First Year Seminar (FYS-101) Research Exercises

Welcome to FYS Research Exercise #4!

In this exercise, we will learn about three particular kinds of Primary Sources and finding information about them: Laws, Newspapers and Data.

Laws: One person in each FYS101 Final Team Project group will be researching a particular law or legal act. In order to understand the impacts of that law, it will be important to know how to research it in legal journals or law reviews (often published by law schools). 

Newspapers: Everyone in each FYS101 Final Team Project group will want to be able to research how certain events, people, artifacts and laws impacted the people and events at that time and through today. Newspapers are a great way to understand these impacts at a particular time without historical 20/20 vision, as well as to understand today's events.

Data: One person in each FYS101 Final Team Project group will be researching a particular set of data/statistics. This will require diving into the data to understand what it is demonstrating, and looking for other data/statistics that corroborate or refute the statistic shown in the FYS101 Collection that your team chose.

Outcomes

After completing this exercise you will be able to:

• Search for information about a law in legal journals using the library legal databases and other web resources
• Search for articles in the library newspaper databases
• Search for data in the library databases as well as other web resources
• Utilize some basic strategies to evaluate data

To complete this Research Exercise, you will take a quiz located under "Course Menu"  and "Quizzes" in your FYS101 Brightspace course.

Researching Laws

On the Web

When researching specific laws on the Web, you might try these sources and techniques:

1. Library of Congress site This link opens in a new window is an excellent place to find current and historic laws/acts/policies of the US and other governments, as well as many other resources for your FYS101 final team project. You may search the entire LoC using the search box at the top of the home page of the website. Additionally, there are specialized sections of LoC like the Law Library of Congress to research a law in your FYS101 Collection.
   • Law Library of Congress This link opens in a new window 
     • Collections This link opens in a new window - Click on the Collections tab of the Law Library of Congress. These collections might be of particular interest to your FYS101 project:
       • Indigenous Law Web Archive (This includes the Canadian report, Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls for FYS Collection 2: First Families)This link opens in a new window
       • Native American Constitutions and Legal Materials This link opens in a new window (materials from the early 1800s to today)
   • American Memory This link opens in a new window  Find documents from the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention (1774-1789), includes images of original documents and related materials. 
2. Legal Information Institute This link opens in a new window (Published by Cornell Law School)
   • Topical Index: State Statutes This link opens in a new window - Since some laws you will research for FYS101 like Coverture, for example, are STATE laws and vary by state, you will want to look for information about particular state's statutes. This resource lists topics such as: Criminal Procedure, Education, Marriage, Alcoholic Beverages, Adoption, Property, etc.
     • Marriage This link opens in a new window - As an example, if you select "Marriage" you will see a long chart with items across the top like: Age of Consent to Marry; Medical Exams; Marriage License. Scroll down to view state names on the left side to see information for those categories for each state. Did you know Massachusetts law allows females to marry at age 12 with parental consent???
3. Google This link opens in a new window Search - Remember the Google search tricks or Google Advanced Search (described in Research Exercise #2)?  
   • Use the name of the act/law/policy/etc. in quotation marks (Phrase Searching) and initially limit to .gov sites by typing site:gov next in the search box.  Then use your evaluation strategies to decide which links to click on. Remember to use the Google Advanced search by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right of your results list, to narrow your search further.
   • Once you have looked at .gov sites, you might try looking at other site domains (.org, .edu, etc.) to see if you can find easier-to-read analyses of the impact of certain laws/acts, particularly long-term impacts of specific legislation.
   • For these FYS topics, you will find numerous educational publications, curriculum, classroom activities and discussion guides, all of which may be useful to you to think about the law you are researching and to look at the sources they use which you can go find, read/view and use for your Final Projects.

Library Legal Databases

Use the A-Z Database described in Research Exercise #3 to locate and use the following legal databases on the Shapiro Library Website also linked below by clicking on their titles:

LegalTrac - Gale This link opens in a new window

(Click on the name in blue above to access this database.) When the database interface first opens, your eye is drawn to the big search box beneath "Subject Guide Search." IGNORE this search box and use the one at the very top of the interface under the red box that says "GALE ONEFILE" instead to type in your search terms/phrases.

