BBL 3403 RESEARCH METHODS IN LITERATURE DR. IDA BAIZURA BAHAR SLIDE A
LECTURER DR. IDA BAIZURA BAHAR EMAIL: idabb@upm.edu.my Office: 03-89468773
Conducting Research
Sources of Information Looking for material Sources of Information Primary Secondary Tertiary
Primary Direct or firsthand evidence about an event, object, person, or work of art. Historical and legal documents, eyewitness accounts, results of experiments, statistical data, pieces of creative writing, audio and video recordings, speeches, and art objects. Interviews, surveys, fieldwork, and Internet communications via email, blogs, and newsgroups
Secondary Describe, discuss, interpret, comment upon, analyze, evaluate, summarize, and process primary sources. Articles in newspapers or popular magazines, book or movie reviews, or articles found in scholarly journals that discuss or evaluate someone else's original research.
Tertiary Information that has been compiled from primary and secondary sources. Almanacs, chronologies, dictionaries and encyclopedias, directories, guidebooks, indexes, abstracts, manuals, and textbooks.
Examples Primary source Secondary source The poem "Human Chain" by Seamus Heaney “His Nibs: Self-Reflexivity and the Significance of Translation in Seamus Heaney's Human Chain." by Michael Parker in Irish University Review(November 2012), pp. 327-350. Saila Abdul's doctoral dissertation on environmental ethics in children's literature An article in Parents Magazine discussing experts' views on the kind of environmental ethics promoted in children’s novels Photographs by Diane Arbus Magazine article about 20th century female photographers The Diary of Anne Frank - the published diary of a teenage girl who experiences the Holocaust first hand Book about diaries kept during the Holocaust
Test yourself! 1. A biography about P Ramlee P S 2. A TV show explaining what P S happened in Iraq in the 90s 3. A history book describing the P S fight for independence 4. An autobiography about Tunku P S Abdul Rahman 5. A newspaper article from 1971 P S describing the great flood in K.L.
Test yourself! 6. A writer talking about his latest book P S 7. The Malaysian Constitution P S 8. The movie Titanic P S 9. A youtube video describing P S how the pyramids were built 10. A famous artist's painting of what P S pre-colonial life was probably like. 11. A text book describing Japanese P S Occupation in Malaya
Evaluating Internet Sources Check credibility Who is the author? - Name visible? - Mailing address? Email? Phone number? What is the author’s qualifications? - Recognized experts? - Part of a reputable organization?
Evaluating Internet Sources * Consider the site domain/publishing body of the Web page—the place or server on which the document resides (or from which it originates) org :An advocacy web site, such as a not-for-profit organization. .com : A business or commercial site. .net:A site from a network organization or an Internet service provider.; .edu :A site affiliated with a higher education institution. .gov: A federal government site.
Evaluating Internet Sources 2. Is there a clear purpose or reason for this site? - to disseminate information? - to provide access to collections? - to support teaching? - to sell products? * Discovering the purpose can help determine the reliability of the site and the information it provides.
Evaluating Internet Sources 3. How accurate and objective is the site? - Is the author positioning himself or herself within an ongoing and serious discussion? - Does the site demonstrate knowledge of related research? - Does the author cite current and reliable sources? - If footnotes, bibliographies, and hypertext links are used, do they add authority, credibility, or depth to the argument?
Evaluating Internet Sources 4. What is the site's currency and coverage? - Check date of posting or updating - Is the information up-to-date or are the resources outdated? -Check links to see if they work