exds 2001 wilson4

EXDS 2001 / GGHS 3531 -- Honors Historical Geography

Professor Traci Welch Moritz

Public Services Librarian

Goals for the day

•Digging into historical research•Creating a search strategy•Using library resources•Evaluating internet resources •Pulling it all together

How to remember all this stuff

What should I do first?

Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Sources


Definitions depend on the department and subject matter being studied

“In the humanities, a primary resource could be defined as something that was created either during the time period being studied or afterward by individuals reflecting on their involvement in the events of the time.”

Primary Sources: Definitions. Lafayette College Libraries & Academic Information Resources. <

http://ww2.lafayette.edu/~library/guides/primarysources/definitions.html> Accessed August 8, 2013

http://www.ala.org/rusa/sections/history/resources/pubs/usingprimarysources

http://ww2.lafayette.edu/~library/guides/primarysources/definitions.html




• Reading and evaluating can be difficult

• Opportunity to come into contact with the past

• Enables histories to experience the past recreate it

Thanks to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke

Primary sources = raw data = history’

http://www.uncp.edu/home/rwb/hst300q3.htm


Evaluating primary sources:

1. Identifying type• Formal treatise • Contemporary formal treatise • Public Record• Private Letters and Journals• Literary source• Nonverbal sources• Oral history


1. Is the source genuine?

2. What is the date of origin?

3. Who is the author?

4. Who is the audience?

Questions to ask yourself when reviewing a document


Suggestions for reading a primary source

• Read through the entire document quickly to set a sense of the whole source. Does it show bias? Is the bias yours or the source?

• Read the document a second time carefully noting authorship, time period, intended purpose and probably impact on the intended audience.


Identify the following:• Time and place• Author• Audience• Personalities and roles of all people mentioned• Meaning and purpose• Content (colloquial terminology, language of the day,

phrases and phrasing)• Allusions• Assumptions and/or bias


Additional questions to ask yourself

1. Do the contents seem reasonable?2. Are there other primary documents for collaboration or

are there contradictions?3. Place the document in the larger historical context. Do

secondary resources fit with your interpretation?


As you are following the steps above, be sure to note anything you need to come back to and look these up in reliable reference works.

As you are following the steps above, be sure to note anything you need to come back to and look these up in reliable reference works.


•“Tertiary sources provide overviews of topics by synthesizing information gathered from other resources. Tertiary resources often provide data in a convenient form or provide information with context by which to interpret it.” ~ Virginia Tech Libraries, Accessed 08/14/2013

• Encyclopedias• Dictionaries• Handbooks

Oxford Reference

http://0-www.oxfordreference.com.polar.onu.edu/


Secondary Sources analyze or interpret an historical event or artistic work.

Secondary sources often base their theories and arguments on the direct evidence found in primary sources.

A secondary work for a subject is one that discusses the subject but is written after the time contemporary with it.

What about the Web?

• Greater access to primary source materials than ever before

• Documents, letters, maps, photographs of ancient artifacts and other primary material are available online in different formats from free websites

• With the proliferation of electronic resources from a wide variety of web site producers, evaluation is more important than ever before

Currency * The timeliness of the information.

Relevance/Coverage *The depth and importance of the information.

Authority *The source of the information.

Accuracy *The reliability of the information.

Purpose/Objectivity *The possible bias present in the information.

*The CRAAP acronym and descriptions are from Meriam Library at California State University Chico. Used with permission.

Evaluating found information

Google and Wikipedia

Aren’t evil

Can prove valuable

Can’t be used as a source

Turn to the databases for source materials

From the University of Wisconsin Library, worksheet for evaluating web sites

http://staff.library.wisc.edu/instruction/instmat/Custom/evalweb.pdf

ONU buysFull-textdatabase

OhioLINKPermits

Google tolink to full-text

Google asksto link tocontent

ONU user sees licensed full-textarticles

Run GoogleSearch

Google Scholar

See “Google Scholar” tab at Research guide for information about off-campus access

Google Scholar

SEARCH

What is included?

POLAR

Article-level searching for all EBSCO databases

Article-level searching for a variety of other databases: JSTOR, Hoover’s, AccessPharmacy, etc.

Title-level searching for most other databases: IEEE, CIAO, Proquest Nursing & Allied Health

OhioLink central catalog

Results: Full Text, Polar

Results: OhioLink

Results: Find It @ ONU

Results: ILL

Facets: Limit Your Results

Things to Remember

Facets are your Friend: After you search, limit your results to what you really want

A tool not a solution: This is not the solution to everything

Ask the librarians for help

There will still be some small changes coming

Finding books

POLAR

OhioLINK

What do I do next?

Oh no!! There

are so many,

and they are so

big!!!

Books - Shortcuts

Hold on, I’ve got an idea!

Books - Shortcuts

Subject Headings

Databases

•Often tools for locating journal and newspaper articles•Most are subject-specific, some multi-disciplinary•Many give access to full text of articles•Heterick has 200+•Available from Heterick home page

http://www.onu.edu/library/

Finding Databases

Things to remember

121 Research Consultationswith the

Librarians of Heterick Memorial Library

Need a little extra help with your research?Finding plenty of resources, but not exactly what you are looking for?

Has it been suggested by instructor to meet with a librarian?

· An in-depth research consultation with the librarian of your choice is available by appointment.

· Sessions may run for 30-60 minutes and are designed to assist students with finding and evaluating resources

· Schedule an appointment by visiting

http://libguides.onu.edu/aecontent.php?pid=199190&sid=2118629