For example, if you chose Collection #11 "To Have and To Hold," you might be researching coverture. Type that into the top search box and you will see 281 results from academic journals since the results page defaults to those from academic journals. You may select "magazines" or "news" from the tabs at the top of the results list.

Filters (circled in blue above)

You may narrow your results down by a variety of filters or limiters including: publication date, subject topics, document type, title, limit to articles from peer-reviewed journals or documents that contain images. There is also a "Search Within" button which allows you to search inside the existing results list for something more specific. 

Topic Finder (circled in purple above)

Click the blue "Start the Topic Finder" button and a big colorful puzzle-type image appears. Each section is labeled, is a different color, and has subsections within it. These are all areas that your initial search phrase topic might be divided into. Click on any section and/or subsection and a results list will appear to the right with resources that meet your selected criteria. Here's an example from our search for coverture.

Once you select a section (and subsection) and then click on an article title from the results list on the right you will see a page with that article come up:

• This article interface offers options to download, print or email the article as well as a "Get Link" which would be the permalink to the article to bring you back to his page, save to Google Drive or the cloud, and a citation feature, which defaults to MLA 9th edition. YOU SHOULD ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK THESE MACHINE GENERATED CITATIONS using the Shapiro Library MLA Style Guide examples.
• It also offers options to increase the font size or listen to the article being read aloud.
• The "More Like This" section lists other articles that are related to your search topic for you to consider looking at.

Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window

(Click on the name in blue above to access this database.) When the Nexis Uni database interface opens you will see a GIANT search box at the top of the screen. To search for law-related information, first circle "Cases" or "Law Reviews" in the "Guided Search" section which otherwise defaults to "News." You may select date ranges or type in a date range from the drop-down menu beneath "Choose date range."

Filters and Limiters

Much like the Multi-Search and LegalTrac (above), Nexis Uni offers tools to narrow your search results. These include:

• Print, email, download, save to Google Drive or the cloud
• Search within the list of results for something more specific
• Limit to a time frame; geographic jurisdiction; particular publication
• Limit to legal area; attorney; law firm; judge

After you click on a specific title of a source, you will see the article interface (below).

The citation feature is a button at the center top of the article just beneath the title. After clicking on that button, a box will appear that says "Citation Export" where you will need to select the format you need, in this case MLA. It offers a preview of the article and a button to click that says "Copy to Clipboard" to the lower right. As always, you will want to DOUBLECHECK THESE MACHINE GENERATED CITATIONS using the Shapiro Library MLA Style Guide examples.

Indian Claims Insight - ProQuest This link opens in a new window

The Indian Claims Insight Collection is a one-of-a-kind research tool that provides researchers with the opportunity to understand and analyze Native American migration and resettlement throughout U.S. history, as well as U.S. Government Indian removal policies and subsequent actions to address Native American claims. (Click on the name in blue above to access this database.)

Content includes:

• Pre-1948:  claims presented to Congress and/or brought before the Court of Claims; 
• 1948-1978:  Indian Claims Commission, including briefs, docket books, decisions, expert testimony, oral transcripts;
• Post-1978:  Claims brought before the US Court of Claims (through 1982) and US Court of Federal Claims (through 2006); documents related to post-2006 settlement of claims; legislative histories and congressional publications directly related to Indian claims, including congressional publications indexed by docket numbers; important Supreme Court decisions; and maps.

Other legal databases

In addition to LegalTrac-GALE and Nexis Uni, the Shapiro Library has other databases with legal content within which you are free to search for your FYS101 Team Final Research Project such as HeinOnline Legal Databases This link opens in a new window and Legal Periodicals & Books - EBSCO This link opens in a new window. This exercise is designed to focus on a limited number of resources where you should have success researching the laws, acts, policies in the FYS101 Collections. (Click on the name in blue above to access the list of databases housing legal content.)

