Lifespan Development: Additional Tools

With thanks to the Cornell University Library for sharing their very nice research guide to The Annotated Bibliography.  You'll have everything you need to know about how to create an annotated bibliography, including links to more information.

Primary sources are documents or physical objects which were written or created during a time under study.  These sources were present during an experience or time period and offer an inside view of a particular event.  Primary sources are records of events as they are first described, without any interpretation or commentary.   Examples of primary sources include:

ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS – diaries, speeches, manuscripts, letters, interviews, news film footage, autobiographies

CREATIVE WORKS – art, poetry, music, novels

RELICS OR ARTIFACTS – pottery, furniture, clothing, buildings

Secondary sources interpret and analyze primary sources.  They are one or two more steps removed from the event.  They often attempt to describe or explain primary sources.  Examples of secondary sources include:

PUBLICATIONS – textbooks, magazine articles, criticisms, commentaries, encyclopedias, dictionaries

Adapted from Princeton University’s and Bowling Green State University's Primary vs. Secondary Sources informational sources

                THE RESEARCH PROCESS IN A NUTSHELL

•        Topic Selection.  Selecting a topic can be the most difficult part of the entire research process, but it’s the most crucial.  Broad topics can be broken down into smaller components so that they’re easier to work with.  An excellent tool to use to narrow a topic is an encyclopedia, such as Encyclopedia Britannica, or even Wikipedia.  Articles in encyclopedias also will often give you an excellent overview of a topic, and sometimes a bibliography with references to additional information.  Pick a topic that is of interest to you;  if you have been assigned a topic, select something about that topic that interests you.   

•        Your Search Terms.   Once you’ve defined your topic, pick out the key concepts related to your topic, usually three or four main ideas.  Once you’ve defined the concepts, you’ll need to identify synonyms for the terms.  Using a thesaurus will help you find alternative words for your topic.  Once you’ve completed this task, you have the keywords to use as your search terms in the library catalog, in periodical databases, and in any web-based resources you might choose to search.  Be flexible, and remember that if the first search terms you use don’t give you the desired results, try others, or ask a librarian or your instructor for help.

•        Locating Materials. 

a.       Books:  You can find books on the shelf on your topic in the Campus Library through the Library catalog. 

b.      Electronic Books: Search in WorldCat to find electronic books on your topic available to you as a UAS student. You may be required to enter your UA login and username if searching from off-campus.

c.       Full-text Journal Articles:  From the UAS Ketchikan Campus Library website, link to Database Quicklinks, and from there to one of the journal databases.  Sometimes periodicals provide the only useful information on very narrow or very current topics, such as medicine and technology.

d.      Websites:  Websites can often provide a very quick source of information but can often lack depth, authority and accuracy.  However,  they require a much higher level of evaluation than journal articles found through the databases on the library’s website.

e.      Other:  Keep in mind that libraries also have DVDs, newspapers, maps, governments, atlases, and other resources that might be useful for your research.  Contact the UAS Ketchikan Campus Library for any assistance you might need.

•        Evaluation:  Evaluate your sources carefully for credibility, relevance, quality, and possible bias.

•          Synthesizing:  The final step is to determine how your pieces of your research  fit together and to present them cohesively in your paper, presentation, or speech.

Interviews from OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab

Creating Good Interview and Survey Questions from OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab