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Extension History Seminar: The Project

Extension History Seminar: The Project. Research Skills in Practice. State Library of New South Wales Tuesday 1 November 2011. Matthew Stephens, Reference Librarian Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales http://www.hht.net.au. Today’s Session.

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Extension History Seminar: The Project

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  1. Extension History Seminar: The Project Research Skills in Practice State Library of New South Wales Tuesday 1 November 2011

  2. Matthew Stephens, Reference LibrarianCaroline Simpson Library & Research Collection,Historic Houses Trust of New South Waleshttp://www.hht.net.au

  3. Today’s Session The session will be divided into two parts: • Discussion of key aspects of research • Case study: Rediscovering a lost convict building

  4. Creativity Being original Choosing your sources Which research approach? Discipline Referencing & Bibliographies Choosing your sources Applying critical thinking Being ethical Two Key Factors

  5. Key Aspects of Research Being original • Think for yourself • Weigh up the results of your research and say what you think • Even if we share many common experiences each of us brings something unique to our research

  6. Key Aspects of Research Choosing your sources • Primary sources Records that provide firsthand accounts or evidence of historical events or experiences. Primary source material can be published (eg. reports, autobiographies, interviews in contemporary newspapers) or unpublished (eg. original letters, diaries, papers held within an archive). Source: http://uow.libguides.com/content.php?pid=131840&sid=1217938

  7. Key Aspects of Research Choosing your sources cont. • Secondary sources Secondhand accounts of historical events or experiences, which analyse and interpret the relevant primary sources. Secondary source material (eg. books, textbooks, journal articles) is usually written at a much later time after the event. Source: http://uow.libguides.com/content.php?pid=131840&sid=1217938

  8. Key Aspects of Research Locating Sources – some examples: • Online • In a library • In an archive • At a museum • Talking to people

  9. Key Aspects of Research Some useful online sources: • Trove(http://trove.nla.gov.au/)

  10. http://trove.nla.gov.au

  11. Key Aspects of Research More useful online sources: • State Library of NSW (http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/) • Manuscripts, Oral History and Pictures (State Library of NSW) (http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/search/SimpleSearch.aspx) • Google books (http://books.google.com.au/)

  12. http://books.google.com.au

  13. Key Aspects of Research Choosing your research approach • A study of documents • A study using pictures • A study of objects • A series of interviews • A combination of all the above and more

  14. Key Aspects of Research Referencing & bibliographies • Referencing Because you are expected to refer to the work of others in the course of your research, you are required to document where this material comes from. • A bibliography is a list of all works used to write an essay and appears at the end of the paper. • For More info visit ASLA Referencing Guide: www.asla.org.au/docs/ReferencingGuide.doc

  15. Key Aspects of Research Thinking critically • When considering a source don’t just take it at face value • Think about who created it and why • Consider the arguments put forward and make a judgment based on all the evidence you have collected

  16. Key Aspects of Research Being ethical • Documenting your sources If your research involves recent events or interviews, you will need to be aware of - • Maintaining confidentiality • Cultural sensitivities • Protocols relating to different interview subjects

  17. Key Aspects of Research In Summary: • There is scope for being creative in your research but this must be built on a foundation of methodological discipline. • There are many online sources available but you must always assess which are the most authoritative and trustworthy.

  18. Case Study Rediscovering a Lost Convict Building

  19. Case Study Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney, 1836. Robert Russell, 1836, lithograph. Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales.

  20. Case Study Background: • A kitchen garden is known to have existed next to Hyde Park Barracks in the 1820s. • The life of the garden was short-lived and was abandoned by the end of the 1820s. • There is evidence from plans of the site that there was a small building in the garden.

  21. Case Study Research Question: • What was the building in the garden like and what was its function? • What was its architectural form? • What materials was it made from? • How was it used? • When was it demolished?

  22. Case Study Getting Started: • What research approach shall we take? • What sources can we use and where shall we find them?

  23. Case Study Research approach: • Establish what is already known • Published material – books, newspapers, periodicals • Consider a combination of sources: • Documentary • Pictorial

  24. Case Study Sources: • Books, reports, periodicals, online documents • Newspapers • Maps and plans • Archives • Paintings • Photographs • Aerial surveys

  25. Google • Possible information sources: • Heritage reports about Cook + Phillip Parks • Heritage Reports about the Australian Museum site • Plan of Hyde Park Allotments • House of Lords Sessional Papers (Google Books)

  26. Casey & Lowe Pty Ltd 2004,Sydney CityGrid Project: Non-Indigenous Archaeological Assessment for PlanCom Consulting Pty Ltd on behalf of Energy Australia, p. 35, viewed 26 October 2011, <http://www.ausgrid.com.au/Common/Network-projects/Network-projects/Sydney-CBD-and-East/Sydney-CityGridproject/~/media/Files/Network/Network%20Projects/Sydney%20CBD/SCGvol2AppE.ashx>. Footnote: 23.Wendy Thorp. Heritage Assessment, Phillip and Cook Parks, Sydney. March 1997. p.13.

  27. Newspapers

  28. Maps, Plans & Aerial Views

  29. Esquisse de la Ville de Sydney, 1823 Source: Louis de Freycinet, Voyage Autour du Monde … Atlas Historique par Mrs. Js. Argo, A. Pellion & Ca., Paris, 1825, pl. 94. Caroline Simpson Collection, Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales.

  30. Detail: Jardin Potagér de la Caserne des Convicts

  31. Plan of the Town and Suburbs of Sydney, 1822 Source:  Mitchell Library M1 811.17/1822/1

  32. Detail: Garden attached to Convict Barracks

  33. Survey of Wooloomooloo and the Convict Garden, 1830 Butler, 1831, SG Map S.696, State Records of New South Wales. Reduced plan of SG Map S.696, 1830.

  34. Detail Showing Gardener’s Lodge

  35. Six Lite maps: http://lite.maps.nsw.gov.au/

  36. Six Lite maps: http://lite.maps.nsw.gov.au/

  37. Six Lite maps: http://lite.maps.nsw.gov.au/

  38. Pictorial Evidence

  39. Frederick Garling, View of Sydney from Woolloomooloo, Looking West, 1839 Dixson Galleries, State Library of New South Wales. http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemDetailPaged.aspx?itemID=423603

  40. Robert Russell, Sydney from Wooloomooloo, c1837 National Library of Australia.http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an2982901

  41. Painting Details

  42. An Unexpected Surprise! Source: T.H. Braim, A History of New South Wales: From its Settlement to the Close of the Year 1844, London: R. Bentley, 1846, frontispiece, Vol. 2.

  43. Similar Examples?

  44. An Important Discovery

  45. Photograph c1880, Australian Museum Archives Australian Museum Archives AMS512/5.

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