Researching in Newspapers

Library News Databases

Shapiro Library subscribes to quite a few newspaper databases. Here's how you can access a complete list of databases that have news content:

• Click on the A-Z Database List in the Quick Links box on the library home page
• Click on the center box at the top of the A-Z Database List that says: All Database Types
• Scroll down to "Includes New and Current Topics" in the drop-down menu

Newspapers are a great way to understand how events are received at the time they happen. For example, the New York Times database has articles from 1861 to the present. 1861 was the beginning of the Civil War! To really understand the context of events, you need to see how people were talking about an issue at that time, rather than with a current perspective. The Magazine Archives are also a great resource for this understanding, as well as to see advertisements from that time period that reflect values and interests of that era. Be sure to use the "limiters" in the database to narrow the publication date range to the years your event, artifact, law, person happened/lived.

Here are the newspaper databases that might be most helpful for your FYS101 Team Research Project:

Researching Data & Statistics

Data Background

We are living in a data-driven culture. "Data-driven decision making" is a phrase heard frequently today by business as well as education and non-profit organizations. Data is gathered both overtly and secretly. It is bought and sold as a commodity. Data (and numbers) are not neutral. Like text, images and video, data can be manipulated to convey messages as desired by the creator. However, intentionally gathered and objectively presented data can inspire change and illuminate reality in new ways. Historic examples of this are:

W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963)

Civil rights pioneer, scholar, sociologist, historian, author, writer, editor, and founding member of the NAACP.

• W.E.B. Du Bois: retracing his attempt to challenge racism with data This link opens in a new window by Mona Chalabi (talented data journalist) This article shows how W.E.B. Du Bois created hand drawn data visualizations to illustrate racial inequality in the United States. He took these illustrations to the 1900 World Exposition in Paris This link opens in a new window to show:

(a) The history of the American Negro
(b) Their present condition
(c) Their education
(d) Their literature

Click on the images below to see the actual documents drawn by Du Bois held by the Library of Congress.

Ida B. Wells (1862-1931)

Prominent, outspoken, journalist, activist, educator, and researcher 

• Ida B. Wells: Journalist, civil rights leader, mother of four (and savvy data-user) This link opens in a new window by Denise Warren Ross for The Greater New Orleans Community Data Center. This article discusses Ida B. Wells' investigative journalism and data collection practices regarding lynching statistics and their purported causes. She used data to: 

a) Confirm what African Americans already knew, validating lived experiences and supporting their stories
b) To counter the untruths that lynching supporters used to justify their illegal actions.

(Click on the images below to read her actual writings)

            "A Red Record: Tabulated Statistics and Alleged Causes of                             "Lynchings and the Excuse for it"
                  Lynchings in the United States 1892-1893-1894"                               Published in The Independent, May 16, 1901 
                             Booklet published by Donohue & Henry                                                                                                          

Data Uses

Data can illustrate reality in a quantifiable way which enables us to:

• Challenge our assumptions
• Raise questions we might not otherwise think of

Data Challenges

Data is often collected and used to support a theory/hypothesis as evidence or validation. Data is also gathered routines by agencies such as the US government, and then the results generate questions or hypotheses to be tested. Gathering and interpreting data is subject to challenges such as:

• Data collection may be manipulated by the questions asked, the structure of choices/options in a survey, bias in coding gathered information, and a number of other challenge points including false reporting (people lie in response to questions)
• Data interpretation may be manipulated by the user to validate a theory by only focusing on a subset of the gathered data, presenting data in an uneven way, applying alternative meanings to terms used during collection, etc.
• Data availability - Some types of data might be difficult to gather such as: Illegal activities (until someone is caught, the number of a given set of illegal actions may not be accessible for examples: human trafficking, illegal drug use, etc.); Private activities (relies on self-reporting which many will not share for examples: Sexual behaviors, use of birth control, domestic violence, etc.)

Data & the FYS101 Final Team Project

The FYS101 Final Team Project Collections each contain a data graphic or compilation of statistics to think about the theme of the collection in a new way, particularly how the highlighted issue plays out today in society. We learned using the SIFT Method in Research Exercise #2 to "read laterally" or find other sources to corroborate what we are reading. To verify the data in the Collection, you will want to search for other sources that validate that data or expand upon it. Below are sources to search for data on the Web and in Library Databases.

