230 likes | 351 Vues
This guide provides a comprehensive search strategy for conducting historical research on Linda Brown Thompson and her role in American education. Emphasizing the significance of the Brown v. Board of Education case, the resource outlines effective methods for keyword combination using Boolean operators, database navigation tips, and strategies for locating journal articles. Participants will learn various approaches to refine their research questions and explore significant historical events and figures related to desegregation and the Civil Rights Movement.
E N D
HIST 300: Search Strategy Tamara Smith, Reference Librarian Langsdale Library tsmith@ubalt.edu 410-837-5072
Plan for Today • Search Strategy • Historical Research • Getting Articles • Activity: Learn a Database • Wrap-up • 5-minute Evaluation (for library)
Traditional Search Strategy Research Question: Has integration resulted in a better education for blackchildren?
Search Statement IntegrationANDEducation IntegrationANDEducationANDChild* Desegregation ANDBlack*ANDStudent
Boolean Operators • AND: joins concepts/ideas together (both/all) • OR: combines synonyms or related terms (either/any)
Combining Keywords • Nesting: combine like terms in parentheses; used to combine synonyms • Truncation (*): special symbol used to represent missing letters; used in place of retyping an entire word
Combining Keywords (IntegrationOR Desegregation) AND (EducationORLearn*) AND (Black* ORNegro OR African-American)
Historical Research Research Topic: Write a biographical essay about Linda Brown Thompson and her place in American History.
Historical Research What we know: • American What we need to know: • Where in America? • Known for what? • When in history?
Historical Research Where to start? • Textbook • Encyclopedia • Wikipedia • Search engine • Database
Historical Research Linda Brown Thompson • Born 1943 • Grew up in Topeka, Kansas • Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Historical Research Not finding what you want? Get creative! +
Historical Research Keywords • Names • Linda Brown Thompson • Oliver Brown (father) • Cheryl Brown Henderson (sister) • Places • Topeka • Kansas • United States
Historical Research Keywords • Events • Brown v. Board of Education (1954) • Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) • Topics • Segregation/desegregation • Civil Rights Movement • Jim Crow or “black code” • Racism
Finding Journal Articles Subject-Specific Databases: • America: History and Life • Humanities International Complete • JSTOR (full text access for part of the database)
Finding Journal Articles General Databases: • Academic Search Premier • Historical Newspapers • Lexis-Nexis Academic
Getting to the Full Text Do we own it? • Find It button • Journal Finder If we don’t own it, use ILL
Wrap-Up • If your topic is too broad, add another concept (AND) • If your topic is too narrow, add synonyms and related terms (OR) • When doing historical research, be creative (related people, topics, places, etc.) • Different databases = different results (try more than one)
Thank You! Reference Help: Phone: 410-837-4274 E-mail: langref@ubalt.edu IM: ublangsdale HIST 300 Course Page: http://langsdale.ubalt.edu/howto/course_websites/fa08/hist300_nix.htm
Photo Credits Young Linda Brown: http://www.policyalmanac.org/culture/archive/7174761-140.jpg (accessed 9/10/08) Cheryl Brown Henderson & Linda Brown Thompson: http://www.canisius.edu/images/userImages/chuckp/Page_5311/browns_300.jpe (accessed 9/10/08)