Research DDIx 2015 MTJ Lab

Why Research?

Good evidence wins debates Topic knowledge Short speech times in PF: evidence allows for efficiency and specificity Improves speaking and argumentation It’s not just cutting cards: scouting, finding out what arguments people read against your aff, what a team reads as common neg positions, being up to date with current arguments

Introduction to Research

Good Researchers: Work ethically a.appropriate citations b.fairly and accurately representing an author’s argument c.responsibly producing evidence d.ask for cites! Work efficiently a.know what you’re looking for b.develop arguments/potential arguments as you research

Introduction to Evidence

Evidence should always be the foundation of your argument (claim, data, warrant) All arguments should be supported by evidence

Qualities of Good Evidence Lots of warrants Comparative claims Conclusive Assumes the other team’s evidence Scholarly Predictive Recency (this matters to the point where you can explain why) Examples, studies, statistics are good Explains something complicated (a K or a nuanced argument)

How to Successfully Research/Produce Evidence

Research Practices Broad investigatory work – assessing the literature Figure out scope of the topic (aff/neg ground) Figure out the “think tanks” of the topic – Who the best authors are – What the best websites are – Civil unrest in the media Targeted and self-contained Research Evidence against to specific affirmative cases, blocks to typical neg arguments Update files often Being a research generalist vs. specialist

The Hierarchy Books Scholarly Journals Online Journals Government Documents Major Papers Blogs News Aggregates *Peer-reviewed sources make everything better*

7 Keys 1.Skim articles quickly 2.Keep your ideas in one place 3.Follow up on sources they cite 4.Read specific authors 5.Find qualifications 6.Cite stuff as you go 7.Know preferred search engine

Search Terms No key: start broad and narrow down Change them Develop list of search terms Find those used by experts in the lit i.e. “terms of art” in the relevant lit base – Find out who’s talking about your topic The Public Sector Private Sector Databases Non-profit sector/”think tanks” – “.org” – Ex – pew research Universities and academia** Blogs/Rest of Internet -very questionable and depends on the qualifications of the author

Google Search Terms Use Boolean search terms 1.AND, OR, W/, NOT 2.“quotations” 3. filetype:pdf

Resources Ebsco Galileo LexisNexis Google/Google Scholars/Google News Project Muse Jstor Pen Scanner-Scan books and journals from paper in the Dartmouth library ABBYY Screenshot Reader – OCR One Tab

To Keep Up-to-Date Google Alerts Follow social media (twitter) Huffpost CNN Yahoo News Digest

How to Cut a Card

Citations Full author names Qualifications – Most of the time if you just google the name, their qualifications should come up – Can find faculty pages of what the author teachers if he/she is a professor – Bloggers can be qualified Date of publication Name of article/source Name of journal or periodical Full URL or name of database Date accessed

Writing Good Tags Content – Briefly summarize the arg If it makes multiple args then you should split it up or maybe it’s not just a good card – Must contain a warrant Keep the warrants in your tags Length – Don’t want too long or too short – Label upfront can help you You should tag your cards as you work Never tag a card – “more ev” – Cards should be distinguished – multiple different warrants, sources

Underlining/Highlighting Underline complete paragraphs relevant to your argument Highlight warrants Highlight in complete thoughts but efficiently Time yourself, rehighlight as needed

How to Successfully Put Together a File/Complete an Assignment

Follow up on cited sources Cut different cards for the same argument: multiple different warrants, sources Think about the final product and the components necessary Don’t be afraid to research tangentially if you see potential

Wikirace!