•  THE BIG 6
     
    •STEP1- TASK DEFINITION –Who or What are you researching?
     
    •STEP 2- INFORMATION SEEKING-What sources can you use? Where do you look?
     
    •STEP 3-LOCATION AND ACCESS- Find unbiased and reputable sources
     
     
    PRIMARY SOURCES
    Are:
    -original records created at the time of historical events
    -Or memoirs and oral histories.
    -letters, manuscripts, diaries, journals, newspapers, speeches, interviews, memoirs/autobiographies
    -Official records of organizations, public opinion polls
    -Government documents, (Congress or the Office of the President) photographs, audio recordings, video, data, and autobiographies. 

    - Excerpts or translations acceptable

    •CREATIVE WORKS: Poetry, drama,novels, music, art, newsfilm footage, movies
    •RELICS OR ARTIFACTS: Pottery, furniture, clothing, buildings, and ancient roads, tools, and weapons.
     
     
     
    How do I find them?
    • Use a search engine
       - “Boolean search”: When searching, use specific terms rather than broad terms. For example, the search for the“emancipation proclamation” not just “slavery,” the search for the “battle of chancellorsville” not “civil war.”
       
       - Historical websites
     
     
     
    SECONDARY SOURCES
    •Is something written about a primary source.
    •Include comments on, interpretations of, or discussions about the original material.
    •Second-hand information. If I tell you something, I am the primary source. If you tell someone else what I told you, you are the secondary source.
       (gossip, reviews about merchandise or hotel) 

    –Textbooks
    –Articles in newspapers, magazines, and journals
    –Histories or Encyclopedias
    –Criticisms or commentaries
    –Book or movie reviews
    –Anything that discusses or evaluates someone else's original research.
     
                                                                   
                                                                      How Do I Evaluate Them?
    •Look for websites with a non-biased, balanced approach to presenting sources.
    –Could the material have been altered or manipulated in some way to change or influence its meaning?
    •Sometimes sites use primary source material to persuade the reader to a particular point of view, distorting the contents.
    •Websites produced by educational or governmental institutions are often more reliable than personal websites, but government sites may be subject to propaganda.
     
    •STEP 4- USE OF INFORMATION
       –Essential information          
       –Paraphrase not Plagiarize 
       –Cite your sources in a bibliography
     
    •STEP 5-SYNTHESIS–How do you organize your project? 
     
    •STEP 6- EVALUATION- Turn in your presentation for a grade