Evaluating Sources & Interview Tips

Project #2 is a large project broken down into many parts. On Tuesday 10/10 at 11:59 pm, you are uploading Short Assignment #1-The Research Proposal.

Short Assignment #2 - The Annotated Bibliography is due 10/17 at 11:59 pm. This is a large project, a 1,500 word record of the research you plan to use for Project #2. You are required to annotate ten peer-reviewed sources You will write the annotations for each source and each annotation should be at least 150 words.

Each annotation should:

Briefly summarize the source and its main ideas.
Tell how the source relates to the research topic.
Tell how the source relates/does not relate to the other sources.
Tell what new/different information this source provides; explain weaknesses/strengths of the source; tell what about the source the student finds especially interesting.

Look in the back of the Bedford Book of Genres on A-20 for an example of an Annotated Bibliography or The Purdue Owl. As you can see from the example, you need to write the Citation using MLA style. You might be tempted to use Easy Bib. Don't. I repeat, DO NOT USE EASY BIB. It is almost always wrong. I will be counting off on this assignment and Project #2 for sloppy citation.

Last week you completed the Library Guide. Now that you are an expert in using the FSU databases, now it is not to determine if you have discovered a useful source for your assignment or not. For Project #2 you are investigating a research question. You need to look at all sides of the question to make sure you are approaching your paper with an unbiased and objective point of view. When you write the paper, you will need evidence of the information you find. This evidence will come from at least 10 Peer Reviewed sources which you will use for your paper.

Sources which you will use for this project need to be

Credible
Accurate
Reliable
Support the data

Basically sources which are jam-packed with ethos.

Peer-Reviewed sources are articles which have been published in reputable journals by experts in the field. Not only are they written by experts, but they have been reviewed by experts to make sure the information is accurate. This is why I ask you to find them and use them in your Project #2.

Think about the sources for this research project in three different categories: tertiary, primary and secondary.

You know about tertiary sources. You used this when deciding which research question you want to work on. These are sources which give you the basic information about a topic. Dictionaries, Wikipedia, eHow, Google answers, basically anything which appears on the first page of search results on Google. None of these sources should appear on your Works Cited page. In the past, you may have been told that websites which end in .org, .edu or .gov are acceptable sources for research. However, .org websites can be purchased. That doesn't make a website credible. A few semesters ago, a student referenced an article she found on an org site as evidence for her paper. The article the org site used was a satirical news source like The Onion. She trusted the org and used their information, which was false information. These are the things to be careful about. Don't make assumptions about credibility over a url.

Also, newspapers are not as credible as peer-reviewed journals because the information which journalists obtain is constantly changing. Watch how a news event develops in real-time while watching the news. The same with newspapers. Sometimes a reader will need to read 10 articles on one event before the big picture is visible. Use newspapers as tertiary sources.

Primary Sources are the original artifact which you are working with. Consider in Project #1, I asked you to select 3 artifacts. Those artifacts were Primary Sources. Primary Sources are the original artifacts which your research is based. Take this research question: Does the DC character Harley Quinn represent feminist values? The Primary Sources could be either the comic book, the cartoon series which she originally appeared Batman: The Animated Series, or the recent Suicide Squad movie. The composer of this research question would be required to look at these sources for insight to the research question.

Secondary Sources are the articles that provide interpretation and analysis which could be applied to the Primary Sources. The Peer-Reviewed articles will provide the Secondary Sources for this assignment. Going back to the Harley Quinn research question example, the person researching would need to find secondary sources which define feminist theory, address trends in female comic book characters and how they are portrayed, changes or lack of changes in the comic book industry regarding female comic writers, etc. When looking for secondary sources, know that you will need to consider direct research, but also indirect research. For the Harley Quinn research question, the composer may be able to type Harley Quinn and Feminism into the database and get many responses. This would be direct research. But if not, the researcher will need to consider indirect research terms such as: feminism in comics, feminism in super heroes, female comic writers --- female comic writers on Harley Quinn, positive female superheroes... much like falling into a Wikipedia or a Buzzfeed hole, the databases an easy way to lose yourself for several hours.

