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Constructing Your Topic: Topic Development & Searching for Sources
- 1. Constructing Your Topic: TopicDevelopment & Searching for Sources Elizabeth McKeigue & Nicole Branch Santa Clara University LibraryImage courtesy of flickr user Wayne S. Grazio.
- 2. Objectives • Develop yourtopic into a research question • Locate and evaluate background research to explore your topic • Distinguish between scholarly sources and popular sources • Locate and evaluate scholarly sources • Properly cite your sources Image courtesy of flickr user Kirsten Pauli
- 3. Developing Your Topic Topic-- Question -- Significance Image courtesy of flickr user D. Robert Wolcheck
- 4. Choosing Your Topic •An interesting subject that came up in class • Something you are passionate about • A topic you would like to learn more about Image courtesy of flickr user Evelyn Flint
- 5. Warm up • Ingroups, discuss potential topics for your upcoming assignment • Select one that your group would like to focus on • Record the topic on the worksheet
- 6. Developing Your Topic Topic-- Question -- Significance
- 7.
- 8. Focus your topic •If you can state your topic in 2-3 words, it is too broad. • Narrow your topic by adding another dimension: Specific aspect of the topic Comparison of place Comparison of time
- 9. Julian of Norwichand… Mysticism Gendered conceptions of God Visions Atonement
- 10. Discussion • In groups,discuss your topic • Integrate another dimension to develop your topic. Specific aspect of the topic Comparison of place Comparison of time
- 11. Developing Your Topic Topic-- Question -- Significance
- 12. Question • Add aquestion such as how, why, or in what ways to your topic.
- 13. Examples What is Christianmysticism and how does Julian of Norwich relate to this? How did Julian of Norwich influence gendered conceptions of God? What role have visions played in Christian mysticism over time? How do Julian of Norwich’s conceptions of atonement differ from other conceptions of atonement?
- 14. Common Mistakes • Avoidquestions with one word answers or that cannot be answered within limits of the assignment. • Avoid questions that are too vague or cannot be answered with research. • Avoid speculation without evidence.
- 15. Question • How didJulian of Norwich influence gendered conceptions of God?
- 16. Writing Reflection • Inyour groups, transform your topic into a question. • Incorporate How Why In what ways
- 17. Developing Your Topic Topic-- Question -- Significance
- 18. Significance • So what? •I am studying…. So that….. • What do you want your audience to understand? • I am studying…. In order to help my audience understand…
- 19. Julian of Norwich& Conceptions of God We are studying Julian of Norwich’s conceptions of God and Jesus as mother Because we want to find out » how these conceptions have influenced gendered perspectives of God So that » our audience can understand how these perspectives influence the lives of Christians today.
- 20. Keep it Open Weare studying Julian of Norwich’s conceptions of God and Jesus as mother Because we want to find out » how these conceptions have influenced gendered perspectives of God So that » our audience can understand the ways in which these perspectives influence the lives of Christians today.
- 21. Reflection & Discussion Applysignificance to your question • We are studying ___________ because we want to find out ___________ in order to help our audience understand ______________.
- 22.
- 23. Identifying Keywords We arestudying Julian of Norwich’s conceptions of God and Jesus as mother Because we want to find out » how these conceptions have influenced gendered perspectives of God So that » our audience can understand how these perspectives influence the lives of Christians today.
- 24. Identifying Keywords We arestudying Julian of Norwich’s conceptions of God and Jesus as mother Because we want to find out » how these conceptions have influenced gendered perspectives of God So that » our audience can understand how these perspectives influence the lives of Christians today.
- 25. Finding Sources • ResearchGuides • Background Information • Article Databases
- 26. Scholarly vs. PopularArticles Do you know how to identify a scholarly article?
- 27. Scholarly vs. PopularArticles Answer the Poll Question on the In Class Activities tab
- 28. Characteristics of Scholarly Articles •words "Journal," "Transactions," "Proceedings," or "Quarterly,” in title • written for professors, students or researchers. Clear indication of authorship and affiliation/bio/scholarly credentials • articles are reviewed by a board of experts or "peer reviewed”
- 29. Characteristics of Scholarly Articles •follow a typical format: abstract, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion, with footnotes and bibliography • may include tables, graphs or illustrations to support research • very little advertising
- 30.
- 31. Activity • Go toone of the databases we showed you or choose another from the guide and search using your keywords – If you are using an article database, remember to structure your search and limit to scholarly journals and articles. Remember to use truncation. • Look for an article with strong relevance to your topic and this about what kind of source it is • Go to Worksheet 2 and answer questions 1, 2, and 3
- 32. Thank you toflickr users: Wayne S. Granzio Jeff Babbitt Evelyn Flint Kirsten Pauli & D. Robert Wolcheck for sharing their work through creative commons license. Questions?