1. EXDS 2001 / GGHS 3531 -- Honors
Historical Geography
Professor Traci Welch Moritz
Public Services Librarian
2. Goals for the day
•Digging into historical research
•Creating a search strategy
•Using library resources
•Evaluating internet resources
•Pulling it all together
6. Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Sources
Definitions depend on the department and subject
matter being studied
“In the humanities, a primary resource could be defined as
something that was created either during the time period
being studied or afterward by individuals reflecting on their
involvement in the events of the time.”
Primary Sources: Definitions. Lafayette College Libraries & Academic Information Resources.
<http://ww2.lafayette.edu/~library/guides/primarysources/definitions.html> Accessed August 8, 2013
http://www.ala.org/rusa/sections/history/resources/pubs/usi
ngprimarysources
7. Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Sources
• Reading and evaluating can
be difficult
• Opportunity to come into
contact with the past
• Enables histories to
experience the past
recreate it
Thanks to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Primary sources = raw data = history’
8. Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Sources
Evaluating primary sources:
1. Identifying type
• Formal treatise
• Contemporary formal treatise
• Public Record
• Private Letters and Journals
• Literary source
• Nonverbal sources
• Oral history
9. Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Sources
1. Is the source genuine?
2. What is the date of origin?
3. Who is the author?
4. Who is the audience?
Questions to ask yourself when reviewing a
document
10. Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Sources
Suggestions for reading a primary source
• Read through the entire document quickly to set a
sense of the whole source. Does it show bias? Is the
bias yours or the source?
• Read the document a second time carefully noting
authorship, time period, intended purpose and probably
impact on the intended audience.
11. Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Sources
Identify the following:
• Time and place
• Author
• Audience
• Personalities and roles of all people mentioned
• Meaning and purpose
• Content (colloquial terminology, language of the day,
phrases and phrasing)
• Allusions
• Assumptions and/or bias
12. Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Sources
Additional questions to ask yourself
1. Do the contents seem reasonable?
2. Are there other primary documents for collaboration or
are there contradictions?
3. Place the document in the larger historical context. Do
secondary resources fit with your interpretation?
13. Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Sources
As you are following the steps above, be sure
to note anything you need to come back to
and look these up in reliable reference works.
As you are following the steps above, be sure
to note anything you need to come back to and
look these up in reliable reference works.
14. Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Sources
•“Tertiary sources provide overviews of topics by
synthesizing information gathered from other resources.
Tertiary resources often provide data in a convenient form or
provide information with context by which to interpret it.” ~
Virginia Tech Libraries, Accessed 08/14/2013
• Encyclopedias
• Dictionaries
• Handbooks
Oxford Reference
15. Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Sources
Secondary Sources analyze or interpret an historical event or
artistic work.
Secondary sources often base their theories and arguments
on the direct evidence found in primary sources.
A secondary work for a subject is one that discusses the
subject but is written after the time contemporary with it.
16. What about the Web?
• Greater access to primary
source materials than ever
before
• Documents, letters, maps,
photographs of ancient
artifacts and other primary
material are available online
in different formats from free
websites
• With the proliferation of
electronic resources from a
wide variety of web site
producers, evaluation is more
important than ever before
17. Currency * The timeliness of the
information.
Relevance/Coverage *The depth and
importance of the information.
Authority *The source of the information.
Accuracy *The reliability of the
information.
Purpose/Objectivity *The possible bias
present in the information.
*The CRAAP acronym and descriptions are from Meriam Library at
California State University Chico. Used with permission.
Evaluating found information
18. Google and Wikipedia
Aren’t evil
Can prove valuable
Can’t be used as a source
Turn to the databases for
source materials
From the University of Wisconsin Library, worksheet for evaluating web sites
19. ONU buys
Full-text
database
OhioLINK
Permits
Google to
link to full-text
Google asks
to link to
content
ONU user sees
licensed full-text
articles
Run Google
Search
Google Scholar
See
“Google
Scholar” tab at
Research
guide for
information
about off-
campus access
22. What is included?
POLAR
Article-level searching for all EBSCO
databases
Article-level searching for a variety of other
databases: JSTOR, Hoover’s,
AccessPharmacy, etc.
Title-level searching for most other databases:
IEEE, CIAO, Proquest Nursing & Allied Health
OhioLink central catalog
28. Things to Remember
Facets are your Friend: After you search, limit
your results to what you really want
A tool not a solution: This is not the solution to
everything
Ask the librarians for help
There will still be some small changes coming
34. Databases
•Often tools for locating journal and
newspaper articles
•Most are subject-specific, some
multi-disciplinary
•Many give access to full text of
articles
•Heterick has 200+
•Available from Heterick home page
36. Things to remember
121 Research Consultations
with the
Librarians of
Heterick Memorial Library
Need a little extra help with your research?
Finding plenty of resources, but not exactly what you are looking for?
Has it been suggested by instructor to meet with a librarian?
An in-depth research consultation with the librarian of your choice is available
by appointment.
Sessions may run for 30-60 minutes and are designed to assist students with
finding and evaluating resources
Schedule an appointment by visiting
http://libguides.onu.edu/aecontent.php?pid=199190&sid=2118629
Notas do Editor
Research is a process. Try to not let yourself get overwhelmed. Do one step at a time, plan your attack and take small, frequent bites.
