In Spanish 491, you will have the opportunity to examine a wide variety of materials for your final projects. However, frequently this process of searching and researching (yes these are different things) can be time consuming and overwhelming especially if you consider reading as starting from Page 1 and continuing to the end. However, when searching and researching, students can save time by employing these strategies.
Determine who published the book. Did an academic press publish it? Generally speaking, academic books published by academic presses are considered of higher scholarly quality since they are peer-reviewed more rigorously. If this is the case, you can always look on the website of that press to see if the press has published any other titles related to your topic? Similarly, is the book part of a Series on a particular topic? If so, research the other titles in that Series to expand your bibliography. Also verify the year of publication and copyright because then you can see if this book is considered “out of date”.
After reviewing the front matter, take a look at the Table of Contents. Are there chapters that are particularly relevant to your research topic? If so, you only need to study those, not read from Page 1. In the case of an edited collection, are there any articles with topics that interest you? Take note of those curiosities and come back to them.
If the book contains an index, look for keywords related to your research topic. Once you are reading the book, you can examine those pages more carefully.
Some acknowledgements may be useful in ascertaining the academic and professional network of the author. Knowing this network would be useful for your research because it can point you to other potential sources for your bibliography.
Through the introduction you can consider whether this is an article that is truly related to your topic. You can also see how the book is organized methodologically.
Is the evidence qualitative or quantitative in nature? From what discipline are the author’s interlocutors? Is the author engaged in an interdisciplinary conversation or simply conversing with scholars in their own fields? (in other words, for example, is an art historian dialoguing with literary critics or scholars of religion)?
Where does the author place his main point? How do they analyze evidence? What do you think are the author’s biases? By considering these questions, you can, on the one hand, critically think about what you are reading but also mimic the rhetorical moves of professional scholars in your own academic writing.
So you don’t have to reinvent the wheel when writing a draft of your paper, compile a list of quotations that you deem relevant to your research topic or those quotations that you find interesting. After properly citing this material using MLA style, jot down some questions that immediately come to mind. Some of these questions will be relevant to your research topic. Others won’t. Others may be completely off point. That aspect of research is fun as you can let your mind and curiosity wonder a bit and get inspired.
Lastly, be sure to share your notes with colleagues in your group so you are not doing double work. At the same time you can also receive feedback on your ideas from your colleagues as well.
Make sure this information is in the appropriate bibliographic style of your discipline. (in Spanish 491, we will be employing MLA Style).
After reading an article or a book chapter, your mind will be filled with ideas. That is normal. The next step is to once again summarize or annotate that reading emphasizing both the material’s main arguments, how they proved the argument and its importance to your project.
Review the list of quotations and questions you compiled while reading. Which of the questions are most relevant to your current research topic? Which can and should be considered later? (I particularly recommend this step after you have gotten a good night’s sleep).
Lastly, examine the bibliography and see if there are other sources cited by the author that would be useful moving forward in your research.
Handout prepared by Dr. James Nemiroff, Visiting Assistant Professor of Spanish Language and Literature, Kalamazoo College
In addition to consulting book sources, in Spanish 435, you will have the opportunity to engage with a variety of secondary materials, in both English and Spanish. Once again, here are a variety of strategies, which you can use to save time.
Before beginning to read the piece, take note of the type of source you have found. Is the article from a professional journal? Is it from an edited collection of essays? Is it from a conference proceeding? Knowing this information will allow you to cite the source correctly in your notes and in your essays.
In addition to determining the type of source, take note as well of where the article was published. For example, an article published in Cervantes or The Bulletin of the Comediantes is considered of greater value and prestige than articles published in lesser- known academic journals. Is this journal associated with a well known university or professional organization?
Additionally, compile preliminary research about the author or authors of the piece. While it is true that articles in the humanities and social sciences published in the U.S. often only have one author, articles published outside the U.S. are often produced by research teams and consequentially all members of the research team are included as authors or co-authors. When doing this research, ask yourself the following questions:
What is the institutional affiliation of the author or authors?
Do they belong to a research group devoted to your topic? (if so this is good news)
What are the research interests of the authors?
By answering these questions, you will be better able to judge the veracity and the authority of your source and in so doing determine whether this article is worth your time and energy.
Once you have determined whether this article is related to your topic and worth your time, fully cite the article in your notes using MLA Style. To help you with citing sources for your papers, please consult the Citing Sources tab found on the Library Course guide for Spanish 435.
First, read the introduction and write down answers to the following questions:
What is the problem highlighted by the author?
What is the thesis or main point of the piece?
What are the consequences of the thesis? (In other words, so what?)
Many academic articles are divided into sections. Are there sections that are more relevant to your topic than other sections? If so, read these sections more closely.
When reading through the body of the article, determine whom the author is citing? Are they other scholars from their field? Is the author using qualitative or quantitative data or a combination of both?
The art of citation is indeed just that, an art form and should be treated as such so you can practice the same strategies in your academic papers.Taking this belief into account, determine which sources the author is paraphrasing and which sources deserve a direct quotation. Why do you think the author is directly citing one source and paraphrasing another?
As you are compiling this information, explore using annotation technologies such as Hypothes.is, Google Docs or Microsoft Word docs to annotate your readings with your own questions and reactions. Please note that Hypothesis generally only works for annotating PDF documents and images. With Google Docs and Microsoft Word, obviously you can use the track change and comment features to annotate your readings.
Lastly, be sure to share your notes with colleagues in your group so you are not doing double work. At the same time you can also receive feedback on your ideas from your colleagues as well. Additionally, when it comes to writing the paper, you can simply cut and paste the direct quotation from your notes instead of retyping it into your paper and doing double work.
Examine the writing style of authors you admire or find useful.
After reading an article or a book chapter, your mind will be filled with ideas. That is normal. The next step is to once again summarize or annotate that reading emphasizing both the material’s main arguments, how they proved the argument and its importance to your project. This can be a way to summarize your annotations as well.
Lastly, examine the bibliography and see if there are other sources cited by the author that would be useful moving forward in your research.
Handout prepared by Dr. James Nemiroff, Visiting Assistant Professor of Spanish Language and Literature, Kalamazoo College
