While you wait, please check out the welcome message from the Archivist of the United States.

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1 While you wait, please check out the welcome message from the Archivist of the United States

2 Using Primary and Secondary Sources with the National Archives and the White House Historical Association

3 Questions? 1. Input in the question box 2. Tweet them - #TeachNHD

4 National History Day Lynne O Hara, Director of Programs Lynne@nhd.org

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6 oral Mapping Your Way to Primary Sources William Bushong, Chief Historian, White House Historical Association

7 MM

8 PProQuest Newspaper Database Prints and Photographs, Library of Congress

9 RG 42, Office of Public Buildings and Grounds, NARA

10 oral Oral Histories, Photographs, Sound, Film Elizabeth Dinschel, Education Specialist, National Archives

11 What is NOT Oral History Journalism interviews Speeches Quotes in a secondary or primary source Random Recordings

12 The Oral History Association and Donald Ritchie define Oral History as, Oral History collects memories and personal commentaries of historical significance through recorded interviews. An oral history interview generally consists of a well-prepared interviewer questioning an interviewee and recording their exchange in audio or video format. Recordings of the interview are transcribed, summarized, or indexed and then placed in a library or archives. These interviews may be used for research or excerpted in a publication, radio or video documentary, museum exhibition, dramatization or other form of public presentation. Oral history does not include random taping, such as President Richard Nixon s surreptitious recording of his White House conversations, nor does it refer to recorded speeches, wiretapping, personal diaries on tape, or other sound recordings that lack the dialogue between interviewer and interviewee. The Oral History Association, Oral History: Defined.

13 Primary Source The interviewee/narrator was present at the historic time, a witness or participant The interview is WITH the person, not ABOUT the person Vocabulary Interviewee/narrator- the person being interviewed, the subject of an oral history interview Secondary Source The interviewee/narrator is an expert about an event (Example: A professor) The interviewee/narrator is talking ABOUT a person (Example: a family member talking about a relative)

14 The Oral History Association compiled a list of Oral History repositories. enters-and-collections/ Vocabulary Repository- a place where records are stored Do your own! Two examples of student-led projects: Telling Their Stories with the Urban School of San Francisco and Macomb High School index.html Macomb Legacies s.org/about/

15 Should have proper citation ives.gov/description / Context Who or what is in the picture? When was it taken? Who took it?

16 Should have a good citation es.gov/description/ Context Who or what is in the film/sound clip? When was it recorded? Who recorded it? Example: 300

17 oral Original Documents, Books, Newspaper, Paper Stacey Chandler, Textual Archivist, National Archives

18 Ask What Your Archivist Can Do For You! What We Can Do Give suggestions about narrowing down your topic Show you where to look for primary sources on your topic Tell you about secondary sources on your topic Give factual information (like dates or locations) Give copies/scans of helpful documents you find Explain how to cite items from the archives What We Can t Do Choose your topic Choose specific documents to write about Do your research for you Give our opinions about historical events or people

19 What Are Primary Source Documents? Primary source documents are the Raw Materials of History Papers originally created during the time you re studying AND Papers created by people who have direct knowledge of the event you re studying, because they were there Primary Source Documents: Provide an eye-witness or first-hand account Offer an inside view of your topic Give you new or unique information Have not been interpreted, explained, summarized, or shortened

20 Original Primary Documents CORRESPONDENCE Telegrams Letters Memos Postcards Envelopes Telegram from Martin Luther King, Jr. to President Kennedy, June White House Central Subject Files, Box 926, Speeches: 3-86: Radio and TV address on civil rights, 11 June 1963: Executive. JFK Presidential Library.

21 Original Primary Documents SCRAPBOOKS AND JOURNALS/DIARIES Ernest Hemingway Scrapbooks Volume II, p. 39. JFK Presidential Library.

22 Original Primary Documents MEDIA Newspapers and magazines TV, radio, or film transcripts Press releases Surveys and polls Newspaper clipping from the Woonsocket, R.I. Independent, January JFK 1960 Campaign Files, Box 1044, Candidacy announced: Newspaper clippings. JFK Presidential Library

23 Other Primary Documents TRANSCRIPTS and REPRINTS: The original format is best, but a transcript still counts as a primary source WH Press Release. President s Office Files, Box 40, Rice University. JFK Presidential Library. Public Papers of John F. Kennedy, p The American Presidency Project website.

24 Some Surprising Primary Documents Menus, recipes, seating charts Travel documents: passports, visas, tickets Application forms Report cards, school papers, yearbooks Even doodles and scribbles!

