Doing your research
Some distinctions: Vetting
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We rely on institutions that refine
information
 Check
truth, comprehensiveness, reliability
 Assure that information is clear and
conclusions supported
 Assess the strength of evidence for claims
 Encourage examination of counter information
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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
Secondary Sources
created during time studied
by participant in, or direct
observer of, events
reflect individual viewpoint of
participant or observer
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Value: what actually happened
during event or time period.
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Value: Sorting fact from
imagination; placing into
context
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Documents or statements
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Quality depends on reliability
of source
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Interpretation required for
conclusions about the events
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Created with distance from
events
Putting events into a context
May weigh conflicting accounts
May reflect intent of author
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 Advantages of Secondary
 Give you direct
 Give you vetted sorting
access
of facts
 Give you a richer
 Give you relationship of
detail of event
events to their history
 Free you from
 Give you a compilation
accounts written for a
of observers and
different time
participants
Research Tornado
At most general level:
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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 Tornado
As research progresses:
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Go to quality sources you
encountered earlier
Use search engines to find vetted
material
Move toward more focused sources
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Read to deepen your knowledge
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Record material for presentation
Refine source list by quantity and
quality
Refine key term list
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End by assessing knowledge:
identifying gaps
Research Tornado
As research ends:
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Use sources appropriate for
questions remaining
Work back and forth from
readings to search engines
and indexes
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Looking for specific unknowns
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Record information for
presentation
Capture dissent from
conclusions
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You are ready to report.
Threads descending
through the Tornado
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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
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 “Ten
source” method
 Use 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
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On Website
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~jklumpp/comm498e/home.html
Specific Content for each group
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Also on website
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~jklumpp/comm498e/home.html
Some final advice
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Short cuts in research are often illusions
 Short
bib entry
Flexibility in notation with do you service
 Make decisions strategically
 But follow hot leads
 Always dual track as you proceed
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 Content
and strategy of research