Throughout your research, it will be important to keep track of your sources and to do some exploration on the source of the information provided.
Step 1. Begin your research by creating a complete list of search terms you will use to find information on your topic. List these terms below:
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Step 2. In order to provide a foundation for your research, find one or two general encyclopedia articles on your topic. Take detailed notes and create a list of names and terms you will use to dig deeper.
Use this citation format from the MLA for keeping track of the encyclopedia articles used:
Encyclopedia in book form
"Title of article." Name of encyclopedia. Edition. Year published.
Online Encyclopedia
"Title of article." Name of online encyclopedia. Date last revised. Publisher. Date Retrieved. Permanent link (URL).
Notes
Names and Terms for Further Research
Step 3. Now that you have some background on your topic, use the questions below to make decisions about where to direct your research in order to develop the most complete picture possible of your topic.
What is at stake in this conflict? Land? Resources? National sovereignty? Power? Economic survival? Political differences? Cultural differences? Quality of life?
What is the current status of your topic?
List ALL the groups that have an interest in this situation. Be sure to include all political entities, government agencies, ethnic and cultural groups, special interest groups, and nongovernmental agencies involved. In the second column, list what outcome each group desires.
Groups Involved
Desired Outcome
Step 4. You are now ready to expand your search. Below is an annotated listing of wire services and Web sites containing newspaper articles from all over the world. Select articles on your topic from at least three different news sources. Be sure to use the format provided below to cite all of the bibliographical information for the articles you select. Also use the note-taking table to help you record important information from the articles you read. After you conclude your research, respond to the questions using examples from your research.
NOTE: Remember to analyze information you get from Web sites. The library at the University of California at Berkeley [LINK TO: www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html] has a very good format for evaluating the Web sites you use.
abyznewslinks.com -- News media from all over the world. Column on the far right indicates the language in which the media is presented.
Newseum.org/today'sfrontpages -- The first selections are newspapers from the United States. Newspapers are listed alphabetically with U.S. papers first. These are only the front pages and many are not in English, but use the titles of the newspapers to see if there are more complete versions in English on the Internet.
Newslink.org -- Comprehensive site of news sources from all over the world. Links under Other Continents can be quirky and many are not in English, but newspaper titles can be used to search directly on the Internet.
Associated Press, Reuters, All Headline News are wire services with agencies all over the world that provide stories to a wide variety of media. These names (AP, Reuters, AHN) will appear in the byline of articles that have come from these sources.
Agence France-Presse, Australian Associated Press, Canadian Press, China News Service, Xinhua News Agency (China), ITIM (Israel), ITAR-TASS (Russia), Al-Jazeera, and British Broadcasting Corporation are examples of news agencies that can provide a different perspective on issues to help you round out research on your topic effectively. This is by no means a comprehensive selection.
There is also a wide variety of alternative press sources to add an even wider perspective to your topic, including the Information Clearing House, World Independent News Group, Earthhope Network, AdBusters, the Drudge Report, Rabble, Citizen Shift, the Daily Kos, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Right Wing News, Media Matters, Fox News, American Daily, Monthly Review, Democracy Now. These sources represent both right and left wing points of view. This list is only a small sample.
Bibliographical information on articles should be recorded in the following format:
Author's name (last name first). Document title. Date of Internet publication. Date of access
Take notes on your articles and on any connections or references to what you've already learned about your topic.
Notes on Article
Connections
Answer the following questions about how this article was constructed:
What kind of "text" is it? Print? Radio? Television? (Hint: The Internet is not strictly a text. It is conduit for different forms of text.)
What elements are included? What elements are left out?
How similar or different is it to others of the same genre?
Which technologies are used in its creation?
How many people did it take to create this message? What are their various jobs?
Answer the following questions on the format of the article:
What do you notice about the way the message is constructed? Colors? Shapes? Size? Composition?
Where is the camera? What is the viewpoint?
How is the story told visually? What are people doing?
Are there any symbols? Visual metaphors?
What's the emotional appeal? Persuasive devices used?
What makes it seem "real"? (The media are representations that are structured in certain ways to convey a certain "reality.")
Answer the following questions on the audience for which this message was intended:
How close is this portrayal to your own experience?
What did you learn from other people's point of view?
What did you learn about their experience of life?
How many other interpretations could there be? How could we hear about them?
How can you explain the different responses?
Answer the following questions about the content of the article:
What kinds of behaviors/consequences are depicted?
What type of person is the reader/watcher/listener invited to identify with?
What questions come to mind as you watch/read/listen?
What ideas or values are being "sold" to us in this message?
What political ideas are communicated in the message? Economic ideas?
What judgments or statements are made about how we treat other people?
What is the overall worldview of the message?
What ideas or perspectives are left out? How would you find what's missing?
Answer the following questions on the purpose of this article:
Who's in control of the creation and transmission of this message?
Why are they sending it? How do you know?
Who are they sending it to? How do you know?
What's being sold in this message? What's being told?
Who profits from this message? Who pays for it?
Who is served by or benefits from the message -- the public? Private interests? Individuals? Institutions?
What economic decisions may have influenced the construction or transmission of this message?
Answer these general questions about the article:
How credible was the author or reporter? What makes this person credible?
Do you detect any bias in the article? Describe it.
What clues did you use to detect bias?
Where would you look to find a different or opposing viewpoint?
Did you feel as though you got the complete story? What might have been missing to make this a completely balanced or informative report?