Chapter 5 Public Speaking

quotation books

offer famous or notable quotations on a variety of subjects Barlett's Familiar Quotations -source for speakers and writers alike

tips for doing research

start early, make a preliminary bibliography, take notes efficiently, think about your materials as you research

encyclopedia

-Encyclopedia Britannica -special ones cover certain fields more in depth -African American, Religion, McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology

library research

-librarians, catalogue, reference works, databases

Specialized Research Resources

1. virtual libraries 2. government resources 3. wikipedia -most likely to help with speech

proquest

thousands of periodicals and newspapers

checklist for evaluating internet documents

-is the author of the document clearly identified -is author expert -if not, are opinions objective/unbiased -if no author, who is sponsoring organization -does sponsoring organization have reputation for objectivity -does document include copyright date, publication date, date of last revision -is date recent?

search engines

-key to finding materials on the internet -numerous search engines, but most widely used is Google

start early

-longer you wait, more problems you will encounter (unable schedule interview) -more time, better able to put pieces together

how to systemically search on internet

-narrow search by using key words or type in specific question -identify kind of research source you want (how greatly increase odds of finding what you need)

Government resources

-one of strengths of internet is access to government documents and publications USA.gov, United States Census Bureau, World Factbook

think tanks

-political leanings but still considered credible sources -RAND

keep the interviewer on track

-pursue new leads when they appear, improvise follow ups, then return to planned questions

questions to avoid

-questions you can answer without the interview -leading questions -hostile, loaded questions

easy to change date

-someone who wants to make info look up to date can -if author already appears to be credible, assume date is valid

record notes in a consistent format

-use same format for all your research notes -record note, source, heading indicating subject of the note (IMPORTANT)

ways to collect information

-your own knowledge, doing library research, searching the internet, interviewing

Wikipedia

4.5 million articles on English -biggest encyclopedia in human history -500 mil people access it every month -now, reliability ratings compare to print encyclopedia, major articles refined for accuracy -good place to start learning, not a good place to end (not good as sole source of info) -additional resources provided can give deeper knowledge

Google Scholar

A fast and easy way to search a broad range of scholarly literature -advanced search tools let you narrow your search by author, publication, date, and subject matter

payday loans

A short-term, high-interest loan that usually must be repaid on the borrower's next payday.

librarians

Experts in their own field, trained in library use and research methods -help you find your way, locate source, track down specific info

USA.gov

One-stop shopping for all US gov information on internet (links, local state fed)

Academic OneFile

Provides access to millions of scholarly articles in areas from economics and sociology to science and medicine

after the interview

Review your notes as soon as possible (otherwise, won't understand notes) Transcribe your notes

take notes efficiently

Take plenty of notes Record notes in a consistent format Make a separate entry for each note (don't put down all info for one source in one area) Distinguish among direct quotations, paraphrases, and your own ideas (way to not plagiarize)

World News Digest

provides full text access to news articles from 1940+ (search by topic, country, decade)

lexisnexis academic

provides full-text access to 15,000 information sources (magazines, legal documents, television broadcast transcripts, newspapers)

questions should be

sensible, intelligent, meaningful -phrased in a neutral way

United States Census Bureau

contains wealth of statistical info on social, political, economic aspects of American Life (tables)

World Factbook

-CIA publishes it annually -info on every country in world

sample periodical entry from ProQuest

-Citation: title of article, author, name of magazine, place of publication, date -Related subjects: additional articles -Abstract of article: used to decide if want to read entire text

during the interview

-Dress appropriately and be on time -Repeat the purpose of the interview (more likely to get clear answers this way) -Set up the recorder (if you are using one, make it as inconspicuous as possible) -Keep the interview on track -Listen carefully (ask for clarification when needed) -Don't overstay your welcome

think about your materials as your research

-can be extremely creative (think about each note taken) -you will find new questions, angles -formulate central idea, begin to sketch out main points and supporting points, experiment with ways to organize thoughts -may change your mind

JSTOR

-catalogue more than 1,400 academic journals in various disciplines -allows you to search images, letters, other primary documents

ipl2

-combines Librarians' Internet Index and Internet Public Library -200,000+ entries organized into 12 main topics (arts and humanities, education, health and medical sciences) -links to a large number of reference sites and special collections

Sponsorship

-documents published by businesses, government agencies, public-interest groups (not authors) -look to see if fair-minded, look for organization objective in its research -economically unbiased? history of accuracy? -American cancer society

your own knowledge

-everyone is an expert at something -we often speak best about subjects we are familiar with -use facts and figures as well, but personal info bring speech to life (may not be dramatic)

advantage of recording interview

-gives exact record you can check after for direct quotes and important facts -still take notes by hand

recency

-internet usually has more recent info than books -just because on internet doesn't mean facts are up to date -look for a copyright date, publication date, date of last revision at the top/bottom of document -virtual library generally good -especially important to check if using statistics

searching the internet

-internet= world's biggest library with no library, no central info desk, no librarian, no person determining if sources are of high quality -can't get same depth and range as a library (supplement, do not replace, library) -search engines, specialized research resources, evaluating internet documents

authorship

-is author clearly identified? What are his/her qualifications? Expert? -in book, easy to find -if can't find info about author in document, look for link to author's homepage or to another site that explains the author's credentials -can search author on internet

before the interview

Define the purpose of the interview Decide whom to interview (start with leader, can always tell you who to go to) Arrange the interview (go in person, harder to brush off) Decide whether to record the interview Prepare your questions

how do you use Google systemically to find what you need?

Develop a search strategy that allow you to zero in on precisely what info required for your speech

academic database

a database that catalogues articles from scholarly journals -works are in respected, peer-reviewed journals, make it available to you -Academic OneFile, JSTOR, Google Scholar

preliminary bibliography

a list compiled early in the research process of works that look as if they might contain helpful information about a speech topic -enter each item (15 to 20 works), only 7 to 8 actually used MLA and APA -make sure accurate

catalogue

a listing of all the books, periodicals, and other resources owned by a library -search for books by author, title, subject, keyword -whether book already taken out -give call number

call number

a number used in libraries to classify books and periodicals and to indicate where they can be found on the shelves

newspaper and periodical database

a research aid that catalogues articles from a large number of magazines, journals, and newspapers -locate articles in thousands of publications -type subject into search box, citations for articles will appear -may get abstract instead/with article

virtual library

a search engine that combines internet technology with traditional library methods of cataloguing and assessing data best is ipl2

abstract

a summary of a magazine or journal article, written by someone other than the original author -never cite abstract, always consult full article -proquest, lexisnexis academic, world news digest

reference works

a work that synthesizes a large amount of related information for easy access by researchers -kept in reference section, give you wealth of info that might be difficult to locate by catalogue -encyclopedias, yearbooks, quotation books, biographical aids

research interview

an interview conducted to gather information for a speech

sponsoring organization

an organization that, in the absence of a clearly identified author, is responsible for the content of a document on the internet

be wary of groups that sound credible but

are not -fancy sounding name -type name into google, questions about credibility by commenters generally on first page (about page help identify if credible)

evaluating internet documents

authorship, sponsorship, recency -anyone can post on internet

interviewing

can do a research interview -time-honored way to gather info -complex, demanding art -what to do before an interview, what to do during an interview, what to do after an interview

biographical aids

contain brief life and career facts about contemporary men and women Who's Who

if can't verify credibility,

don't use document

Good research

essential to public speaking

never record without

knowledge or consent of the person being interviewed

yearbooks

updated annually and contain statistics and other facts about social, political, and economic topics current info hard to track down elsewhere -Book of Facts, World Almanac