PADstone 184

While there are many ways to develop a research question and establishing a process, the one we’re going to cover today involves three simple questions:

• What am I interested in?
• What don’t I know about it?
• Why do I want to know that? 

Another way to frame it is through the phrase:

I am studying ______ to find out who/how/why ______ in order to understand who/how/why ______.

Look over these two sources:

1. Joel Selvin. “Altamont Wasn’t the End of the ’60s, It Was the Start of Rock ‘n’ Roll Disasters.” Datebook. 2019.

2. Helbing, Dirk, and Pratik Mukerji. "Crowd Disasters as Systemic Failures: Analysis of the Love Parade Disaster." EPJ Data Science, 2012, p. 40.

Using the SEE method, investigate each article to decide if the source would be useful for your assignment.

The CCOW method can be used to evaluate any source for appropriateness. Below is an overview on how to apply the method, see the guide for more detail.

Credentials - Investigate the credentials of whoever created the information with questions like:

• Do they have experience or expertise in the subject they're discussing? Do they work in a field that qualifies them to talk about the subject?
• What's their educational background? Do they have an advanced degree in the subject under discussion?
• Do they have any other experience that might make them a good source of information? For instance, an eyewitness to an earthquake doesn't have to be a seismologist to give good information about what it was like to experience that event.

Claims - What claims are they making? Is the information they're providing accurate? Can we verify its accuracy?

Objectives - What did they hope to accomplish by creating the information?

Worldview - How might your view on this topic influence your approach? How could your perspective influence how you interpret a topic?

Complete this brief survey at the end of the library session.

End of Session Survey