history – www.hartford-hwp.com/gateway

Internet History Sourcebooks Project – www.fordham.edu/halsall/index

Library of Congress – http://lcwebloc.gov

World History Compass – www.worldhistorycompass.com

WWW-Virtual Library: History – www.ukans.edu/history/VL

British Academy Portal – www.britac.ac.uk/portal

Institute of Historical Research – www.history.ac.uk

Best of History Web Sites – www.besthistorysites.net/index.shtml

Internet – Linked Sites 2

Directory of Historical Resources – www.history.la.ca.us/hddirect.htm

The History Guide – www.historyguide.org/resources.html

Internet Public Library – www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse.hum30.00.00

World History Matters – www.worldhistorymatters.org

Intute Arts and Humanities – www.intute.ac.uk CLOSED JULY 2011

Librarians’ Internet Index – www.lii.org/pub/topic/reference

Internet – Document Archives

On these sites, specific historical texts (books, articles, primary docs) areavailable. Online access to them is free, but you may have to pay to downloadinformation

Eurodocs (primary historical documents) – http://library.byu.edu/~rdh/eurodocs

World War One Document Archive – www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi

InterviewsPrimary source which may lead to interesting essay. Remembersome topics are ‘overdone’ so interviews stand out as being original

Before the interview students should:-

Explain the scope of their research

Prepare a list of questions for their subject – make them open ended

Get their history teacher to REVIEW it!

Write and make an appointment and allow sufficient time for the subject to give a considered reply

Probe further if they get an answer that leads in the direction of important material

Let them know how your research progressed and thank them

NB – you MUST get your subject’s consent to record your interview

Local History Societies Archives/Associations/Museums

Great resource staffed with knowledgeable and enthusiastic historians who are more than willing to help you

What is the name of your local History Society? eg Maynooth Local History;Cork Historical & Archaeological Society; County Tipperary Historical Society

The National Archive is at Bishop St., Dublin; The Military Archive, is atCathal Brugha Barracks, Dublin; Linen Hall Library is in Belfast; NationalPhotographic Archive; archives held at universities – are you aware of any archive near you?

Local Museum eg Famine Museum in Roscommon ; Museum of CountryLife in Mayo; Irish Jewish Museum in Dublin

Magazines/Journals/Periodicals*‘The Shove ‘ mentioned earlier – use front cover and title page to find your topic area

History Ireland – fantastic resource!!!

BBC History Magazine

History Today

Modern History Review

Irish Historical Studies

Directory of Open Access Journals – www.doaj.org

OpenDOAR – www.opendoar.org

• See ‘Databases’ – EBSCO and JSTOR

Access to local college/university?? - Ask if they stock ‘Historical Abstracts: World History since 1450’

Newspapers

Newspaper databases contain full text but only for certain newspapersand for certain years. May be fee based.

Irish Newspaper Archives – fee based

Irish Times Archive – www.irishtimes.com/archive - free to schools

Official Index to the Times (London) and Palmer’s Index to the Times – subscription service

Early American Newspapers – 100s of newspapers from 1690-1922 – subscription service

What is the title of your local newspaper?

Radio & TV

Talking History on Newstalk 106 Sunday 7pm

History Show on RTE Radio 1 Sunday 6.05pm

PlantationsSlaveryToussaint L’OuvertureHaitian Rebellion

Finally….

The sources previously listed are just a snapshot of what is available to you

No one source is ‘better’ than the other

Source selected should be appropriate to the RQ you wish to answer

How To Read For ArgumentObservation – students read passively

Read purposefully - what answers are they seeking from your reading/research?

Make efficient use of your time – skim/scan. Where’s the main idea? What’s really relevant to your research? Use the index. Be ruthless!!

Evaluate and be critical of the arguments presented in the texts you read

– what are they? List them- are they consistent or contradictory?- are they relevant (even if you don’t agree with them)?

- is there bias (political, religious, ideological)? - are the underlying assumptions valid? - are conclusions supported by evidence eg statistics

Again, look at my blog http://librarysac.wordpress.com

SAC Library Bloghttp://librarysac.wordpress.comHistory Page How To Research page

Evaluation of Websites Reading Should Have A Purpose

Research help

historyrsr@gmail.com