Effectively Utilizing Sources

Understand the different types of sources: Primary Usually the actual text you are analyzing, manuscripts, etc. Secondary Books and articles that analyze primary sources. o They help keep you current with research. o Expose you to other points of view o Find models for your own research analysis Tertiary Encyclopedias and dictionaries that provide broad introductions Recording your sources: Know your citation style!!! Record bibliographic data for all materials you MAY use! Systematically Search for Sources: Start by talking to people and looking for tertiary sources. o Use their research and footnotes to your advantage. o Review their bibliography. You might find something you need. Skim the internet. o Search on Google Scholar o Try to find a decent Wiki on a topic. Peruse the library catalog o When you find a book on the shelf that may be helpful, look around that area on the shelves Look for scholarly articles in journals Evaluate the Relevance of Your Sources Look at works you think are most important to your research and do the following: Go to the index looking for key information. Skim the introduction and conclusion. Try to skim the chapters. If the book is a collection of articles, make sure to read the editors intro. Skim every conclusion. o If there is no Introduction or Conclusion, skim the first and last few chapters. Read and Engage: Read to understand the author on his/her own terms. o If you understand their terms, you can critically engage them. If you find some other source that adds support to their argument, add this to your paper.

Effectively Utilizing Sources

o If there is newer evidence, provide it in your paper. This also provides more sources. o If someone only speculates something, you can add support and another source to your paper. o You might also make application of an argument to a broader scope. Take Notes Systematically: Create a Template for taking notes. o Setup a system that encourages you to think beyond the mere content of your sources by analyzing and organizing that content into useful categories. o For each note you take, copy the claim, their supporting data for the claim and any questions you may have. This will help guide your research. o Distinguish quotes from paraphrases by color, font, quotation marks or something. Knowing when to quote, summarize, and paraphrase o Summarize when you only need the general point of the passage, section, or even the whole article/book. Remember that a summary of a source never

serves as good evidence.

o Paraphrase when you can represent what a source says more clearly or pointedly than it does. Paraphrasing is not simply changing a word or two; it

is using your own words/phrases to communicate the idea. A paraphrase is not as good as a quote when it comes to evidence.

o Record quotations when: the quoted words constitute evidence that backs up your reasons; the words are from an authority who supports your view; they are strikingly original; they express your ideas so compellingly that the quotation can frame the rest of your discussion They state a view with which you disagree, and to be fair you want to state that view exactly. Take notes relevant to your Question and Working Hypothesis o Dont just record the facts; make sure to include supporting data. o Aim for finding three things when you take notes: reasons that support your hypothesis or suggest a new one; evidence that supports your reasons views that undermine or even contradict your hypothesis o Include information on the history of research (6.2.2 and 10.1.1) o Historical or contemporary context that explains the importance of your question. o Important definitions and principles of analysis

Effectively Utilizing Sources

o Analogies, comparison, anecdotes that might not directly support your hypothesis but do explain or illustrate complicated issues or simply make your analysis more interesting o Strikingly original language relevant to your topic. Record relevant context for quotations/paraphrases o Never record or cite another view based on a work that references it. Go to the original source. o Note the foundation for why sources agree or disagree. Two people might agree on something, but for VERY DIFFERENT reasons.