25 oral Primary Sources on the Internet Missy McNatt, Education Specialist, National Archives

26 Starting Research Vast amounts of information are available to us and the research process can seem overwhelming. Many students begin the research process with the Internet. Internet sources include anything published online. Can include web pages, ebooks, and multimedia. Many traditional sources such as newspapers, magazine articles, and journal articles are available online as well. Websites are not regulated for quality or accuracy. Anyone can create a website.

27 Evaluating Websites Who What When Where Why The Five W s

28 WHO? Who wrote the pages on the website? Is there contact information for the author(s)? Is there biographical information for the author? If there is no author listed, is the organization that created or sponsored the website reputable? Who is the intended audience?

29 What? What is the purpose of the website? What information is included? Is the information reliable and credible? What is the bias? Is the information free of spelling and grammatical errors? Is the intent of the website to educate? explain? persuade? sell a product?

30 When? Is the website dated? Is the website current? When was the last revision of the website? Are the links on the website current and active?

31 Where? Where does the information come from? Where can I find out about the sponsor of the website? Where are the citations for the information on the website?

32 Why? Check the domain extension: the last three letters of the web address.edu = Education website.gov = Government agency.org = Organization (Unrestricted).net = intended for ISP s and Networks (can be purchased)

33 Domains (continued).com = Commercial sites (Unrestricted).info -= Unrestricted.biz = Intended for business - (Unrestricted).pro - Professionals/Organizations.library.(state).us = Public Libraries.k12.(state).us = Public/Private Schools.name = Personal website

34 Research Process National History Day Theme: Leadership and Legacy in History I am interested in environmental issues. I would like to research a woman. Rachel Carson fits the above criteria.

35 Google Search on Rachel Carson

36 Wikipedia and Rachel Carson

37 Rachel Carson s List of Works

38 Footnotes from Wikipedia article

39 Works Cited, Further Readings, and External Links

40 Author of the article?

41 The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson - rachelcarson.org

42 Information about the author of the website

43 Copyright Information from rachelcarson.org

44 Research Guide from rachelcarson.org

45 Information from a.edu website

46 Information for a.gov website

47 Information from a.com website

48 Next steps in researching Rachel Carson Go to my local library to locate and check out books written by Rachel Carson. Check the library catalog for books about Rachel Carson. Check the library catalog for books about the environmental movement. Begin my search for additional primary sources The National Archives because Rachel Carson was a federal employee. Contact the Beinecke Library at Yale University. Contact other universities with Carson s papers.

49 Historic Sites Courtney Speckmann, Director of Education, White House Historical Association

50 How can a historic site be used as a primary source?

51 Buildings can provide information about people who lived and worked there the time period when it was built

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53 Decatur House Slave Quarters

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55 Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), 1937

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57 National Register of Historic Places gov/docs/nhls/text/ pdf

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59 oral Annotated Bibliographies Amy Page Behring Teacher Ambassador New Mexico

60 What format?????? MLA Modern Language Association -vs- Chicago Turabian Rumble in the Bibliography for the Welterwrite Championship Either format works: consistency matters! process paper---bibliography---in project Turabian is preferred by historians What works best for the students? What the English department is teaching?

61 What should be included The bibliography LEGITIMIZES research and JUSTIFIES analysis. FAQs How long should a bibliography be? determined by the topic and resource availability (15 pages is a safe average for Nationals) How many Primary and Secondary sources should there be? balance of both The more reliable primary sources the merrier Secondary sources are critical! They help to develop analysis and the so what factor. How should I format the Bibliography? Be sure to to follow recommended format consistently Variations from the rule: to double space or not

62 Teaching Bibliography Skills Clearly define primary and secondary Define terminology i.e.: journal, manuscript, anthology, etc Separating and alphabetizing sources Clarify annotation expectations Explore where to find citation information Tools: numerous online bibliography generators

63 Avoiding pitfalls: Citation and annotation for a single source should be on same page Include URLS Make sure margins and spacing are consistent Proofread, proofread, proofread Number the pages, print single sided not double sided Staple, don't clip WARNING: ANNOTATION CREEP! Annotations 2-3 sentences unless they are an interview, collection, or source that requires longer explanation. Bigger is not better if it is fluff. About those Wikis Wikis are inherently unequal. - Amy Page, Nationals NHD Judge

64 Questions? If you need to go, please provide feedback and sign up for a digital badge: