i Speak 2010 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Chapter 5 Finding Information and Supporting Your Ideas

Slide 2 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Choosing Your Words  Why You’ll Benefit from Research  Finding Sources of Information  Evaluating and Using Sources of Information  Identifying Appropriate Supporting Materials  The Ethical Use of Supporting Material

Slide 3 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Why You’ll Benefit from Research  Use multiple sources of evidence to ensure you present accurate information  Knowing where to locate information and evaluate sources will enable you to use evidence effectively in presentations  Good research essential to good speaking  Research impacts your speech

Slide 4 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Finding Sources of Information  Personal experience – your own life as a source of information –Consider personal experience as evidence – data on which proof may be based Typical? So typical that it will bore? So atypical that it was a chance occurrence? Too personal and revealing? Will the audience appreciate it? Does it prove anything?

Slide 5 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Finding Sources of Information  Interviews with others –Campus and community have many experts –Interviewing efficient way to gather information on your topic –Steps to a productive interview Start early Determine the purpose for the interview Do your homework Plan questions in advance Gather equipment

Slide 6 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Finding Sources of Information  Interviews with others –Conduct the interview professionally Be polite and respectful Be careful about the tone of questions and comments Be flexible Practice active listening Remember to get the basics Remember to depart

Slide 7 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Finding Sources of Information  Library resources –Reference librarian – librarian specifically trained to help find sources of information –Electronic catalog – database containing information about books, journals, and other resources in the library –Periodical indexes Periodicals – sources of information published at regular intervals

Slide 8 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Figure 5.1: Bibliographic Information from an Electronic Catalog

Slide 9 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Finding Sources of Information  The Internet –Internet is the default gateway for academic research –Users can get lost while researching

Slide 10 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Finding Sources of Information  The Internet –Improve your Web search approach Search engine – Web site designed to help search for information Virtual library – provides links to Web sites that have been reviewed for relevance and usability Click on progressively more specific topical categories and subcategories as you search Conduct keyword/Boolean searches Carefully evaluate all Internet sources Print and bookmark good sources

Slide 11 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Finding Sources of Information  Other resources on the web –Several reference and primary resources available

Slide 12 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Table 5.2: Common Periodical Indexes

Slide 13 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Table 5.3: Web Search Resources

Slide 14 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Figure 5.2: The Google Directory Page

Slide 15 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Figure 5.3: List of Web Links for the Topic of Genetics on Google

Slide 16 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Table 5.4: Tools for Narrowing Your Web Search

Slide 17 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Table 5.5: Breaking Down Web Addresses

Slide 18 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Evaluating and Using Sources of Information  Criteria for Evaluating Sources 1.Is the supporting material clear? 2.Is the supporting material verifiable? 3.Is the source competent? 4.Is the source objective? 5.Is the supporting material relevant?

Slide 19 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Evaluating and Using Sources of Information  Citing Sources of Information Correctly –Bibliographic references – complete citations that appear in the “references” or “works cited” section of your speech outline or term paper –Internal references – brief notations of which bibliographic reference contains details you are using –Oral citation – tells listeners who the source is, how recent the information is, and the source’s qualifications

Slide 20 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Identifying Appropriate Supporting Materials  Supporting materials – information used to substantiate your arguments and clarify your positions –These materials come in many forms: Examples Surveys Testimonial evidence Numbers and statistics Analogies Definitions

Slide 21 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Identifying Appropriate Supporting Materials  Examples – specific instances used to illustrate your point –Good example is plausible, typical, and related to main points of presentation Factual examples can be verified Hypothetical examples cannot be verified

Slide 22 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Identifying Appropriate Supporting Materials  Narratives – extended story showing how another person experienced something –Help audience learn and emotionally connect to the ideas –Good narratives hard to find, and do not generalize from a narrative

Slide 23 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Identifying Appropriate Supporting Materials  Surveys – studies in which a limited number of questions are answered by a sample of the population –Key questions to ask 1.How reliable is the source? 2.How broad was the sample? 3.Who was included in the survey? 4.How representative was the sample 5.Who performed the survey? 6.Why was the survey done?

Slide 24 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Identifying Appropriate Supporting Materials  Testimony –Testimonial evidence – written or oral statements of others used by a speaker to substantiate or clarify a point Lay testimony – statements made by an ordinary person that support what you say Expert testimony – statements made by someone who has special knowledge or expertise about an issue or idea Celebratory testimony – statements made by a public figure who is known to the audience

Slide 25 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Identifying Appropriate Supporting Materials  Testimony –Questions to ask Is the person you quote worthier than others? Is the quotation about a subject in the person’s area of expertise? Is the person’s statement based on extensive personal experience, professional study, or another form of firsthand proof? Will the audience find the statement more believable because it is an outside source?

Slide 26 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Identifying Appropriate Supporting Materials  Numbers and Statistics –Numbers – describe something in terms of quantities or amounts –Statistics – numbers that summarize data or provide scientific evidence of relationships between two or more things Explain your figures by using visual aids or visual imagery and analogies

Slide 27 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Identifying Appropriate Supporting Materials  Analogies – comparisons of things in some respects, especially in position or function, that are otherwise dissimilar –An analogy may clarify but it is not a proof  Definitions – determinations of meaning through description, simplification, examples, analysis, comparison, explanation, or illustration –Definition of a concept can help audience members understand points

Slide 28 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Ethical Use of Supporting Material  Speakers have an ethical obligation to 1.Find the best possible sources of information 2.Avoid plagiarism by citing sources Incremental plagiarism – use of information without fully divulging how much information is fully quoted 3.Fairly and accurately represent sources Two-sided argument – source advocating one position will present an argument from the opposite viewpoint and then refute that argument

Slide 29 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Figure 5.4: Five Sources following APA and MLA Styles

Slide 30 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Table 5.6: Examples of Oral Citations