finding and evaluating secondary sources in the digital...
TRANSCRIPT
Finding and Evaluating Secondary Sources in the Digital Age
Professor BushFebruary 14, 2018
Tonight
Evaluating information/sourcesyou find online.
Secondary sourcesa. What are they?b. How to find them.c. How to use/read them.d. Scholarly Article (“I Loved Joe”)e. Wikipedia
Where do you start a research project?
Secondary SourcesA secondary source in history tells the story of the past, but it’s clear that story has been run through a filter of interpretation, comment, analysis; the story is told by someone who did not experience first‐hand or participate in the events or conditions you're researching.
Scholarly secondary sources put forth an argument about the meaning of the past (the “so what?” Q); popular history sources put forth facts about the past.
All CREDIBLE secondary sources are based on primary sources (and you can tell what those sources are).
Secondary Sources – Analog & DigitalArgument‐driven• Monographs• Journal articles• Textbooks• Library/Museum exhibits*• Digital history projects
Fact‐based• Encyclopedias• Wikipedia• Most websites• Film/documentary• Library/Museum exhibits*• Most media stories – feature stories
Why use them?• to collect the facts on a topic you know little about.
• to understand background or context of the topic you’re researching.
• to obtain expert interpretations in order to evaluate events.
• to gain insight by examining the same event from different perspectives or interpretations.
• to help you form your own opinion.
Finding Secondary Sources
Google Search
GMU Library Catalog / Worldcat Keyword Subject heading
Google Scholar
Bibliographies & Citations
Journal Databases JSTOR ProQuest
Finding relevant secondary sources requires multi‐step searches or several rounds of research.
Finding & Evaluating Secondary Sources
In a world of abundance, finding good information online means we must dig through search results.
Remember: Names & looks can be deceiving!
You need to investigate:1. Who authored/runs/owns the website? 2. What metadata is used to attract visitors?3. What is the history of the site itself? How current is it?4. Reviews of the site?
Evaluating Information Online
Hitler Historical Museum – http://www.hitler.org/
“The Hitler Historical Museum is a non‐biased, non‐profit museum devoted to the study and preservation of the world history related to Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist Party.”
Who owns it?
Hitler Historical Museum vs.
National Museum of American Jewish History
What is its history?
We can consult the Wayback Machine:
Web.archive.org
Finding Secondary Sources
Google Search
GMU Library Catalog / Worldcat Keyword Subject heading
Google Scholar
Bibliographies & Citations
Journal Databases JSTOR ProQuest
Finding relevant secondary sources requires multi‐step searches or several rounds of research.
Credible Journals
This is a sample of some of the most relevant journals to this class and your final projects• Journal of American History• American Historical Review• American Journal of Legal History• Law & History Review• Journal of Social History
The Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, Volume 92, Issue 3 (2002)
There are more – when in doubt check the American Historical Association’s list of academic journals. https://secure.historians.org/pubs/free/journals/
Reading & Evaluating Secondary Sources
Ask these basic questions about every source, no matter how obvious the answer might seem.
• Who is the author? What are his/her credentials?• What is the argument?• Does the author base the work on primary sources or original research?• Are there any sources that you are aware of that the author does not consider?• Are there notes and citations; bibliography or other apparatus of research?• Do these references contain major/current works in the same field?• When was it published?• Who published it? Academic press? Journal?
“I Loved Joe, But I Had to Shoot Him” Let’s practice with a real secondary source.
The Impact of Wikipedia
Articles 5,571,231
Pages 44,204,105
Avg Edits/Page 21.15
Images 832,812
Users 32,904,080
Admins 1,230
Listen to Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Beulah AnnanBelva Gaertner
Wikipedia could be your first stop, but it should never be your last.
Wikipedia
Pros• Fast, timely.• Easy source of background info.
•Mine the references.• Crowd forces relative factual accuracy.
Cons• Biases do exist.• Purposefully avoids controversy/disputes over interpretation.
• Forces acceptance of common wisdom.
• Not friendly to original research.• “Open community” is overstated.
Chicago Manual of Stylehttp://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html
Single author book
Note format:• 1. Jeffrey S. Adler, First in Violence, Deepest in
Dirt: Homicide in Chicago, 1875‐1920, (Cambridge: University of Harvard Press, 2006), 100.
• 2. Adler, First in Violence, 145.
Bibliography format:
• Adler, Jeffrey S. First in Violence, Deepest in Dirt: Homicide in Chicago, 1875‐1920. Cambridge: University of Harvard Press, 2006.
Single author journal
Note format:• 1. Jeffrey S. Adler, “I Loved Joe, But I Had to
Shoot Him”: Homicide by Women in Turn‐of‐the‐Century Chicago, The Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 92, Nos. 3‐4 (2003): 867.
• 2. Adler, “I Loved Joe,” 870.
Bibliography format:• Adler, Jeffrey S. “’I Loved Joe, But I Had to Shoot
Him’: Homicide by Women in Turn‐of‐the‐Century Chicago.” The Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 92, Nos. 3‐4 (2003): 867‐897.
**You can reference Wikipedia in your Biblio as a “source used” using the “website” format from CMS. You should never be quoting Wikipedia!
Next Week
1. Primary sources!2. Reading and making sense of them.3. Images as primary sources.4. Reading and understanding newspaper articles.