A Methodology

Sourcing Information

What is a Source of Information?

• A person, place, or thing that increases our understanding. These are called primary sources. If I want to understand how the Pyramids interact with their environment, I can go to Egypt and study the pyramids. They would be my primary source of information.

• Writing or film about my subject These are called secondary sources.

Are Some Sources of Information Better than Others?

A One Direction concert movie directed by Morgan "Super Size Me" Spurlock? Does he experimentally listen to nothing but One Direction for a year? Well, there's nothing subversive about this film. We get a single, wacky shot of a neuroscientist explaining their effect on fans' brains, and the band's hidden-camera stunts and pranks in public are mostly relegated to the final credits. I suspect a previous, wackier idea for the film was ditched in favour of a slick promotional video about their jaw-dropping global tour, but I also have to admit that this is a rather watchable record of a phenomenon. - Peter Bradshaw, “The Guardian”

OMG – this is probably the best movie ever made. It captures the magic of one of the greatest live bands in the world. – 1d4ever

Canadian Medical Journal Association http://www.cmaj.ca/content/early/2014/12/08/cmaj.140900

Journal of Pediatricshttp://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/130/5/798

Should pre-teens get vaccinated against HPV?http://www.ivillage.com/forums/health-fitness/sexual-health-reproduction/sexual-health/sexual-health-well-being/sending-wrong-message-getting-teendaughter-hpv-vaccine

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/583518_3

A Beginner’s Research Method

Step One: 1. Start with big general sources and thoughtful google searches. 2. WRITE DOWN THE NAMES OF SOURCES QUOTED AND IMPORTANT VOCABULARY AND EXAMPLES. SAVE URL’s YOU WANT TO REVISIT. FOR SOME SOURCES READ, DON’T JUST SKIM. MAKE SURE TO PUT QUOTE MARKS AROUND ANYTHING COPY AND PASTED.

Google Search: Anonymous speech on the internet (push words: controversies, analysis, debate, discourse, sociology, law)

Step Two: Move to Finding High Quality Sources

• Respected Long Piece News Sources (New York Times, Time, Newsweek, The Economist)

• Pew/Gallup Surveys• Government Studies/Data• Peer Reviewed Academic Articles (best of all)

FACTORS TO CONSIDER:* Date of Publication (is it timely/recent?)* Any Potential Biases Inherent in the Source* Limitations to the Research

Proquest / JSTOR

• Use some of the terminology or source names you have found to search.

• Use the advanced search feature and limit by “peer reviewed,” “full text,” “Title,” date, etc.

• Once you have found an interesting article, read it (expect it to be hard) and take notes (if printed, you can underline, if online, try copy/paste/bolding)

Key Advice: Don’t Search for Holy Grails – Search Around Your Topic – Read to Learn