Dr. Aldo Lauria-Santiago
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PURPOSE AND SCOPE:
This course is an introduction to
research methods for students in the humanities. Thesis writers, students
interested in independent research projects or graduate school will benefit
from the exercises and lessons covered in this course. Students will choose
their own questions or problems and apply to them the objectives and exercises
outlined here. The course will require meticulous and time-consuming attention
to detail, but will allow students a break from the more traditional thematic
structure of courses and paper-writing at Holy Cross. At least two of our
class meetings will be on-site visits to libraries and archives, and it
might be necessary during the term to add one or two additional sessions
to discuss the reports. I will provide introductions to the week's materials
and guide you through the search process. This course will not only make
you a more efficient researcher, cutting your search time in half, but
also bring to your attention the many and complex sources of materials
that undergraduates often are not aware of and fail to use in their research
projects. A good portion of the course will be dedicating to learning
how to take advantage of electronic resources.
Class times will often be divided into two halves: a presentation of the week's materials and challenges and then a work session in students might separate to carry out individual work or present and discuss their own work.
DETERMINATION OF GRADE AND REQUIREMENTS:
Half your grade will be determined
by your participation and attendance. Attendance is crucial in a once-a-week
format research seminar format.
The other half of your grade will be based on the weekly (approximately 12) projects and exercises. These will vary in weight according to the difficulty and time involved. The final requirement for this course is a draft of your research paper that reflects the course's lessons, and final drafts of some of the reports assigned and revised during the term.
It is important for students to remain in contact with me about their projects and consult with me individually throughout the term.
Every week you must check the web site for updates and information on assignments.
Students will submit their work via email attachment and/or hardcopy but also post all work to the course's network drive (K: drive)
Students must:
- Thomas Mann. The Oxford Guide to Library Research. Oxford Univ Pr.
- Kate L. Turabian. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. 6th Rev edition (March 1996). Univ of Chicago Pr.
- Anthony Brundage. Going to the Sources: A Guide to Historical Research and Writing. 2nd edition (June 1997). Harlan Davidson.
- Norman J. Wilson. History in Crisis? Recent Directions in Historiography. 1998. Prentice Hall.
- Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb (Contributor), Joseph M. Williams, William C. Booth. The Craft of Research : From Planning to Reporting. Univ of Chicago Pr.
- M. J. Lewis, Roger Lloyd-Jones. Using Computers in History: A Practical Guide. 1996. Routledge.
- Ernest Ackermann and Karen Hartman. Searching & Researching on the Internet & the World Wide Web. Second Edition. Franklin, Beedle and Associates.
COURSE SCHEDULE:
Week 1: [Sept 4] Historiography, Controversy and Sources
Reading:
Week 2: [Sept 11] Organizing
the research enterprise, formulating a proposal and a research plan
Reading:
Exercise:
Week 3: [Sept 18] PC Software
and Web Research--PC Lab
Exercise:
Week 4:
[Sept 25] Bibliographic Research--PC Lab
Exercise:
This session will be dedicated to
online searching for reference, secondary, and primary materials through
online methods. Students will write a report on the process and their findings.
This research and its continuation during the semester will result in a
working bibliography that has to be updated weekly on the K Drive and a
careful examination of the arguments and sources discussed in selected
secondary sources on their research question.
Week 5: [Oct 2] Reference Materials
for Research in History--Dinand Library
Exercise:
Week 6: [Oct 16] Journals and
Journal Indices--Dinand Library
Exercise:
Week 7:
[Oct 23] Newspapers and Specialized Research Tools
Reading:Relevant sections of MANN; review of other readings
Exercise:
Students will examine the various reference sources for the use of US and foreign newspapers including print and digital indeces. They will identify one newspaper useful to their project, one local newspaper and foreign newspaper. They will examine whatever papers are available at Holy Cross or have been made available through inter-library loan.
Week 8: [Oct 30] Primary Documents
Search--PC Lab
Exercise:
Students will research primary sources through three means: examining research guides and other reference materials for accessing documents, identifying specific document collections for their projects, and carrying out some exercise questions.
Week 9: [Nov 6] Field Trip
to Widener Library, Harvard University
Exercise:
Week 10: [Nov 13] Visit to
Holy Coss Archive
Exercise:Complete research into primary sources for your project.
Week 11: [Nov
20] Writing, formatting and organizing the research paper--PC Lab
Exercise:
Week 13: [Nov 27] The use of primary and secondary Sources in the Research Paper--PC LabBring detailed outline of research project and list of problems pending, and initial draft of paper. Bring in old research papers from previous courses.
Exercise:
Week 14: [Dec 4] Use of Statistics
in History--My office
Exercise: