COM 231 (chapters 7 and 8)
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Students, if they know their topic, should be as specific as possible in what they ask for.
Alloting Time
when starting a new project, no matter how big or small, it is important to seriously consider how much time that project is going to take.
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"Gee thanks!" every now and then will win every librarian's heart!
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Students need to learn that many questions do not have ready-made or one-stop answers.
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Students should also know that we ask questions like, "Where have you looked so far?" and "Have you had a library workshop before?"
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Students should approach a librarian sooner rather than later.
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Students should understand that information can come in a variety of formats.
Michael is giving a speech on dogs and picks up a copy of Pet Fancy magazine at his local bookstore. What type of source has Michael selected? A) general-interest periodical B)special-interest periodical C) Academic journal D) nonacademic literature supplement E) gender-based interest periodical
B
reporting function of research
This is the phase when you accumulate information about a topic and report that information to others.
Determining Your Needs
When starting your research, you want to start by asking yourself what you think you need. What do I, personally, know about my topic? Do I have any clear gaps in my knowledge of my topic? Do I need to conduct primary research for my speech? What type of secondary research do I need?Do I need research related to facts?Do I need research related to theories?Do I need research related to applications?
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When we are in our offices, we aren't on reference desk duty.
Who Is the Publisher?
While there are many mainstream publishers and academic press publishers, there are also many fringe publishers.
Avoid Academic Fraud
While there are numerous websites where you can download free speeches for your class, this is tantamount to fraud.
Who Is the Author?
Who is the author? What are her or his credentials? Does he or she work for a corporation, college, or university? Is a political or commercial agenda apparent in the writing?
Give Author Credentials
You should always provide the author's credentials. In a world where anyone can say anything and have it published on the Internet or even publish it in a book, we have to be skeptical of the information we see and hear.
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Your librarian is just as knowledgeable about information resources and the research process as your professor is about his or her discipline.
Create a Research Log
research log is a "step-by-step account of the process of identifying, obtaining, and evaluating sources for a specific project, similar to a lab note-book in an experimental setting
project life cycle
the phases that connect the beginning of a project to its end
Academic Information Sources
the second major source for finding information comes from academics.
Using Sources Ethically
there are five basic ethical issues you need to consider.
Key takeways
-In conducting research for a speech, commit adequate time and plan your schedule. Consider both the research time, or time spent gathering information, and the preparation time needed to organize and practice your speech. -Get a general idea of your research needs even before going to the library so that you can take the most advantage of the library's resources and librarians' help. -We live in a world dominated by information, but some information is filtered and some is not. It's important to know the difference between academic and nonacademic sources. -Nonacademic sources are a good place to gain general knowledge of a topic; these include books, general or special-interest periodicals, newspapers and blogs, and websites. -Academic sources offer more specialized, higher-level information; they include books, articles, computer databases, and web resources. -A fundamental responsibility is to evaluate the sources you choose to use in order to ensure that you are presenting accurate and up-to-date information in your speech.
Key takeways
-Research is a fascinating and fun process because it allows us to find answers to questions, it exposes us to new ideas, and it can lead us to pursue new activities. -Primary and secondary sources are quite common in research literature. Primary research is where the author has conducted the research him or herself and secondary research is when an author reports on research conducted by others.
key takeways
-Style focuses on the components of your speech that make up the form of your expression rather than your content. -Social science disciplines, such as psychology, human communication, and business, typically use APA style, while humanities disciplines, such as English, philosophy, and rhetoric, typically use MLA style. -The APA sixth edition and the MLA seventh edition are the most current style guides and the tables presented in this chapter provide specific examples of common citations for each of these styles. -Citing sources within your speech is a three-step process: set up the citation, provide the cited information, and interpret the information within the context of your speech. -A direct quotation is any time you utilize another individual's words in a format that resembles the way they were originally said or written. On the other hand, a paraphrase is when you take someone's ideas and restate them using your own words to convey the intended meaning. -Ethically using sources means avoiding plagiarism, not engaging in academic fraud, making sure not to mislead your audience, providing credentials for your sources so the audience can make judgments about the material, and using primary research in ways that protect the identity of participants. -Plagiarism is a huge problem and creeps its way into student writing and oral presentations. As ethical communicators, we must always give credit for the information we convey in our writing and our speeches.
