English 1006T
Prompt #8
18 October 2012
Into the woods
Working groups
Each group's list of working questions will be available on the course
Web site this afternoon. Right now, you should begin by asking each person
in the group who actually did some research on one of the questions from
last time to describe what she did, exactly, and what she found. Having
done that, consider the following starting points for further research.
-
Harriet Irving Library WorldCat. Go to lib.unb.ca
and click Advanced WorldCat Search; the same rules apply to terms in the
"Keyword:" slot. Remember that common names and terms will generate lots
of irrelevant information, but if you put things together -- for example,
"Terry Jones" and "Islamophobia" or "Affirmative Action" and "Supreme Court"
-- you will narrow things down.
-
Google scholar. Go to scholar.google.ca,
and bear in mind the strategies I've mentioned.
-
Harriet Irving Library Journals & Newspapers. From the library
main page go to "Resources / Collections" and click "Journals &
Newspapers" from the pulldown menu. Select "Newspaper Collections" and
try any that seem likely to have something on your question (since they
are all fairly recent, news coverage can often be found)
-
Google and wikipedia. Think about search terms. Remember that putting
things in quotes selects for only that phrase, instead of finding sources
that happen to include all the words.
-
Harriet Irving Library Reference Materials. From the library
main page go to Encyclopedias, etc., and then to "Reference Materials
Guide." Try "Explore the Reference Universe."
Now, divide up your starting points and your questions. More than one person
can be assigned a specific question but everyone should have a number of
them to work on. Spread them around as much as you can. For this assignment,
limit people to one starting point. Think about which questions are likely
to be more appropriate to certain search starting points. At the end of
the process, each person should have a starting point and a set of questions,
and should email them to me before 7:00. Use "exploration" as a subject
line, so I can keep them straight; I'll post them to the Web site as they
come in.
Your assignment for Tuesday is to keep, and bring back to class, a record
of every step in your investigation -- where you looked, what search terms
you used (even, or especially, the ones that didn't work). Make this a
diary. Each step you take should be headed with the specific terms you
used, and a sentence or two saying what you found there, and if you went
further (looking at a particular text, or following a link). Remember to
keep your question in mind: the fact that something's loosely or generally
related to the subject doesn't mean it's relevant. And be aware of the
information on the various pages about what you're doing.
Spend a couple of hours on this. Bring your diary to JDG6 Tuesday afternoon.
And leave the report you brought to class today on the front desk, or
with me.
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