Research is like On-line Dating:
You take topics out and gossip about them.
MATCH YOUR VALUES - due ongoing
Broad Topic: Zapatista Women
Brainstorm lists of topics you would like to learn more about.
Maybe you love business so you want to understand how an oil
company like Chevron responds to the lawsuits that indigenous
people in the Amazon have filed against it.
Perhaps you are interested in why Japanese Americans served their
country during World War II despite so many being unfairly locked
up in internment camps. Maybe you love the African American
History class you have taken and want to know more about the
Little Rock Nine’s struggle to integrate segregated schools.
Find something that fits your values.
Narrowed Topic: Who are Las Abejas and how
have their a non-violent tactics helped the struggle
for land rights in Chiapas Mexico?
Broad Topic: Juvenile Justice
Narrowed Topic: How effective are rehabilitation
programs for juvenile offenders in CA?
Broad Topic: Black Panther Party
Narrowed Topic: What was the rationale for the
group’s willingness to use violence? How did their
belief in protecting the community impact their
public image?
GO ON THREE FIRST DATES – due June 28 (see Handout)
It is always a good idea to do some preliminary research before you commit to anyone or anything, even a
research topic. At this stage you may want to find a You Tube video, watch a documentary, or read several popular
articles found on the web or through the Chabot databases. Find out if this topic engages you. This is also a great
place to begin identifying search terms. For example, if you know you want to learn more about Asian American’s
roles in the Civil Rights Movement, then you might discover the names of specific leaders or organizations or
historic protests that will allow you to narrow your topic. Or, if you have a broad topic like the Zapatistas, you may
use the library databases to find out how to narrow the topic down by seeing what kinds of hits that broad term
comes up with. Ultimately, this step overlaps with the next step – serious dating.
(Pro Quest, Gale Virtual Reference, CQ Researcher or Issues & Controversies may be helpful at this stage)
SERIOUSLY DATE ONE TOPIC: Due June 28 (First Date & Seriously Date Handout – connects with above)
Now it’s time to really go steady with a topic and gather some background dirt on the topic in the library. Using
the library databases, find 2-4 scholarly sources our library has to offer for this topic. Are you finding articles that
… hold your interest?
… offer enough information to answer the questions for the assignment?
… provide different perspectives or new information about the issue?
… help you formulate new questions about the issue, narrow your topic, or understand the controversy
related to the issue more thoroughly?
If most of your answers are “no” to the questions above, you may need to revise your search terms or ask a
librarian for assistance. Ultimately, if nobody is talking about your preferred topic in a thorough way, then you
may want to dump it and date another topic. The sooner you discover the right topic, the better.
GOSSIP – Due June 28 (6-8 tweets; each tweet is 140 characters, spaces not included)
This is a crucial check point. By now, you have selected a topic and begun to study it. To demonstrate that you
have been seriously dating, compose a series of tweets (6-8) that capture the juicy details of your research. The
tweets should fall into the following 3 categories:
K.Land/Eng. 1A 2012
adapted from workshops w/ P.Reynoso
Identifying Search Terms on First Dates
Sample #1: a social movement
Topic: Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers
Inquiry Questions: Why did the United Farm Workers stage a boycott of California grown grapes? How effective
was the grape boycott for the United Farm Workers? Why did they choose non-violence as a policy?
Identify search terms and
search “phrases” relevant
to your topic.
a.
“Grape Boycott”
(who/what)
b. Effectiveness (question)
c. California (location)
Think of 1 or 2
synonymous for each
search term or search
phrase
Subject terms used
in Chabot databases?
a. “United Farm Workers”;
“Civil disobedience”;
“non-violent resistance”
b. benefits
Sample #2: a law/policy
Topic: Mandatory Sentencing
Inquiry Questions: What is mandatory sentencing? Why is it used for teens? Is it effective at preventing crime? Is
it cost effective? What are the drawbacks?