2 types of research
1) The first type of research is when people conduct some kind of study and find something completely new. 2) The second type of research occurs when people revise existing facts, theories, and applications.
eighteen tips to working with reference librarians
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Samantha has handed out a survey to her peers on their perceptions of birth control. During her speech, Samantha explains the results from her survey. What type of research has Samantha utilized in her speech? A) primary B) secondary C) recency D) qualitative E) critical
A
Surveys You Conduct
A survey is a collection of facts, figures, or opinions gathered from participants used to indicate how everyone within a target group may respond.
What Is the Quality of the Bibliography/Reference Page?
Another great indicator of a well-thought-out and researched source is the quality of its bibliography or reference page.
backtracking
After you've finished reading useful sources, see who those sources cited on their bibliographies or reference pages.
Interviews You Conduct
An interview is a conversation in which the interviewer asks a series of questions aimed at learning facts, figures, or opinions from one or more respondents.
Scholarly Articles
Because most academic writing comes in the form of scholarly articles or journal articles, that is the best place for finding academic research on a given topic.
Jose is having problems finding sources related to his topic. He found one academic journal article that was really useful. He decides to read the references listed on the reference page of the article. He finds a couple that sound really promising so he goes to the library and finds those articles. What process has Jose engaged in? A) primary literature search B) secondary literature search C) backtracking D) source evaluation E) reference extending
C
Which of the following is not a recommendation for using research librarians provided by the members of the American Library Association? A) Be willing to do your own work. B) Academic librarians are willing to schedule in-depth research consultations with students. C) You don't need to bring a copy of the assignment when meeting with a librarian. D) Good research takes time. E) Students need to learn that many questions do not have ready-made or one-stop answers.
C
Why Citing Is Important
Citing is important because it enables readers to see where you found information cited within a speech, article, or book.
Scholarly Books
College and university libraries are filled with books written by academics.
Ask for Help
Don't be afraid to ask for help.
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Don't expect the librarian to do the work that you should be doing.
What are the components or features of a literary composition or oral presentation that have to do with the form of expression rather than the content expressed (e.g., language, punctuation, parenthetical citations, and endnotes)? A) citation functions B) referencing functions C) grammatical parameters D) communicative techniques E) style
E
Computerized Databases
Finding academic research is easier today than it ever has been in the past because of large computer databases containing research.
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Good research takes time and, while there are shortcuts, students should still expect to spend some time with a librarian and to trawl through the sources they find.
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I'm here to teach you, not go to bat for you.
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If we help you find sources, please take a look at them, so we will be more likely to want to help you in the future.
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If you don't have a well-defined topic to research, or if you don't know what information resources you're hoping to find, come to the reference desk with a copy of your class assignment.
Don't Mislead Your Audience
If you know a source is clearly biased, and you don't spell this out for your audience, then you are purposefully trying to mislead or manipulate your audience.
Learn to Skim
If you sit down and try to completely read every article or book you find, it will take you a very long time to get through all the information.
Scholarly Information on the Web
In addition to the subscription databases that exist on the web, there are also a number of great sources for scholarly information on the web.
Start with Background Information
It's not unusual for students to try to jump right into the meat of a topic, only to find out that there is a lot of technical language they just don't understand.
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Most academic librarians are willing to schedule in-depth research consultations with students.
Nonacademic Information Sources
Nonacademic information sources are sometimes also called popular press information sources; their primary purpose is to be read by the general public
Tips for Finding Information Sources
Now that we've given you plenty of different places to start looking for research, we need to help you sort through the research.
