Reference no: EM133771077

Question: Find a significant primary source for the project that you will be able to share with the instructor (via hyperlink, photocopy, etc.).
Paying particular attention to language, write an analysis of an aspect of the source that interests you. Include a clear description (to the extent that this is possible given available information) of authorship of the source, its date of publication, and whatever you can discover about the context of its publication or its circulation. It might be helpful to read other historians' analyses of the source - you might see something they don't see, or have a different interpretation - but it is not necessary to do so for this stage. Try to mine the source for insights and ask questions about the choice of language and forms of expression. If possible and if relevant to your analysis, compare it to similar sources.

II. The Primary Source Document

a. Title (if it has one)

b. Date and Place of production

c. Author (if known or hypothesized)

d. Intended recipient/audience

e. Type of document (journal, pamphlet, log, court record, etc.) and the length of the text

f. Original location of the document (archive, library, etc.) with full citation

g. Where you found it (i.e., the Lane Anthology, database, website, archive, etc.)

h. Brief statement (1-2 paragraphs) on the significance of the document to your final research prospectus.General Instructions: Proceed as if you are going to write a research paper on some aspect of pirates and piracy in world history (topics should have prior approval with Prof. McDonald). Define your topic/thesis and gather primary and secondary sources as if you were going to write the paper. Instead of writing the full-blown research paper, you are going to write a Research Prospectus with an Annotated Bibliography of both primary and secondary sources that relate to your thesis/topic (and should connect to and incorporate your original primary source analysis).

What you will submit on Thurs. May 2 (Brightspace)

I. Research Prospectus, with Student Name and Project Title

II. Annotated Bibliography

Part I.: The Prospectus

The first section should state, in detail, your thesis or historical question as if you were writing a fully-fledged research paper. The prospectus should include a TITLE of the project. The statement should contain either a thesis / argument about a relevant historical topic or a research question which your sources will help define and explore. State your research question(s) - compose a question or two that clearly communicates what you want to discover and why you are interested in the topic. The prospectus should raise historical questions, explain why these are interesting/important, and describe what sources you are using and would need to use to address these issues. Your prospectus should place your research in the context of the historiography we have covered in both assigned readings and your own individual research (e.g., are you using a social, economic, intellectual, or political approach? are you using race, class, gender as categories of analysis? which historians have influenced your approach? Why?). You should also indicate what sources you would look for through additional research and why they would be useful/appropriate (be specific, including actual archives not yet consulted). The statement should be 3-4 paragraphs in length.

Part II.: The Annotated Bibliography

A bibliography is a list of sources (primary and secondary) one has used for researching a topic. Bibliographies are sometimes called "References" or "Works Cited" depending on the style format you are using. A bibliography usually just includes the bibliographic information (i.e., the author, title, publisher, etc.). Your bibliography should be organized by I. Primary Sources and II. Secondary Sources, each section in alphabetical order by author (Chicago style). For this project, you need a minimum of three (3) primary sources and five (5) secondary sources to pass the assignment. To excel at this project and demonstrate fuller command of your topic, you should incorporate ten or more (10) sources (any mix of primary/secondary sources). Your bibliography must include "new research"-that is, primary and secondary sources that were not assigned (a minimum of one primary and three secondary sources). Note: original primary sources are the most significant!

An annotation is a summary and/or evaluation. Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources. The annotations for each source are written in paragraph form, single-spaced (approx. 3 paragraphs for ea. source). For this project/assignment, your annotations should do the following:

a. Summarize: What are the main points/arguments? What topics are covered? If someone asked what this article/book/source is about, what would you say? The length of your annotations will determine how detailed your summary is.

b. Assess: After summarizing a source, it is helpful to evaluate it. Is it a useful source? How does it compare with other sources in your bibliography? Is the information reliable? Is this source biased or objective? What is the goal of using this source?

c. Reflect: Once you've summarized and assessed a source, you need to ask how it fits into your research. Was this source helpful to you? How does it help you shape your argument? How can you use this source in your research project? Has it changed how you think about your topic?

Some Further Thoughts on the Assignment:

A research paper is the culmination and final product of an involved process of research, critical thinking, source evaluation, organization, and composition. It is, perhaps, helpful to think of the research paper as a living thing, which grows and changes as the student explores, interprets, and evaluates sources related to a specific topic. Primary and secondary sources are the heart of a research paper, and provide its nourishment; without the support of and interaction with these sources, the research paper would morph into a different genre of writing (e.g., an encyclopedic article). The research paper serves not only to further the field in which it is written, but also to provide the student with an exceptional opportunity to increase her knowledge in that field. It is also possible to identify a research paper by what it is not.

Research: What it is not.

A research paper is not simply an informed summary of a topic by means of primary and secondary sources. It is neither a book report nor an opinion piece nor an expository essay consisting solely of one's interpretation of a text nor an overview of a particular topic. Instead, it is a genre that requires one to spend time investigating and evaluating sources with the intent to offer interpretations of the texts, and not unconscious regurgitations of those sources. The goal of a research paper is not to inform the reader what others have to say about a topic, but to draw on what others have to say about a topic and engage the sources in order to thoughtfully offer a unique perspective on the issue at hand.

Why should I write an annotated bibliography?

To learn about your topic: Writing an annotated bibliography is excellent preparation for a research project. Just collecting sources for a bibliography is useful, but when you have to write annotations for each source, you're forced to read each source more carefully. You begin to read more critically instead of just collecting information. At the professional level, annotated bibliographies allow you to see what has been done in the literature and where your own research or scholarship can fit. To help you formulate a thesis: Every good research paper is an argument. The purpose of research is to state and support a thesis. So a very important part of research is developing a thesis that is debatable, interesting, and current. Writing an annotated bibliography can help you gain a good perspective on what is being said about your topic. By reading and responding to a variety of sources on a topic, you'll start to see what the issues are, what people are arguing about, and you'll then be able to develop your own point of view.