Doing the Research Gathering Evidence for a PPA Project

Kathryn FrechSeton Catholic Central H.S.

kfrech@syrdiocese.org

Problem – Evidence – Causes Policy – Alternatives - Solution

Review – The PPA Steps

The PPA Steps http://www2.maxwell.syr.edu/ plegal/ tips/ppaqe.html

Evidence Causes

PPA Step 2

Gather the Evidence

Worksheet 2 http://www2.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet2.doc

“Present evidence that a problem exists.

Be as specific as possible and cite at least

one source of data”

PPA Step 3

Identify the Causes

Worksheet 3 http://www2.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/TIPS/worksheet3.doc

“Briefly list several underlying factors that contribute to the problem that you have identified (support these factors with evidence)“

Evidence Gathering

Find Your Sources Locate books, articles, etc.

Evaluate the Information Is it something you can use?

Finding Sources Books

(library circulating and reference books)

Periodicals (magazines, newspapers, journals)

Online(personal webpages, corporate sites, news

organizations, nonprofit groups …)

Other(tv shows, movies, letters, interviews …)

Finding Sources – The Search Process

Key words/ideas to look for – what terms define your project?

Range of information general/background (encyclopedia,

news segment, overview article) specific (books, in-depth articles,

company/government reports …)

Finding Sources – Search Techniques

Knowing where to look Choose the Best Search for Your Information Nee

d(http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/ information/5locate/adviceengine.html)

Search tricks and tips Boolean terms (AND/OR/NOT) Phrase search (“find in quotes”) Advanced Search (example: Google Adv. Search:

http://www.google.com/advanced_search)

Web Search Strategies in Plain English from The Common Craft Show (http://www.commoncraft.com/)

Finding Sources – Search Engines

The Big 3 Bing – Google – Yahoo

Clustering Search Engines Carrot2 – Kosmix – Yippy

Picture/Video Search Engines Behold – Blinkx – Google

[image source: http://www.openclipart.org/detail/24012]

Finding Sources – Search Engines and

More

Specialized or Reference Search Infomine – Refseek – SweetSearch

Databases free (in NY) : NOVEL NY – New York Public Library school subscription: FirstSearch – Newsbank

Subject-Specific Websites NASA – National Archives – USA.gov

Evaluating Information

Look for Authority

Objectivity

Reliability

Pertinence

Evaluating Information – Authority

WHO wrote it? Organization? Expertise? Associations?

Examples (discuss ) : 3rd grade class? Museum? Business? Newspaper? College Professor? Government Agency? Lone Hobbyist?

[image source: http://freegraphicsart.com/1094-feather-pen]

Evaluating Information – Objectivility

Point of View Biased or Objective?

Biased POV Selling product or viewpoint?

Objective POV Dispassionate? Looks at all sides? Offers sources for further research?

[image source: http://www.pdclipart.org/displayimage.php?pid=17519&fullsize=1]

Evaluating Information – Reliability

Data What does the information say?

Source What is it based on (study, experiment,

survey, compilation)?

References/Citations Where is it from? Did the authors do their

own work or are they using data from somewhere else? If so, what source?

Evaluating Information – Pertinence

The Best Information Is Useless to Your Project if it Doesn’t Actually Apply to Your Problem (Policy Issue)

REM:Where Do the Puzzle Pieces Fit?Don’t Try to Put Steak in Fish Stew.

NOTE-TAKING REVIEW

Each source - bibliography worksheet.

Each idea - separate note/section.

Each idea - summarize in own words.

Each printout, document file, cut-and-paste - highlight and write summaries/notes.

Each note - source info. Have exact page/url as well as book or main website.

Overviews and complex ideas – outline and notes.

Online Notes

Bookmark/Webclips online (sites) Delicious, Diigo, Historio.us

Bookmark/Webclip programs Evernote, QuotePad, Zotero

General online notes Google Docs, Thinkfree, Ubernote

Citation Elements

WHO ? WHAT ?

WHERE ? WHEN ?

Works Cited

book: Author. Title. Place: Publisher, Date.

offline article: Author. “Article Title.” Magazine Date, pages.

online article: as above, plus Online Site. Online Publisher. Date Accessed

<url>.

website: Author, “Article title.” Website. Site editor. Version number(s). Date Published or Updated. Publisher. Date accessed. Location or <url>.

Writing Your Citations

Proper Format (MLA Style)

Research Paper Handbook Available in Library Available on school network in drive S: Shared Files

Putting It Together Now that you have the information, go

back to Steps 2 and 3 of the PPA.

Look at your worksheets -- Do you have ENOUGH information? No or Not Sure: Find some more data. Be

sure to check as you go along to see how it all fits together.

Yes: Great! Now go put it together! You’ll see as you go along if you need to fill in anywhere.

Continuing On You’ve found and evaluated sources of for

your Public Policy Analysis.

You taken notes from your sources and made sure to have the proper information for your citations and bibliography.

Having completed Steps 2 and 3(*), you are ready to go on to Step 4 of the PPA. Keeping the information you’ve already found in mind, fill in some tentative answers (or questions!) to bring to class the next time we meet.

*check your assignment sheet for deadlines

Happy Researching!