Professor Roesner's Gateway: Sex, Disease, and Medicine in Medieval/Renaissance Europe
Why are you here?
As a direct result of this instructional session, you should notice some or all of the following side effects:
1) The development of faster, more effective search strategies leading to increased free time.
2) The ability to develop your topic and related search terms.
3) Alertness when you turn in this assignment because you weren't up half the night completeing your bibliography.
Developing Your Topic
Fill in the following to begin developing your topic.
Your topic:
Brainstorm and Develop Search Terms
List several things you already know about your topic:
List keywords related to what you already know: alternate words, synonyms, related terms:
Re-write your topic. Choose the most important words and/or phrases (3-5) that describe your topic’s main concepts:
Choose synonyms or related terms for each of your concepts:
| Concept 1 | Concept 2 | Concept 3 |
| 1. | 2. | 3. |
| Other Terms | Other Terms | Other Terms |
| a. | a. | a. |
| b. | b. | b. |
| c. | c. |
c. |
Thesis Formulation
Fill in the following to begin building a framework for your assignment:
| Example | Your Topic | |
| Broad Topic | Allergies | |
| Time | Middle Ages | |
| Place | Italy | |
| Person or Group | Medici Family | |
| Event or Aspect | Increase in sensitivity to mold | |
| Topic Question | How did the Medicis' allergic sensitity to mold increase during the Middle Ages in Italy? | |
| Your answer (Thesis) | The Medici's allergic sensitivity to mold increased during the Middle Ages for several reasons... |
Starting with Books
Using the library catalog to find research materials from the library homepage.
Next Stop: Journals via Databases
All of these databases are available from the library's homepage.
A-Z Database List Bread Crumbs: Library homepage > Databases A-Z in the far right column
General Databases
- Provides full-text to over 4,600 journals
- Can sort to limit to academic titles
- Keyword searching
- Full-text
- 1994 to present in the Arts, Humanities, Sciences, and Social Sciences
A General, Slightly More Advanced Database
- Full-text
- 1993 to present. Access to more than 100 journals.
Discipline Specific Databases, A Little More Advanced
Annotated Bibliographies
Purpose differs with the audience and/or assignment:
- Can help demonstrate the quality of your own research
- Provides additional information or background material for your reader
- Allows for the exploration of the topic for further reading or preparation for research
- Gives your research historical perspective or relevance
What to include:
- Complete Bibliographic Information
- Some or all of the following:
* Information to explain the authority and/or qualifications of the author
* Scope and main purpose of the work
* Any biases that you detect
* Intended audience and level of reading difficulty
* Significant relationship to other works
* A summary comment
Examples:
Hale, J.R., ed. A Concise Encyclopedia of the Italian Renaissance. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981.
This encyclopedia provides overviews of subjects specific to Renaissance Italy. Relevant sections will be consulted to provide background information for unfamiliar terms such as people or place names. The section on "Women, Status of" provides information regarding the entire life of a female including birth and motherhood.
Mussachio, Jacqueline Marie. The Art and Ritual of Childbirth in Renaissance Italy. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1999.
Based upon historical and artistic research, this book provides the cultural perspectives of childbirth as seen in objects of art. The historical narrative discusses the context for childbirth in Renaissance Italy, and the artwork provides visual commentary to relate the author's conclusions. The illustrations play a significant role in the book, and I hope to include a sample in my own paper.
Refworks
1) Free to use
2) Citation tracking for books, journal articles and all other sources
3) You can have as many accounts as you would like, or you can use folders
4) Off-campus access is possible using the Group Code: rwillwesu
To save information about books click on: References > Add New Reference
To save information about journal articles import the record using the "Get This" button or click on: References > Add New Reference
***WHEN USING MLA IWU FORMAT PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ENTER ALL OF THE REQUIRED INFORMATION INTO THE BOXES WITH GREEN CHECKMARKS FOR ARTICLES FROM DATABASES***
This is an example of the information required for a MLA citation using an article from an online database.
"Grabe, Mark. "Voluntary Use of Online Lecture Notes: Correlates of Note Use and Note Use as an Alternative to Class Attendance." Computers and Education 44 (2005): 409-21. ScienceDirect. Purdue U Lib., West Lafayette, IN. 28 May 2006 <http://www.sciencedirect.com/>."
-From the Purdue Online Writing Lab
For More Help
RefWorks bread crumbs: Library homepage > Technology > RefWorks - Research Organizer > RefWorks User Login
What to do when you're stuck
1. Look up books or articles included in the bibliography of an item your already have.
2. Search the online catalog or an article database to see if an author has written other relevant material. *Remember to check the IWU and I-Share online catalogs.
3. Browse the shelves that come just before or after a book that you like.
4. Look at the subjects listed for a relevant book or article and search one or more of those terms. *Note that many of them are hyper linked for easy access.
5. If your search is still too broad, try limiting it to academic and/or peer reviewed articles or items published during a certain time period.
6. Identify organizations related to your topic and look for recent news items, "about" information, and publications on their web site.
The CRAAP Test
When you search for information, you're going to find a lots of it. . . but is it accurate and reliable? You will have to determine this for yourself, and the CRAAP Test can help.The CRAAP Test is a list of questions to determine if the information you have is reliable. Please keep in mind that the following list is not static or complete. Different criteria will be more or less important depending on your situation or need. So, what are you waiting for? Is your web site credible and useful, or is it a bunch of . . .?!
Key: * indicates criteria is for Web only
Currency: The timeliness of the information.
- When was the information published or posted?
- Has the information been revised or updated?
- Is the information current or out-of date for your topic?
- Are the links functional? *
Relevance: The importance of the information for your needs.
- Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?
- Who is the intended audience?
- Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too elementary or advanced for your needs)?
- Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining this is one you will use?
- Would you be comfortable using this source for a research paper?
Authority: The source of the information.
- Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
- Are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given?
- What are the author's credentials or oganizational affiliations given?
- What are the author's qualifications to write on the topic?
- Is there contact information, such as a publisher or e-mail address?
- Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source?
examples: .com .edu .gov .org .net *
Accuracy: The reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the informational content.
- Where does the information come from?
- Is the information supported by evidence?
- Has the information been reviewed or refereed?
- Can you verify any of the information in another source or Does the language or tone seem biased and free of emotion?
- Are there spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?
Purpose: The reason the information exists.
- What is the purpose of the information? to inform? teach? sell? entertain? persuade?
- Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?
- Is the information fact? opinion? propaganda?
- Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?
- Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?
Adapted from Kristin Johnson, California State University -Chico
Primary v. Secondary Sources
Keep an eye out for both kinds, it makes your more interesting for those reading it!
Primary Sources
- Are original materials or data
- Is an original creation by an individual or a group
- May include novels, paintings, an autobiography, letters, a film, television show, performance, posters, a sculpture, accounts of a historical event by firsthand witnesses, official memoranda, short stories, plays, poems, photographs, court cases, journal articles, newspapers accounts of an event, and speeches.
Secondary Sources
- Analyze, interpret, or comment on the primary source
- Says something about the primary source or sources
- May include journal articles, books, encyclpodias, dictionaries, reviews, critical essays, and newspaper articles.
-Please note that portions of this presentation were in large part borrowed from a session on the same topic taught by Sarah George in 2006.