INTRODUCINGRESEARCH

Elaine Fleming'sEnglish 102Spring 2009

Start with a Broad Topic

The assigned general topic: Food, Globalization, and the “Locavore” local food movement.

Pick a Focus

Globalization & Eating Locally

Business/ Economic

Issues

Cultural Implications

Health/ScienceImpacts

Narrow Your Focus• Business/Economic Issues

– Fair Trade and Developing Economies– Farmers Markets and Local Economies– Financial Cost of Negative Climate/Health Impacts

• Cultural/Humanistic Implications– The Loss of Regional Cultural Uniqueness– Shared Cultural Understanding through Food

• Health/Science Impacts– People

• Mass-Produced Foods and Hunger Alleviation• Mass-Produced Foods and Obesity• Traditional Indigenous Foods & Health

– Climate• Carbon Footprints and Global Warming• Pros and Cons of Eating Locally

Example: Narrowing the Topic

Food Globalizatio

n

Pros & Cons

Before You Search…

• Do you have a specific or well-developed question, idea, or thesis-statement?…OR…

• Do you have a vague or very general idea of what you want to research?

General Idea

• EXAMPLE:“I think I want to do something about Coca Cola and how it’s an example of globalism and what its effects are on communities.”

• Pick out the main concepts.• If it helps in your pre-research stage,

write a possible thesis statement.

Thesis Statement: The Point

• Sums up your paper.• Gives the reader a brief overview of

what you hope to tell them.• You can start out with one thesis

statement in the prewriting or research stage and end up with a totally different one in your final paper.

Example: Thesis Statement

• If you want to do a paper on how Coca Cola may be contributing to global health problems, you can write a thesis statement like:

• Coca Cola contributes to unhealthiness through globalism, including in Indigenous communities.

Example: Thesis Statement• Find possible search terms by isolating

specific concepts• Coca Cola contributes to

unhealthiness through globalism, including in Indigenous communities.

• Possible Search Terms:– Coca Cola– Unhealthiness– Globalism– Indigenous communities

Where to Find Information• Print Materials– Books– Magazines– Newspapers– Encyclopedias

• Electronic Resources– Databases– Websites

• Human Resources– Experts– Researchers

Library Resources

• LLTC Library– http://www.northstarca

talog.org/common/welcome.jsp?site=100&context=leechcollege

• KRLS Public Library System– http://kitchicat.krls.org

• BSU A. C. Clarke Library– Reciprocal usage

agreement– http://bsu.mnpals.net

Print Resources: Books

• May be specifically on topic:– Richard Wilk’s Fast Food/Slow Food: The

Cultural Economy of the Global Food System (available at BSU)

• May be tangentially-related to topic:– The Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook: Local

Food, Local Restaurants, Local Recipes (available through KRLS)

• Check the table of contents (front of the book) and the index (back of the book)!

Print Resources: Articles

• Search newspapers, magazines, journals

• Articles searchable online:– Electronic databases

available through LLTC

– Newspapers available in print and online

– Google Scholar

Electronic Resources: Articles

• Electronic databases available through LLTC– EBSCO– ProQuest Newspapers– INFOTRAC

• News sources available online:– CNN, MSNBC– National Public Radio– Newspapers (

Anishinaabeg Today, Bemidji Pioneer, Star Tribune)

• Google Scholar– http://scholar.google.com

Things to Keep in Mind

• Some personal web pages may contain biased or incorrect information.

• Wikipedia is not a good academic research source, because anyone can change or edit the articles, making it unreliable. Use it as a starting point but double-check with trustworthy sources.

More Things to Keep in Mind

• Evaluate sources on their:– Accuracy• Does the source contain errors or mistakes

or non-factual information?

– Authority• Was the author a credible expert? Was the

webpage from an official organization?

– Currency• When was the information source created

or last updated?

People Are Resources, Too!Ask questions and interview experts:• Cass Lake Farmers Market• Dennis Montgomery (LLTC instructor)• Harmony Co-Op in Bemidji• Headwaters Food Sovereignty Council• Leech Lake Nutrition Services• North Country Farmers Market• Gardeners and growers who purposefully

choose to sell or to eat locally-harvested meats and produce

If You Have Any Questions:

• About the assignment itself, contact your instructor Elaine.

• About research and resources, ask– Elaine– Your library staff