1. Conducting Historical Research
Exploring Democratic Equality in the Post-Civil War Decades

2. Overview of the Project
Formulate a research question or issue.
Locate a minimum of four credible academic resources in the CSUMB digital databases.
Analyze and summarize the information in relation to your research question.
Complete the ‘Historical Research and Analysis Assessment’.
Submit the assessment document and discuss your findings in class.

3. I. Formulate a research question or issue.
Explore the state of democratic equality within the timeframe …
Equality for whom?
females
African Americans
Chinese Americans
Native Americans.
Equality in what area?
all areas
voting
citizenship
property ownership
education.
Equality in what location?
USA or some region
some state
some city

4. II. Locate 4 credible academic resources in the CSUMB digital databases.
CSUMB Datbases by Subject
Search the ‘History’ subject area database or some other subject area database.
Use search strategies like ‘key words’, ‘phrases’, ‘synonyms’, and ‘AND/OR’ logic to locate sources.
We will have a workshop on searching databases:
Wednesday, March 6th
6;00-7:50 PM
Library Rm 2145 (Second Floor)
Librarian Ryne Leuzinger

5. II. Locate 4 credible academic resources in the CSUMB digital databases (con’t.).
How did you determine the credibility of the source?
Was the source peer-reviewed prior to publication?
Was the organization that published the work reputable?
What were the author’s credentials?
What were the author’s areas of expertise?
What university or institution was the author affiliated with?

6. III. Analyze and summarize the information in relation to your research question.
For each of your 4 sources, answer:
Formally name or cite the source using either Chicago or APA citation styles.
How is this source related or connected to your research question or issue?
Select only resources that are relevant to your research focus.
What are the main points that this source makes in relation to your question or issue?
What types of evidence or reasoning does this source provide to support its main points?
What do you think you have learned from this one source about your research question or issue?

7. Citation Styles Chicago Style: Notes and Bibliography
APA Citation Style
APA (American Psychological Association) is used by Education, Psychology, and Sciences
MLA (Modern Language Association) style is used by the Humanities
Chicago/Turabian style is generally used by Business, History, and the Fine Arts

8. Citation Styles
APA (American Psychological Association) style is used by Education, Psychology, and Sciences
MLA (Modern Language Association) style is used by the Humanities
Chicago/Turabian style is generally used by Business, History, and the Fine Arts

9. IV. Complete the ‘Historical Research and Analysis Assessment’.
The ‘Historical Research & Analysis Assessment’ document is in the Assessment Folder on our course web site.
This document will serve to demonstrate the knowledge and skills that you have developed in this component of the course.

10. V. Submit the assessment document and discuss your findings in class.
Your Historical Research & Analysis Assessment product will be due in class on Wednesday, March 13th.
You will also share your research to explore what we, together, learned about
democratic equality in the decades following the Civil War.