The student will ask how they can use their knowledge of the subject, their keywords, and subject terms to come to conclusions about the types of resources they want and where they might find them – primary sources, scholarly journal articles, statistical data, etc.
Outcome One:
Students, by examining the information gathered through prior searches, their search terms and variables, will further refine their understanding of the type of data they want – for example statistics, comparisons over time, etc.
- Student will watch as Librarian, using Barack Obama question, models selecting the type of data needed.
- Librarian identifies statistical sources (voter turnout, voter turnout by age).
- Historical sources – comparison to voters turnout to previous years.
- Primary sources – interviews with young voters (can be in print/electronic).
- Students will then once more divide into groups and identify the types of data they are hoping to find for their groups research question.
- Students will observe as librarian demonstrates how she will select potential sources for statistical information – i.e. the Statistical Abstract of the United States for Voting Data.
- Working in a group students will then conduct searches for the specific types of data related to their group research question.
- A group spokesperson with demonstrate results for class.
- Librarian/Professor lead discussion about those potential data sources and related searches.
Outcome Three: Students will run additional, successful, searches in additional resources for specific data they are seeking
- Students will search for specific types of resources they’ve identified after examining their individual research question, its variables and results of searches using subject terms/controlled vocabulary.
- Students will prepare an annotated bibliography of at least 10 sources.
- Sources will be cited in correct Chicago Manual of Style format (preferred format for history).
- Bibliography will be submitted to e-Learn drop box and reviewed/graded by professor and Librarian.
- As was the case with previous portions of this lesson, students will have the chance to use a variety of proprietary databases to access information. Those products have tools in place that can help people with different learning styles and particular learning difficulties. Some examples of those tools are spell check and auto-correct.
- Students may also use a variety of different multi-media resources to address their individual research questions. Some examples are digitized books, digital collections of primary sources, audio-visual recordings (such as televised broadcasts of presidential debates) .
- Students will have varied opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge, through both oral presentations during group work and class discussions and in written work through the annotated bibliography submitted to the Librarian/Professor.
YouTube
Students can use YouTube to find a variety of primary source documentation of the 2008 presidential election such as broadcasts of the presidential debates, interviews with the candidates and news broadcasts featuring voters and election workers.
Like YouTube, the Internet Archive can be a rich source of primary source material. In addition to providing the full-text of works in the public domain. the archive is also a rich source of audio visual materials and images and houses a host of material on the 2008 election.
This site, from the University of California at Santa Barbara, contains a wealth of primary source documents relating the American Presidency.
