Understanding Research Sources: Scholarly vs. Popular, Primary vs. Secondary, and Mapping Resources
This guide provides an overview of essential research strategies, specifically differentiating between scholarly and popular sources, as well as primary and secondary sources. It emphasizes the importance of using maps as contextual tools for research. Users will learn how to refine search strategies to improve results, the differences in article types, and effective use of databases. Additionally, the guide touches on key research resources available at the Langsdale Library and strategies for accessing full texts and additional information through interlibrary loans and journal finders.
Understanding Research Sources: Scholarly vs. Popular, Primary vs. Secondary, and Mapping Resources
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Presentation Transcript
HIST 300: Maps Tamara Smith, Reference Librarian Langsdale Library tsmith@ubalt.edu 410-837-5072
Plan for Today • Review: Search Strategy • Scholarly vs. Popular • Primary vs. Secondary • Maps • Wrap-up
Review: Search Strategy • If your topic is too broad, add another concept (AND) • If your topic is too narrow, add synonyms and related terms (OR) • Different databases = different results (try more than one) • Scholarly vs. popular articles
Getting to the Full Text Do we own it? • Find It button • Journal Finder If we don’t own it, use ILL
Scholarly vs. Popular Scholarly • Quarterly, bi-monthly, semi-annual • Empirical studies/research articles • Longer articles • Written by scholars or researchers • Signed (contact info included) • Writing style is academic & technical (jargon) • Includes references/bibliography/footnotes
Scholarly vs. Popular Popular • Monthly, bi-weekly, weekly, daily • News & current events on a topic • Shorter articles • Written by journalists or freelance writers • May not be signed • Writing at high-school level or lower • Rarely includes references or notes
Scholarly vs. Popular • For college and professional research, scholarly preferred (or required) • Scholarly sources good for research, case studies, and reviews of works (books, articles, etc.) in a particular field • Popular sources good for cultural references, current events, and interviews
Primary vs. Secondary Primary Sources Original accounts or records of historical events • Diaries, journals, speeches, interviews, letters • Memoirs and autobiographies • Original documents (e.g. family Bible records) • Photographs, documentaries, sound recordings • Newspaper, magazine and journal articles and books written at the time about a particular event
Primary vs. Secondary Secondary Sources Written later and/or provide historical analysis • Textbooks • Reference sources • Other books and articles
Primary vs. Secondary • Photos, letters, and other original documents are considered primary even if they are reproduced in a book or other source (they are still artifacts) • When in doubt, ask professor or librarian
Primary or Secondary? Dr. Nix witnesses a fire and gives an interview about it in the Baltimore Sun Primary (fire) Reporter writes a book about Baltimore fires that mentions Dr. Nix Secondary (fire, Dr. Nix) Dr. Nix writes a book about Baltimore fires Primary (Dr. Nix’s writings) or Secondary (fire, Baltimore)
Maps: Intro • Maps – a 2-D representation of an area; navigational aid • Atlas – bound or loose-leaf collection of maps; includes place name index (historical, property, general, etc.) • Gazetteers – indexes of place names in alphabetical order; includes geographical coordinates, and sometimes information on the origin of the place name
Why Maps? • Use maps to give context to your research • Neighborhood • Thematic (income, race, language, etc.) • Historic (map from time being studied) • Use overlays to illustrate change in an area • SnagIt (http://www.techsmith.com/screen-capture.asp?CMP=KgoogleStmhome) • Gadwin ScreenCapture (http://www.gadwin.com/printscreen/) • Adobe Photoshop (http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/family) • MS Paint
Example: UB Then & Now • Digital Sanborn Maps (Pro Quest) • Pratt database • Originals in Library of Congress • Fire insurance maps (water lines, building material, etc.) • Maryland maps first drawn in 1914; updated in 1952 • Very popular maps
Example: UB Then & Now Pro Quest Digital Sanborn Maps (1952), vol. 2, plate 196
Example: UB Then & Now Pro Quest Digital Sanborn Maps (1952), vol. 2, plate 196
Atlases at Langsdale • ADC Street Maps • An Atlas of Poverty in America: One Nation, Pulling Apart, 1960-2003 • The Historical Atlas of American Crime • National Atlas of the United States of America • New Historical Atlas of Religion in America
Maps Online • Digital Sanborn Maps – Maryland (ProQuest) • Available at Pratt; need to register barcode • Social Explorer • Free Census population maps 1940-2000 • American Map Collections • Part of LC American Memory Project
Wrap-Up • Scholarly vs. popular: depends on purpose of research, but scholarly usually preferred/required • Primary vs. secondary: some sources can be both • Maps give context to your research • When in doubt, ask professor or librarian
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/fa07/hist300_nix.htm