How do you look at a source critically?

Use your rhetorical analysis skills. Mode, Media, style, design, rhetorical appeals, purpose, genre.

Then ask yourself:

Does the information in the source generate additional research questions?
Does it take you deeper into your research?
Does it provide something new or helpful?
Be sure to look up the author of the article on Google. Find out what else they have written or published. Find out if they have been discredited.
Read the article. Does the author present sufficient evidence to support their claims? Remember: Evidence is facts, examples, sources, citations that authors use to illustrate and support each point they make in a composition. You are going to be using these sources as your evidence, so you will need to make sure their evidence is good.
Is the author spending more time persuading them presenting facts and data? Does the writer make statements which don't quite seem true? Does the author spend more time telling a narrative (story) than providing evidence?
Does the writer seem to be speaking to a specific audience? Is the language informal?
Is the information timely? Sometimes medical studies will be discredited over time. Make sure the evidence is still relevant.
How easily can you tell where the author found their information? Who is the author's sources?
If the author does not provide source material (references, works cited page, direct quotes from on the record interviews) the source is not credible.

Interview tips

This project requires you to conduct an Interview and to incorporate it as a source in your paper. The purpose of this is to give you the experience of contacting another human being and use their knowledge for your research question. You are required to find an expert in the field who you do not know already. Not your parent, cousin or roommate. This person should NOT be a student. They can be a professor. Professors are excellent sources.

Interviews can be conducted in person, by phone or online. However, interviews also require preparation to be successful.

First:

Identify an expert in your field who is accessible under the time and resources with which you have.
Perform background research on your subject to give yourself an idea of where they already stand on this issue.
Before you contact them, write down at least 10 specific questions you want to ask about your research question (I don't count "What is your name?" and "Where are you from?" as part of the 10).

In Person or Phone interview:

Write everything down. This is not rude, it is expected. Record the interview is necessary.
Being nervous is also to be expected. Everyone gets nervous.
Politely probe inconsistencies and contradictions. It is not rude to ask someone to clarify a point or to question his or her logic as long as you are nice about it.
Watch your body language. People will mirror your energy. Hold yourself in a way that is calm and ready to listen. Lean in. Don’t cross your arms. Don’t gesture toward your phone. Unless you are using it to record the interview, keep your phone in your pocket or bag and place on Do Not Disturb.

Email interview:

Don’t be afraid to send a follow up email. If you asked them to answer questions, and they have not responded, then politely send a reminder.
If something they send you is vague, inaccurate or confusing, don’t be afraid to follow up here, either. Just make sure you know exactly what you want to ask before sending it. One follow up email, fine. Ten follow ups, annoying.

After the project is complete

Send a Thank you email and a copy of the finalized project. You have developed a contact here, and you should respect the time they took to assist you with your project. These are people who can write letters or recommendation, provide internship opportunities or teach you in this field later on.

The Interview (Short Assignment #3) must be completed by 10/29 at 11:59pm. You must type it as a Word doc (even if you record it with your phone, you have to type up the interview). This is an assignment which requires time. You are asking another person for a favor. This means you must allow them time to respond to your questions, or to make time to sit down and talk to you. If the person you want to interview is not responding to you, have a backup ready. No interview, no grade. No interview in Project #2, I count off one letter grade.

When you get ready to incorporate your interview in your paper:

Treat it like any other secondary source. Look over what they tell you and either paraphrase, summarize or direct quote their information
Proper MLA style for incorporating an interview is First Name/Last Name Title upon first reference, and after that Last Name only.
Cite it as a Personal Interview. Go to Purdue Owl to see the proper format.

Don't forget:

Twitter Assignment: Post at least 10 Tweets on your own. Tweets must relate to genres or other relevant course topics. You are encouraged to engage with your other classmates via Twitter by commenting and asking questions [Due 11:59 pm SUNDAY 10/15]