May 8 Research with Trish Elliott

INCA class presentation and links and scavenger hunt

INCA Research

2. Email addresses sheet – for sharing links and notes

 

2. Story ideas from yesterday – go around the room

 

3. Discussion: Why research matters
   • Context
   • Better interviews
   • Accuracy and reliability
   • Great descriptive details

 

4. Where does research start?

 

• People:Friends, relatives, friends of friends, Elders, experts, classmates, people in the grocery story lineup, etc.

Exercise: Make a list of the people you will need for your story. Be as specific as possible.

 

• Paper:News stories, studies, books, directories, reports, government documents, meeting minutes, data bases, statistics, etc.

Exercise: Make a list of documents you will likely need

 

• Pictures:Archival photos, maps, drawings, old footage, etc.

Exercise: Make a list of images you might need

 

5. News stories: Key sources
   • SICC Online Library and Information Services
   • Archer Library: A walk through the Journalism databases of Archer Library
   • Finding old articles in the Google News Archive by using the Sask News Index

 

Exercise: Using the above resources, find a news story (or stories) related to your topic. Share the link/info.

Discussion: Show and describe what you found

 

6. Pictures and footage: Key sources

• National Archives
• Provincial Archives
• University of Regina Archives
• Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan videos

 

Exercise: Find an archival photo online that is related to your topic or, if there isn’t one, simply a photo you find interesting. Share the link.

Discussion: Show and describe what you found

 

7. Studies and Data: Key sources
   • Google Scholar
   • Statistics Canada

 

8. Creating and using a spreadsheet

Classroom exercise: Canadian outdoor activities (Statistics Canada table)

• Select and download your data
• Create an Excel workbook
• Use the Sum tool for addition and averages
• Narrow in on data by using the Filter tool
• Create sheets in the workbook (data subsets)
• Create charts and graphs

Discussion: Share what you discovered

 

9. Small group exercise
   • In groups of three, go over what your research goals should be for the week
   • Make a written pledge of research tasks you will complete by Friday, and sign and swear aloud the pledge to your group
   • Share your pledges with the whole class

 

10. Fact Checking
    • Why fact-checking is important
    • How it’s done

Classroom exercise: Download a copy of the fact-checking grid. Use it for all your work.

 

11. Investigative Research Tools (as time permits) – A quick tour of some online sources
    • Canadian legal database (court cases, hearings, etc.)
    • Public accounts
    • Hansard
    • Political donations
    • Canadian charities database
    • Transportation accidents
    • Hazardous waste spills
    • Property registries
    • Corporate registries
    • Weather records

 

Classroom exercise: Research treasure hunt

• Working in teams, complete a treasure hunt for obscure facts