Primary source analysis and annotated secondary source

There are four part of this assignment!!! And a worksheet!

It will consist of two versions of a research question, two 300-word primary source analyses (the primary source from assignment 1 and a primary source you have found using one of the following databases: ProQuest News and Newspapers, Women’s Magazine Archive, or Maclean’s Magazine Archive, all available through the library website), and two 250-word summaries of a peer reviewed, secondary source.

Objectives

The aim is for you to develop your critical thinking and research skills by a) continuing to develop a good historical research question based on historical evidence; b) finding, analyzing, and interpreting primary sources that can give you insight into your question; and c) finding a relevant, high quality secondary source that can give you further historical insight into your question. You will also develop your reading comprehension and synthesis skills by writing brief, high quality summaries/analyses of your primary and secondary sources.

Instructions

Part I: Restate your research question

In this section, you should reproduce your research question from Assignment 1, Part II. Please also include the name of your chosen document group.

Part II: Finding and analysing primary sources

In this section, you will use the primary source analysis skills that you explored in assignment 1 and in tutorial.

Following the guidelines in the Finding Primary Sources document (in files), find a newspaper or magazine article that, together with the advertisement you chose for Assignment 1, will help you answer your research question.

Conduct an initial analysis of your second primary source (i.e. the newspaper or magazine article), using the Primary Source Analysis Worksheet for assignment 2 available on Avenue.

Provide BIBLIOGRAPHIC citations for both your primary sources (original primary source from assignment 1 and the new one), according to the Chicago Manual of Style. Here is a model:

Zenith Radio Corporation. “A Station a Second.” Chicago Tribune, 1928. Ad*Access On-Line Project – Ad # R0556. John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History, Duke University David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/adaccess/.

Write a 300-word analysis for the ad (from assignment #1). Your analysis should identify the brand and product, publication date and location (e.g., the newspaper or magazine where the ad was published), and probable audience for the ad. It should also address the following questions:

What was the historical, social, and/or cultural context for the ad?

What purpose did the ad serve, and what points of view did it convey? How did it convey these goals and ideas through imagery, text, and tone?

How can the source help you answer your research question? What is its significance?

You may draw on your secondary sources to address questions of context or significance. If you directly reference your secondary sources (or course readings), then you should use a proper Chicago Style footnote or endnote to indicate this. (These citations will not count toward your word count.)

Write a 300-word analysis for the article (i.e. the newspaper or magazine article). Your analysis should identify the author, publication date and location (e.g., the newspaper or magazine where it was published), and probable audience for the article. It should also address the following questions:

What was the historical, social, and/or cultural context for the article?

What purpose did the article serve, and what points of view did it convey? How did it convey these goals and ideas through text, tone, and (if applicable) imagery?

How can the source help you answer your research question? What is its significance?

You may draw on your secondary source to address questions of context or significance. If you directly reference your secondary sources (or course readings), then you should use a proper Chicago Style footnote or endnote to indicate this—or a Chicago Style in-text citation. (These citations will not count toward your word count.)

Part III: Finding relevant peer-reviewed secondary sources

In this section, you will use the secondary source research skills we explored in lecture and tutorial.

1. Following the guidelines in the Finding Peer-Reviewed Secondary Sources document (on Avenue), find TWO secondary sources (e.g. academic journal article or book chapter) that, together with your two primary sources, will help you answer your research question.
2. Provide BIBLIOGRAPHIC citations for your sources, according to the Chicago Manual of Style.
3. Read the article or book chapter, not just the abstract or whatever pages you can find online. Write a 250-word summary of each secondary source. Copying or paraphrasing the existing abstract is not acceptable. The summary should indicate the scope and topic of the article/book chapter, its sources and methodologies, and its main arguments. It should also briefly indicate how the article/book chapter relates to your historical research question. Your summary should mostly be in your own words and make sparing use of direct quotations from the article (aim for 40 or fewer words of direct quotation).
4. Any direct quotation of 3 or more words should be indicated with quotation marks. If you quote a sentence or phrase(s) but change or leave out a word or two, you should indicate what you have done in the following manner:

“Between 1948 and 1955, television was installed in nearly two-thirds of the nation’s homes, and the basic mechanisms the network oligopoly were set in motion” (Spigel 1992, 1).

becomes

“Between 1948 and 1955, television was installed in nearly two-thirds of [U.S.] homes, and… the network oligopoly w[as] set in motion” (Spigel 1992, 1).

Failing to accurately indicate direct quotations is a form of academic dishonesty.

Part IV: Restate or revise your research question

1. Reflect upon what you have learned from the two primary sources (i.e. the advertise and the newspaper and/or magazine article) that you found and analyzed, as well as the secondary source that you found, read, and summarized.
2. Has what you learned changed your thinking about your question? If so, revise it to reflect the change in your thinking. If not, restate your question.
3. In 1-3 sentences (60–100 words), explain your decision to revise or restate your research question.

Hints85

1. One of the biggest challenges of this assignment for many students will be staying within the word count. Don’t go over: not only will you lose points, but you will lose a crucial opportunity to hone your prose and focus upon the most salient points in the analysis.
2. Give yourself plenty of time to find, examine, and think about your sources.
3. Analyze your second primary source (i.e. newspaper or magazine article) using the relevant worksheet, and then put it away for a day or so. When you come back to the worksheet and begin to outline and write up your analysis, you will have a fresh perspective and some critical distance, which will help you in identifying the most salient themes.
4. Keep in mind that your research question should help you focus your primary source analysis.
5. Writing an excellent analysis takes time, especially given the 300-word limit. If you have conducted a thorough examination of your primary source, you will probably have plenty you want to say. Carefully outlining your analysis, thinking about your research question, and then giving yourself plenty of time to revise and cut will help you stay within the word count.
6. Writing an excellent summary takes time (i.e. secondary academic sources) You will need to read your sources carefully and take notes. Part of what takes the time is that you are not just assembling a series of quotations but that you are paraphrasing the author’s arguments. Paraphrasing involves summary, interpretation, and clarification. It demonstrates more advanced critical reading and thinking skills than does simply assembling a series of quotations.
7. When taking notes, be careful to keep track of what is a direct quotation and what you are putting in your own words. This will mean that you will be accurate in your use of quotation marks when you paraphrase.
8. Read your analyses and summary aloud to yourself. This is a good way to catch silly mistakes and infelicitous turns of phrase.