Syllabus
Spring, 2003
Course Overview
The objective of this course is to teach students the basic principles
and methods of conducting good research and to develop skills in
finding, using and interpreting various sources of information.
We use baseball as a focus because it is both an interesting and
enjoyable subject for many people to explore and a significant American
social and cultural institution. The concepts and skills learned
in the course have applicability to further academic endeavors and
to lifelong learning. During the course we will review the basic
principles for doing research, learn the different resources available
for finding information (both in the library and online), and consider
how specific fields of inquiry rely on the various kinds of resources
to a greater or lesser degree.
Structure of the Course
Required Text
Gerald Tomlinson (ed.) How to Do Baseball Research. Cleveland,
OH: Society for American Baseball Research, 2000. (distributed by
the University of Nebraska Press)
Outline of Topics Covered
Week 1: Fundamentals of Doing Research
March 31, April 2
(Readings: Tomlinson, chapter 1)
Asking the right kind of question
Keys to good research
Baseball in Particular
Characteristics of the field and how that
affects your approach to doing research.
Baseball as a cultural/social phenomenon
Types of baseball research: historical,
biographical, social/economic, statistical
Wednesday: Panel of baseball researchers at the UO (Blake Scott,
Greg Bothun, Gary Gray, Mike Madjic)
Week 2: Information Sources: Library Catalogs & Books
April 7, 9
(Readings: Tomlinson, chapter 2,3; Ron Chepesiuk, "Take Me
Out to the Library" in American Libraries March 1999;
Bill James, "Institutional History - The Hall of Fame in the
1960s and the 1970s", chapter in The Politics of Glory
: How Baseball's Hall of Fame Really Works.)
Introduction to the organization of knowledge
Libraries and archives
The library catalog; search strategies for books; subject searching
Week 3: Information Sources: Periodicals & the Internet
April 14, 16
(Readings: Tomlinson, chapter 4; Josh McHugh, "Google Sells
Its Soul", in Wired January 2003.)
Periodicals and indexes
Ccitations and full-text databases
Internet searches
Baseball on the web
Week 4: Biographical Research/ Research Methods
April 21, 23
Monday: Guest speaker, Mark Armour on SABR's Baseball Bio-Project
Wednesday: Guest speaker Richard Leutzinger on his book Lefty
O'Doul : the Legend that Baseball Nearly Forgot
Research strategies, advanced methods for finding information
Week 5: Primary Sources: Why they are important and how to locate
and use them
April 28, 30
(Readings: John A. Vernon, "Baseball, Bubble Gum, and Business",
in Diamonds Are Forever)
What is a primary source?
Finding and using primary sources
Using photographs & other resources
Wednesday: guest lecturer: Heather Briston, University Archivist
Week 6: Baseball Statistics / Sabrmetrics
May 5, 7
(Readings: Tomlinson, chapter 5)
Monday: guest speaker Professor Ken Ross (Mathematics)
Baseball statistics - an overview
Statistical terms and methods
Wednesday: guest speaker John Lazarich, former minor league ballplayer
Week 7: Evaluating Information
May 12, 14
(Readings: Tomlinson, chapter 6)
Monday: Mid-term exam
Fact checking
Determining authority and accuracy
Special considerations for Internet sources
Week 8: Playing by the Rules
May 19, 21
(Readings: Tomlinson, chapter 7,8)
Citing sources
Copyright issues
Finding & using photographs & other resources
Week 9: Getting the Word Out: Publishing or otherwise disseminating
your research
May 26, 28
(Readings: Tomlinson, chapter 9,10)
Where to publish
Using the Internet
Professional organizations, interest groups
Begin class presentation on Wednesday
Week 10: Final Inning
June 2, 4
Review
Class presentations of projects
Grading
The following criteria will be the basis for student grades:
Class Participation 25%
Research Journal / Assignments 25%
Exams & Quizzes 25%
Final Project 25%. |
