Brainstorming for Research An exercise

Your question  Does 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 1 Research 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 ( )  (3) Enlightenment ( )  (4) Romanticism ( )  Transcendentalism  Gothicism  (5) Realism ( )  Naturalism  Regionalism  (6) Imagism ( )  (7) Modernism ( );  (8) Harlem Renaissance ( )  (9) Post-modernism (1945- present)  (10) Contemporary (1945- present)

Brainstorm  Write everything you know or think you know about the time period your book was written during. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Realism ( ) Naturalism Regionalism The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Realism ( ) Naturalism Regionalism

Brainstorm  Write 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 Finn Romanticism ( ) Transcendentalism Gothicism The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Romanticism ( ) Transcendentalism Gothicism

Step 2 Research the background/biography of your author

Brainstorm  Write 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 Finn Mark Twain (AKA Samuel Clemons) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain (AKA Samuel Clemons)

Step 3 Research the sociology surrounding your book

Sociology  The 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 4 Research the literary trends of the time period

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

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

Finding sources  Once 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 sidebar  Notice 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 “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 and click on professional zonewww.ncwiseowl.org

 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 information 1.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 Toolshttp://  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. (# 3 on your worksheet!!!!)  Examples illustrating objectivity: Check out the differences (# 3 on your worksheet!!!!)  Cancer information at the National Cancer Institute (balanced) Just Another Scare (biased; undocumented claims) Cancer InstituteNot Just Another Scarehttp://

Design  Refers 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 & Support  The 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?

Performance  Refers 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.basic five criteria  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.

Audience  Look 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.