Gathering and Evaluating Information

Researching Information ► Gathering and evaluating information ●Examine what you know already and areas where you need additional information. ●Locate and evaluate information sources. ●Prepare research cards. ●Cite sources. 2

Chapter Sections ► Locate & evaluate information sources ► Identify and select relevant information ► Record information 3

Chapter Section One Locate & Evaluate Information Sources 4

Personal Knowledge ► Based on experience, and observation 5

Secondary Research ► The process of locating information about your topic that has been discovered by other people 6

Types of Secondary Research ► Encyclopedias ► Books ► Articles ► Newspapers 7

Types of Secondary Research (cont..) ► Statistical sources ► Biographies ► Quotation books and websites ► Government documents 8

Skimming to Determine Source Value ► A method of rapidly going through a work to determine what is covered and how 9

Evaluating Sources ► Criteria for judging sources ●Authority ●Objectivity ●Currency ●Relevancy 10

Primary Research ► Conducting your own study in the field ●Fieldwork Observations ●Surveys ●Interviews ●Original artifact or document examinations ●Experiments 11

Fieldwork Observations ► Also known as ethnography ► The focusing on specific behaviors or observations and taking notes on your observations 12

Surveys ► A canvassing of people to get information about their ideas and opinions, which are then analyzed for trends 13

Interviews ► Planned, structured conversations where one person asks questions and another answers them. Rob_Loud / Getty Images 14

Interview Steps ► Selecting the best person ► Preparing the interview protocol ► Conducting the interview ► Processing the interview 15

Preparing the Interview Protocol ► Primary and secondary questions ► Open and closed questions ► Neutral and leading questions 16

Conducting the Interview ► Dress professionally. ► Be prompt. ► Be courteous. ► Ask permission to record. ► Listen carefully. 17

Conducting the Interview (cont..) ► Keep the interview moving. ► Monitor your nonverbal reactions. ► Get permission to quote. ► Confirm credentials. ► End on time, and thank the interviewee. 18

Processing the Interview ► Sit down with your notes as soon as possible after the interview and make individual research cards of the information you may want to use in the speech. ► If at any point you are not sure whether you have accurately transcribed what the person said, contact the person to double-check. 19

Original Artifact or Document Examinations ► This consists of examining an original unpublished source, such as an ancient manuscript, a diary, personal correspondence, or company files; or ► Viewing an object to get the information you need, such as a geographic feature, a building, a monument, or an artifact in a museum. 20

Experiment ► A designed study to test a hypothesis you have ●You must understand the principles of the scientific process of experimentation to be able to trust results of a formal experiment. ●Alternatively, you can try an informal experiment to test the results of a study you learn about elsewhere. 21

Chapter Section Two Identify and Select Relevant Information 22

Types of Relevant Information ► Factual Statements ► Expert Opinions ► Elaborations ► Drawing Information from Multiple Cultural Perspectives 23

Factual Statements ► Statements that can be verified ●Statistics - numerical facts ●Examples - specific instances that illustrate or explain a general factual statement ●Definition - a statement that clarifies the meaning of a word or phrase 24

Factual Statements (cont..) ●Expert opinions - interpretations and judgments made by authorities in a particular subject area ●Elaborations - Both factual information and expert opinions can be elaborated on through anecdotes and narratives, comparisons and contrasts, or quotable explanations and opinions 25

Multiple Cultural Perspectives ► It is important to draw your information from culturally diverse perspectives by, ●Seeking sources that have differing cultural orientations, and by ●Interviewing experts with diverse cultural backgrounds. 26

Chapter Section Three Record Information 27

Recording Information ► Preparing research cards 28

Citing Sources in The Speech ► Failure to cite sources is unethical. ► Failure to cite sources orally during your speech constitutes plagiarism. ► You must provide oral footnotes during your speech - references to an original source. ► Include enough information for listeners to access the sources themselves. 29