Brainstorming for ResearchAn exercise

Your questionDoes history imitate literature or does literature imitate history?(1) a product of the generation in which it was written (literature imitating history)

(2)a catalyst for changing the time period in which it was written (history imitating literature).

BEFORE you research, which would you say? Use a specific example from something you have read in the past to support your response.

Step 1Research the history surrounding your outside reading novel

Major American literary/historical time periods (1) Pre-colonial Literature

(Anything pre-dating 1472) (2) Puritanism/colonial

literature (1472-1750) (3) Enlightenment (1750-

1800) (4) Romanticism (1800-

1855)Transcendentalism Gothicism

(5) Realism (1865-1915) Naturalism Regionalism

(6) Imagism (1912-1927) (7) Modernism (1915-1946); (8) Harlem Renaissance

(1918-1930) (9) Post-modernism (1945-

present) (10) Contemporary (1945-

present)

BrainstormWrite everything you know or think you know about the time period your book was written during.

The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnRealism (1865-1915)

Naturalism Regionalism

BrainstormWrite everything you know or think you know about the time period your book was SET. (this may be the same, or different; if your time period is in the future—write everything the author has revealed to you about that future)

The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnRomanticism (1800-1855)

Transcendentalism Gothicism

Step 2Research the background/biography of your author

BrainstormWrite everything you know or think you know about the author; consider that most books reveal some of this information on the cover

The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnMark Twain (AKA Samuel Clemons)

Step 3Research the sociology surrounding your book

SociologyThe study of social interactions including social classes, culture, religion, law, etc.

Based on what you have read so far, how does sociology affect my reading of the novel?

Step 4Research the literary trends of the time period

Literary trendsWhat other books were popular during this time? How did the critics react to this novel? Was the novel well received by the public?

Step 5Return to the question: Does history imitate literature or does literature imitate history?

Finding sourcesOnce you have established a specific interest, you should do some preliminary research to see if there are enough authentic sources available.

To do this, you should go to the West Forsyth’s Library Homepage.Then click on the “Library Resource

Center” link on the left hand side of the page

We will be using the Library Database sources most often

You can use most of these sources. They can be effective. Start in the resource center

You may find some useful things in the opposing viewpoints

PW: clem79777

Try the search bar first; use good search terms Literary time period Author’s name Literary trends in the time period I DO NOT SUGGEST searching the EQ.

Notice the drop box as you search—it can be very useful in locating good sources

There is a lot to discover on this page!

Notice the sidebarNotice the scrolling options

Don’t overlook the usefulness of the sidebars after you click on an article

Another useful site is NCWiseowl

PW: Wiseowl

Click on “High School Zone”

Click on “High School Zone”

Click on “Careers” first

There are a lot of cool resources here

All Resources require the same password: wiseowl

This is similar to our databases, but more expansive

You can limit the results here too

Magazines, newspapers, books and encyclopedias are all print resources

You can also narrow the results and find new keywords/specific interests

Go back to www.ncwiseowl.org and click on professional zone

We can also use the helpful links for websources

What is an authentic source? “Authentic” means that the source is a reliable source of information, as free from bias as possible, and as accurate as possible.

How do I determine if a source is reliable? There a 6 main criteria you should use

evaluate a source before deciding if it is authentic. Click

on each one for more information1. Source Information

2. Design

3. Help Documentation and Support

4. Performance

5. Maintenance

6. Audience

Source Info

Ask yourself questions about the Web Site’s information  Who is providing the information?

Check domain ownership. This tells you if the source is reliable. Who is look-up at Domain Tools http://www.domaintools.com/

Read "about us" and author bios. Examine links to and from other Web sites. Discover the Source's Expertise

Is the source an expert or authority? Examine credentials in author bios and "about us" pages. Examine grammar and spelling. Look for other publications by the author or publisher.

Determine the Level of Objectivity Does the source provide a balanced viewpoint? Examine the writing style.

Is it trying to influence your opinion? If so, it’s a good bet that it is biased. Examine the advertising. Does it influence the content? Lack of objectivity does not necessarily mean the source provides substandard information.

A persuasive writer intends to win your favor. S/he might use good facts and analysis to do so.

Examples illustrating objectivity: Check out the differences(# 3 on your worksheet!!!!) Cancer information at the National Cancer Institute (balanced) http://ihr.org/Not Just Another Scare

(biased; undocumented claims) http://www.aspartamekills.com/blayart1.htm

DesignRefers to presentation, navigability, and overall ease of use.

Ask yourself questions like…How does the site look? Is it well-organized, easy to follow? If so, chances are it is more

authentic. Is the font-size legible? If not, it is not very academic

Are colors and graphics distracting? Professional websites should be clean and neat, not too flashy, but

not messy either. Are there a ton of advertisements? If so, the site probably doesn’t have the academic nature you

crave. .com sites are “commercial” and generally involve money transactions. .org is an organization and usually is biased toward one idea or another. .edu is educational

and .gov is government.

Help documentation & SupportThe web sit should have readily-accessible

materials that explain how to use the site and its resources.

Ask yourself questions such as… Does the site guide novice users (e.g., "new to the

site?")? Are help links available on every page? Are they easy to

find? Does it suggest additional ways to find related information?

Is contact information available and easy to find?

PerformanceRefers to the site stability and availability.

Ask questions such as… Is there minimal down time? Do the links works? If not, it has not been updated often enough

How fast does it load? When a site is slow to load, that can often

mean it is bogged down by too much “flash” not enough “meat”

Maintenance closely related to timeliness -- one of the basic five criteria, this refers to the regular revision of a site in order to keep links and information up to date.

Evaluators should consider clearly dated and labeled archival sites. Search out Dates of revisions. If you can’t find one, that

is NOT a good sign. Search out an author or organization or institution or

contributors. IF THERE IS NOT ONE, it usually is not very authentic.

AudienceLook for a target group, including age, language, reading ability, interests, etc.

Ask yourself questions like…Is the site appropriate for younger audiences?Does it target a certain group (e.g., doctors) or the general public?

What is the reading level?

So, what do you do with this Info?

Create a checklist for yourself, and evaluate your sources BEFORE you use them!

*REMEMBER* All Web sources must be validated by you and your teacher or media coordinator. Your teacher is more likely to OK it if you fill out an evaluation for the website, which (incidentally) helps with works cited information.

What questions do you have about the research process? Write them down for me to address on Thursday.