English I: Winter 2014

Goals:  Foundational skills in research  Inquiry project (similar to senior project—smaller scale)  Topic of your choice  Pose important questions—broad and narrow  Seek credible information Product: Present 2-4 min PowerPoint due Mon/Tues Feb 3-4 Homework for this unit is to work on project!

 Airport Security  Animal Rights  Bullying  Censorship  Child Soldiers  Drug Abuse  Education  Food  Holocaust  Immigration  Military  Parenting  Privacy  Racism/ Bias  Social Justice  Steroids  Technology  Terrorism  Vaccines  Wages

Research is… diligent and systematic inquiry or investigation into a subject in order to discover or revise facts, theories, applications, etc. Dictionary.com

What do the words primary and secondary mean? In what contexts have you encountered these words?

 Credibility  Evaluation of Sources  Sources Primary Secondary

Definition: The quality of being believable or worthy of trust Dictionary.com

With so much available information, students must decipher what is credible and useful for their purposes. Where to look What to look for What to accept

 Does the author have expertise to write on the topic?  Is the information in this source up-to- date?  Does the publisher affect the information?  What do reviewers say about the source?  Is the source appropriate for your research?

 Who is the owner of the site—the producer of the content? Does that owner have anything to gain from you using the site? advertising links potential purchase  Is the information consistent with book sources?  Is there a prejudice or bias that is readily apparent? advocacy or hate group  Does the site have a professional, reputable appearance? (Note: Many websites are software now and not self-created, so they generally appear more professional; thus, this cannot be the only criteria for judgment.) no flashy ads or pop ups no malicious links

 Source: Something that supplies information  Primary Source: a document/ physical object written/ created during the time under study…present during an experience or time period & offer inside view of event  Secondary Source: interprets and analyzes primary sources…one+ steps removed from event & may have pictures, quotes or graphics of primary sources in them

PRIMARY SOURCESSECONDARY SOURCES  Artifacts (coins, fossils, furniture, tools, clothing, etc.)  Audio recordings  Diaries  Internet communications on  Interviews  Journal articles w/ NEW research findings  Letters  Newspaper articles from the time  Original documents (birth certificate, will, etc.)  Photographs  Records  Speeches  Survey research  Art, literature, music  Bibliographies  Biographies  Commentaries/Criticisms  Dictionaries, Encyclopedias  Histories  Journal articles reviewing previous findings  Magazine/ newspaper articles digesting information after the fact  Textbooks  Website

 Library of Congress:  The National Archives:  Sweet Search:  Google Scholar:

 Title Page —Title, author(s), edition, publishing company, place of publication  Table of Contents —chapters, subheadings, page numbers  Appendix —charts, documents, tables, illustrations, and/or photographs  Glossary —dictionary of words found in a book  Index —end of book—shows topics and page numbers  Bibliography —titles, authors, and publishing information for references/resources used to write book

1) Individually: Identify primary and secondary sources 2) As a small group: Evaluate the credibility of sources (use evaluation questions)

1. Work individually to determine if sources on handout are primary or secondary (we will review as a class) 10 minutes

1. In small groups of 2-3, identify as primary/secondary and evaluate the credibility of the source given to you on a scale of 1-5 (1= not credible; 5= very credible). 2. Be ready to defend your evaluation and explain how/when it might be useful. 10 minutes

Why is research important? Why is distinguishing between primary and secondary sources helpful?