Data Sources on the Web

• data.gov This link opens in a new window: The home of the U.S. Government’s open data. Here you will find data, tools, and resources to conduct research, develop web and mobile applications, design data visualizations, and more.
• Pew Research Center This link opens in a new window: Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. They conduct public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research studying a wide range of topics including U.S. politics and policy; journalism and media; internet and technology; science and society; race and ethnicity; religion and public life; global attitudes and trends; and U.S. social and demographic trends. They have downloadable data sets, four research databases of their content, and two typology quizzes This link opens in a new window. These topics may be most relevant to your FYS101 Final Team Project topics:
  • Race & Ethnicity This link opens in a new window
  • Gender & LGBT This link opens in a new window
  • Economy & Work This link opens in a new window - Includes Income, Wealth & Poverty This link opens in a new window
• The Sentencing Project: The Sentencing Project compiles criminal justice data from a variety of sources and creates infographics to readily illustrate issues surrounding Sentencing Policy, Incarceration, Drug Policy, Racial Justice, Youth Justice, Gender Justice, Voting Rights, and Collateral Consequences in the US and comparatively around the world.
• Google This link opens in a new window: When searching for data using Google, it helps to:
  • Add the word "data" or "statistics" after your search phrase
  • Limit to government sites initially as the government is the largest collector of data nationally. Use site:gov after your search phrase OR go directly to data.gov (below)
  • Google Images - when looking for charts or data visuals, try searching your topic in Google Images. Click on an image and the click "Visit Site" to get to where the image is hosted and the relevant information to that data visualization.

Library Databases for Data/Statistics

To get to the entire list of library databases that contain statistical information, follow these steps:

• Click on the A-Z Database List in the Quick Links box on the library home page
• Click on the "All Subjects" box above left of the list of databases
• Scroll down and click on Statistics

Below are suggested library statistical databases to search for your FYS101 Final Team Project topics.

Statista

Historical Statistics of the United States

How to Use Historical Statistics of the United States

This is an excellent resource to find statistics from the Colonial period of U.S. history to 2000. Here are some examples pertinent to FYS101 Final Team Project research topics:

• Race and Ethnicity Population, Vital Processes and Education This link opens in a new window is an essay which discusses among other things, "at the end of the twentieth century, maternal mortality was still more than three times higher in the black population than in the white population." You might look at this chart if you're investigating different health outcomes by race in the U.S. for the FYS101 Final Team Project Collection #7 "Mistreatments" : Table Ab912-927 - Fetal death ration, neonatal mortality rate, infant mortality rate, and maternal mortality rate, by race: 1850-1998 This link opens in a new window.
• American Indians This link opens in a new window (note the language used) is an essay that notes "the disappointing lack of data for American Indians" despite the longstanding relationships held between the US government and Native Tribes. This essay links to statistics on Native American population, health, labor, natural resources and government relations.

Evaluating Data

3 Ways to Spot a Bad Statistic - TedTalk by Mona Chalabi

Sometimes it's hard to know what statistics are worthy of trust. But we shouldn't count out stats altogether... instead, we should learn to look behind them. In this delightful, hilarious talk, data journalist Mona Chalabi shares handy tips to help question, interpret and truly understand what the numbers are saying. Watch this 11:36 minute video for tips on evaluating statistics.

Important Questions to Ask When You See Data

• What size was the sample used to collect this data?
  • Can results from this size sample be extrapolated to the larger population?
• Which demographics are represented in those people chosen to survey?
• How were participants recruited? 
  • Online? Phone? In-person?
  • To what extent could responses be false or fabricated?
  • Was there a payment/gift involved for participating?

FYS Research Exercise #4 Quiz

Please read these directions to access your quiz:

• Click on the link below to be taken to Brightspace in a new tab. This page will remain open.
• Select your FYS101 course
• Select COURSE MENU from the course navigation bar
• Select QUIZZES from the drop down menu that appears
• In the list of Quizzes, select LIBRARY RESEARCH EXERCISE QUIZ #4
• You have 2 hours to complete the quiz which is designed to take 20-30 minutes