Identify search terms
and search “phrases”
relevant to your topic.
a. “mandatory sentencing”
(what)
b. youth (who)
c. “United States”
(location)
a. cost (question)
b. effectiveness (question)
c. “mandatory sentencing”
(what)
d. California (location
Think of 1 or 2
synonymous for each
search term or search
phrase
Subject terms used in
Chabot databases?
a. “punishment” ; “laws”
b. “juvenile delinquents”;
“adolescent offenders”
c. California
a. “rehabilitation
programs”
b. “recidivism rates”
K.Land/Eng. 1A 2012
adapted from workshops w/ P.Reynoso
Two First Dates: Due ________
First Date #1
1.
Topic:
2.
Inquiry Questions:
3.
Fill in the table below before searching the library databases and then add terms when you visit the library.
Identify search terms and search
“phrases” relevant to your
topic.
Think of 1 or 2 synonymous for
each search term or search phrase
Subject terms used in Chabot
databases?
First Date #2
1.
Topic
2.
Inquiry Questions:
3.
Fill in the table below before searching the library databases and then add terms when you visit the library.
Identify search terms and search
“phrases” relevant to your topic.
Think of 1 or 2 synonymous for
each search term or search phrase
List subject terms used in
Chabot databases
K.Land/Eng. 1A 2012
adapted from workshops w/ P.Reynoso
Getting Serious & Gossip
1.
Getting Serious: Which topic do you plan to date more seriously? Why?
2.
Gossip: What have you learned that was particularly interesting so far?
Have you found
articles that hold your attention? Do you think you might need more assistance in this area?
in creative “tweets”.
Capture your learning
Tweet your Gossip (140 characters)
THE PROCESS (1-2 tweets): How is the
research process going? (Have you had
successes/challenges? Did you learn
tricks for using databases or entering key
terms? What library resources have you
found useful?)
NARROWED TOPIC (1-2 tweets): What
narrowed topic will you focus on? Phrase
the topic as a question and be sure it
indicates that you have investigated the
topic and adjusted your original thinking
if needed.
JUICY GOSSIP (minimum 4 tweets): Share
key new information you have discovered
that covers some of the questions in the
prompt.
K.Land/Eng. 1A 2012
adapted from workshops w/ P.Reynoso
Summer 2012 English 1A: Research Project
At this point in the semester, we have examined how societal structures can
reproduce inequality and how a community’s cultural wealth – particularly resistant
capital – can temper some of that inequality. In Paper #3, we will explore what it
means to courageously resist oppression and whether it is a person’s moral duty to do
so. You will evaluate how the Huaorani have dealt with their oppressive circumstances
by applying Dr. Martin Luther King’s concepts of non-violent, militant resistance to
Savages (assignment to follow).
In Paper #3, you will also integrate outside research. Since the theme of Paper
#3 is the “courage to resist,” your research topic should fall into one of these two broad
categories:
Social Movements – Investigate a social movement. What “cause” is the group
fighting for? What kind of oppression does the group experience? How does the
dominant culture view that group? How does the group communicate its message to
the broader community? How successful has the group been in generating allies or
public support for the cause? In what ways is this group courageously resisting
oppression?
Brown Berets
Greensboro Four or Freedom
Riders
Black Panther Party
Occupy Oakland
Asian American Movement
(Grace Lee Boggs or Vincent
Chin)
Zapatistas (Las Abejas),
Cesar Chavez and the United
Farm Workers,
Japanese Americans Citizens
League (and the Nisei Draft
Resisters),
Chinese American Social
Movements pre- WWII
Laws or Policies – Investigate a law that has had some major impact on a group’s
human rights in US society. How has this law promoted (or denied) equality for a
specific group? Why do supporters of the law advocate for it? What are some of the
arguments detractors of the law offer? Is there a need for citizens to be involved in
supporting (or resisting) the implementation of this law? Would such protesters require
significant courage to voice their opinions? Have such protests occurred and been
successful?
3 Strikes Law in CA or
mandatory sentencing laws
Rehabilitation programs for
juvenile offenders
California’s Prop 8
Ban on Ethnic Studies
Programs in Arizona
Guest Worker Programs
Anti-immigrant laws like
Arizona’s AB 1070 or
California’s Prop 187
A constitutional amendment
banning same-sex marriage
Amnesty for Undocumented
Immigrants
a Federal DREAM Act
Calpine Power Plant in
Hayward
Gang Injunctions
K.Land/Eng. 1A 2012
adapted from workshops w/ P.Reynoso