Description: The purpose of this assignment is to introduce students to the preliminary steps of historical research. Students will prepare a proposal for a hypothetical research paper, including a description of the topic and a preliminary bibliography that uses a variety of research tools. There are thus two parts to the project: development of a strong research question, and building a bibliography with which to answer that question.
Students are to turn in a two-to-three-page report on their work. These are to include a paragraph of background information to create the context for the research question, a paragraph which states the question to be pursued and the approach to be taken, and a paragraph which indicates what resources the student used to build a bibliography. In addition to these three paragraphs, the report must include a preliminary bibliography of at least fifteen items, including both primary and secondary sources. All items on the bibliography must be in a language the student is able to read.
You do not need to read all of the items on your list; the assignment is to prepare a list of prospective works to read if you were to actual carry out your proposed project. However, you should read enough in reference and introductory works to be able to select the most appropriate possible items for your bibliography. You will be assessed in part on the quality of your list and not simply the quantity.
The report must be double-spaced (except for the bibliographic entries, which should be single-spaced with an empty line between each), in 12-point Times font with one-inch margins. Pages should be numbered and stapled. A cover page is unnecessary.
The “Scavenger Hunt” List:
To achieve the highest possible grade, students’ preliminary bibliographies should include the following. Note that some items can fulfill more than one of these categories (for instance, the online resource will be, by nature, either a primary or a secondary source):
At least fifteen items altogether.
At least three primary sources.
Note: some projects may be on topics which cannot be approached through textual sources. Examples would be studies of art or architecture. In this case, evidence on the original physical objects themselves may be counted as primary sources. This may include images or plans of the objects and buildings, or original archeological dig reports (but not subsequent scholarship which interprets the dig findings, which is a secondary source). Include a comment in your third paragraph explaining the decision to use such resources.
At least six secondary sources.
At least one online resource.
At least three monographs other than surveys of the civilization or period under study. A monograph is a work of scholarship in print form on a single topic by a single author. Primary sources and collections of essays may not be counted as monographs.
At least three scholarly articles, from journals or anthologies/festschriften.
At least one text which is not available at SNHU, with indication of where it is located and how the student would access it.
At least six items which were found through a print resource rather than an electronic one. Examples would be printed indexes, bibliographies, encyclopedias, or the bibliographies of other works found. In other words, you must demonstrate that you used printed bibliographies, indexes, or other resources to find materials and not simply internet resources, databases or the library catalog. Mark items found in this way with an asterisk at the beginning of their entry.
