Topic development and specialized databases for Race, Class & Gender

1. Framing the Context:
Using Subject Specific Databases to
Explore Your Topic
Nicole Branch
Santa Clara University Library
Image courtesy of flickr user Jeff Babbitt

2. Objectives
• Practice a model to help develop
assignment topics
• Become familiar with subject-specific
library resources
• Develop a strategy for searching for
sources for your assignment
Image courtesy of flickr user Kirsten Pauli

3. Developing Your Topic
Topic -- Question -- Significance
Image courtesy of flickr user D. Robert Wolcheck

4. Choosing Your Topic
• An interesting subject that came up in class
• Something you are passionate about
• A topic you would like to learn more about
Image courtesy of flickr user Evelyn Flint

5. Warm up
• Write down your topic as it currently exists
• If you don’t have a topic yet, write down any
topic you are interested in related to race,
class and gender

6. Developing Your Topic
Topic -- Question -- Significance

7. Topic
Race & Media

8. Focus your topic
• If you can state your topic in 2-3 words, it is
too broad.
• Narrow your topic by adding a context:
History
Different communities
Discipline
Audience

9. Examples
• History
» Depictions of African American men in the media
across time
• Different Communities
» Comparison of how majority people of color
protests are depicted in the media versus majority
white protests
• Discipline
» Communications; Business
• Audience
» Popular; Conservative; Ethnic news sources

10. Topic
Race & Media
• Media portrayals of white versus people of
color protesters

11. Discussion
• Describe your primary topic to your neighbor.
• Integrate a context to develop your topic.
• History
• Different communities
• Discipline
• Audience

12. Developing Your Topic
Topic -- Question -- Significance

13. Question
• Add a question such as how, why, or in what
ways to your topic.
• How do media portrayals of civil disturbances
related to race versus other civil disturbances
differ?

14. Common Mistakes
• Avoid questions with one word answers or
that cannot be answered within limits of the
assignment.
• Avoid questions that are too vague or cannot
be answered with research.
• Avoid speculation without evidence.

15. Question
• How do media portrayals of civil disturbances
related to race versus other civil disturbances
differ?

16. Writing Reflection
• Transform your topic into a question.
• Incorporate
How
Why
In what ways

17. Developing Your Topic
Topic -- Question -- Significance

18. Significance
• So what?
• I am researching…. Because I want to explore…

19. Race & Media
I am researching
Media portrayals of civil disturbances related to
race versus other civil disturbances
Because I want to explore
» The ways that the media impacts public perceptions of
activism related to issues of race.

20. Keep it Open
I am researching
Media portrayals of civil disturbances related to
race versus other civil disturbances
Because I want to explore
» The ways that the media impacts public perceptions of
activism related to issues of race.

21. Reflection & Discussion
Apply significance to your question
• I am researching ___________ because I want
to explore___________.

22. Questions?

23. Identifying Keywords
I am researching
Media portrayals of civil disturbances related to
race versus other civil disturbances
Because I want to explore
» The ways that the media impacts public perceptions of
activism related to issues of race.

24. Identifying Keywords
I am researching
Media portrayals of civil disturbances related to
race versus other civil disturbances
Because I want to explore
» The ways that the media impacts public perceptions of
activism related to issues of race.

25. Identifying Keywords
Joshua Vossler, Selecting and Using Keywords

26. Finding the Context
• Research Guides
• Background Information
• Article Databases

27. Database Search
• Selecting a database:
Who would be writing, thinking, talking about this
topic?
• Search & advanced search

28. Questions?
Any last questions about
• Topic Development
• Database searching
• Search strategy

29. Nicole Branch
Instruction Librarian
nbranch@scu.edu
408.554.5436
Thank you to flickr users:
Jeff Babbitt
Evelyn Flint
Kirsten Pauli
& D. Robert Wolcheck
for sharing their work through
creative commons license.