Assignments

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There are a variety of assignments in for this class: short exercises that focus on searching databases; a group transcription and annotation assignment; a short paper reviewing book reviews; and a choice of a final assignment.

Mini-Exercises

Most of these mini-exercises should not take much time and some can be done during the class period. Each exercise is worth 2 points.

• Information Gateway due Jan. 8
• UW Libraries Catalog 1 due Jan. 24
• UW Libraries Catalog 2 due Jan. 24
• UW Libraries Catalog 3 due Jan. 24
• Search Strategy 1 due Jan. 29
• Search Strategy 2 due Jan. 29
• Search Strategy 3 due Feb. 5
• AHCI due Feb. 5
• Web site evaluation due Feb. 28
• H-Net Review due Mar. 2

Primary Source Transcription and Annotation - Due Jan 10 and Jan. 17

• Prepare a precise and accurate transcript of the document -- reproduce misspellings, line-throughs, etc. For help in deciphering the handwriting see Deciphering Old Handwriting. Transcription due in class Jan. 10
• Using reference books, the web and other library resources identify the people, places and obscure references mentioned in the letter. Briefly answer each question and list the source you used to find the answer. Annotations (one per group) due Jan. 17 in class.

Annotation questions
Annotation answers
Encyclopedias

Letter: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4

Review of Reviews - Due Feb. 5

Choose one of the books used in your history course. [Note: this assignment works best with books written by one person (not an edited work) and published by major university presses between 1985 - 1998.] If you are not taking a history course or if none of your readings fit the criteria (if you are unsure check with Nancy or Theresa), choose a book listed below which are on Reserve in Odegaard Undergraduate Library.

Faust, Drew Gilpin. Mothers of Invention: : women of the slaveholding South in the American Civil War
McPherson, James M. Battle cry of freedom : the Civil War era
Fox-Genovese, Elizabeth, Within the plantation household: Black and White women of the Old South
Reid, Mitchell, The vacant chair: the Northern soldier leaves home
Kolchin, Peter, Unfree labor: American slavery and Russian serfdom

See Example for an illustration of this assignment.

Your review should be between 3-4 pages and answer the questions below. Also include copies of the 3 book reviews you've annotated. [If you cannot find 3 book reviews published in scholarly journals you will need to change books.]

• Provide the full citation for the book following the Turabian/Chicago style format

• What is the book about? Provide a brief summary of the book (2-3 paragraphs, look at the introduction and conclusion, table of contents, types of sources used -- there is no need to read the entire book)

• Who is the author?
  • current affiliation -- where does the author work (you might be able to glean this from the book or check the National Faculty Directory [Suzzallo Reference, behind the desk L901 N34] or search the web)
  • try to find if, and from where, the author graduated and the dissertation title (check Dissertation Abstracts - for those authors you suspect may be British, check the Index to Theses...)
  • other works written - include the titles of a few books and articles (use complete citations using the Turabian/Chicago format). Is the author an "expert" on the topic, i.e., does he/she write extensively on the subject? Does the author review books on related topics? (check the UW Libraries Catalog, America History & Life, Expanded Academic Index)

• How the book was received?
  • Find and read 3 book reviews published in scholarly journals. Use the following databases to identify book reviews:
    • America History & Life
    • Expanded Academic Index
    • Arts and Humanities Citation Index
    • Research Library
  • To determine if the review is from a scholarly journal (this may be evident by looking at the journal), search Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory. Ulrich's contains information about journals and magazines.
  • Provide a complete citation to each book review following Turabian/Chicago style format and a 1-2 paragraph annotation for each review -- what sort of comments were made, was it favorably received, etc.
  • Has the book won any awards?
  • Is the book now part of the historical conversation on the topic? How often has it been cited (do not include book reviews) in the last few years? Give examples of some of the articles which have cited the book. Are these articles covering similar topics? (check Arts and Humanities Citation Index [part of the Web of Science] (If you are working on a social science type book, use the Social Sciences Citation Index)

• Concluding paragraph(s) summing up the impact of the book.

Final Assignment
This assignment is due on Monday, March 12. Online submissions will be taken until 11:59 pm on the 12th (these can include email attachments or urls); printed submissions must be turned into the Suzzallo reference desk on the ground floor by 9:00 pm on the 12th.

You have a choice of final assignments. Choose one of the following options. Please let Nancy and Theresa know by March 2 which option you've chosen.

• Choice A - if you are writing a research paper for a history class
  For your final assignment we will be looking at the research paper you produced for your history course and an accompaning short research essay addressing your research experience.
  • Turn in a copy of the research paper used in your history class. We will grade your paper for this class based on the quality and quantity of resources you used, citation format, and how you incorporated research into your paper.
  • Turn in a thoughtful 3-4 page essay discussing your research experience. Some of the points you should address include:
    • What was your research topic? What questions were you trying to answer? How did your topic evolve over the course of researching and writing your paper?
    • What databases were the most helpful for finding material on your topic.
    • What sorts of material were the most useful for your topic?
    • What search terms worked best (include official subject headings as well as keywords, personal names, etc.)
    • Did your secondary sources help in finding primary sources? Give examples.
    • Summary of what you found -- anything particularly interesting or valuable.
    • How would you characterize the UW Libraries collection in regard to your topic? Sufficient material? Sufficient secondary but insufficient primary sources? Great collection? Need to get more resources?
    • How would you characterize resources you found on the web? Give examples.
    • How would you characterize your research experience with this paper vis a vis previous research papers?
    • Did the INFO220 class contributed to your work for the history class? In what ways?

• Choice B - if you are not writing a research paper for a history class or prefer not to do Choice A

  For your final assignment imagine that you are teaching 9th grade students working on History Day (for information on History Day, see National History Day). You will be bringing your class to the UW for research.

  You can either create a general guide for American history research at the UW Libraries or you can create a guide for a specific topic -- choose one of the sample topics suggested by History Day.

  Your research guide can either be:

  • A 3-4 page written guide -- a handout that you'd give your students prior to their visit here
  • A guide in the form of a web site
  • A guide in the form of PowerPoint slides (which have been placed on the web for viewing)

  Regardless of format your guide should explain the following concepts:

  • How to come up with a workable topic.
  • What is a catalog, what does it contain, and when/why a student would use it?
  • What is an index, what does it contain, and when/why a student would use it?
  • How to develop a effective search statement. Include explanations of Boolean operators and truncation and why one would use them in a search statement.
  • What is a secondary source?
  • What is a primary source? Give examples of the different types of primary sources. How do you find primary sources in the UW Libraries?

  Also include the following elements:

  • A general introduction to the UW Libraries.
  • List and describe the best 3 to 5 databases that students should use for their research.
  • List and describe 3 to 5 web sites that are particularly useful for American history (or for your specific topic if you've chosen to work on one of the History Day sample topics).

  Remember your guide should be written for a middle school audience, a novice researcher. It should be succinct, logical, fairly sequential and include examples (i.e., don't just explain what a truncation symbol is but provide examples of what a truncation symbol does).

  Sample Outline

Illustration: "Dumfries, Virginia from a Sketch by Mr. A.R. Waud." Harper's Weekly, 29 August 1863. Courtesy of Civil War Images of Northern Virginia, George Mason University.