Finding Resources
Once you have a general idea about the basic needs you have for your research, it's time to start tracking down your secondary sources.
Citing Sources in a Speech
Once you have decided what sources best help you explain important terms and ideas in your speech or help you build your arguments, it's time to place them into your speech.
Search Your Library's Computers
Once you've started getting a general grasp of the broad content area you want to investigate, it's time to sit down and see what your school's library has to offer.
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Please, please, please don't interrupt me when I am working with another student.
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Reference librarians are professional searchers who went to graduate school to learn how to do research.
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Research is a process, not an event.
Chapter 7
Researching your speech
APA versus MLA Source Citations
Style: refers to those components or features of a literary composition or oral presentation that have to do with the form of expression rather than the content expressed (e.g., language, punctuation, parenthetical citations, and endnotes). enerally speaking, scholars in the various social science fields (e.g., psychology, human communication, business) are more likely to use APA style. scholars in the various humanities fields (e.g., English, philosophy, rhetoric) are more likely to use MLA style.
Evaluating Resources
The final step in research occurs once you've found resources relevant to your topic: evaluating the quality of those resources.
APA Citations
The first common reference style your teacher may ask for is APA.
What Is the Date of Publication?
The first question you need to ask yourself is the date of the source's publication. the more recent the information, the better your presentation will be.
Books
The first source we have for finding secondary information is books.
Research Time
The first step that takes a good chunk of your time is researching your speech.
Do People Cite the Work?
The last question to ask about a source is, "Are other people actively citing the work?"
Is It Academic or Nonacademic?
The next question you want to ask yourself is whether the information comes from an academic or a nonacademic source.
MLA Citations
The second common reference style your teacher may ask for is MLA.
Speech Preparation Time
The second task in speech preparation is to sit down and actually develop your speech. The last part of speech preparation is practice.
General-Interest Periodicals
These are magazines and newsletters published on a fairly systematic basis.
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Try to learn from the librarian so that you can increase your research skills.
Academic books
are books that are primarily written for other academics for informational and research purposes.
Textbooks
are books that are written about a segment of content within a field of academic study and are written for undergraduate or graduate student audiences.
Encyclopedias
are information sources that provide short, very general information about a topic.
Special-Interest Periodicals
are magazines and newsletters that are published for a narrower audience.
research
as scholarly investigation into a topic in order to discover, revise, or report facts, theories, and applications.
Avoid Plagiarism
if the idea isn't yours, you need to cite where the information came from during your speech. 1) Do your own work, and use your own words. 2) Allow yourself enough time to research the assignment. 3) Keep careful track of your sources. 4) Take careful notes. 5) Assemble your thoughts, and make it clear who is speaking. 6) If you use an idea, a quotation, paraphrase, or summary, then credit the source. 7) Learn how to cite sources correctly both in the body of your paper and in your List of Works Cited (Reference Page). 8) Quote accurately and sparingly. 9) Paraphrase carefully. 10) Do not patchwrite (patchspeak). 11) Summarize, don't auto-summarize. 12) Do not rework another student's paper (speech) or buy paper mill papers (speech mill speeches).
Use Primary Research Ethically
if you are using primary research within your speech, you need to use it ethically as well.
interlibrary loan
is a process where librarians are able to search other libraries to locate the book a researcher is trying to find.
theory
is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon that can be tested scientifically.
fact
is a truth that is arrived at through the scientific process.
Primary research
is carried out to discover or revise facts, theories, and applications and is reported by the person conducting the research.
Secondary Research
is carried out to discover or revise facts, theories, and applications—similar to primary research—but it is reported by someone not involved in conducting the actual research.
paraphrase
is to take a source's basic idea and condense it using your own words.
direct quotation
is when you cite the actual words from a source with no changes.
Newspapers and Blogs
nonacademic information source
Websites
nonacademic information source
