Chapter 7

Researching Your
Speech
 Researching Your Speech:
Introduction

Researching your topic and providing

strong evidence for your claims can make
your presentation more interesting,
increase your credibility as a speaker, and
help you achieve your goals.
 Why Research?
Research offers many benefits:
Helps you learn about a topic before you
select and develop main points
Enables you to gather evidence from credible
sources that will support your claims
Increases your credibility with the target
audience, who will perceive you as qualified
Creating a Research Plan
 Creating a Research Plan (cont.)
Research plan: A strategy for finding and
keeping track of information to use in your
speech
Inventory your research needs.
Decide on your research objectives.
Consider your rhetorical purpose and your
instructors research requirements.
Make a list of the subject matter you need to
research and the questions you need to answer.
 Creating a Research Plan (cont.)
Find the sources you need.
School and community libraries are a great
place to start.
Mix Internet research with research from other
sources.
Consult a research librarian for library's
resources and hard-to-find items.
Creating a Research Plan (cont.)
Analyze what different types of sources will
best meet your needs.
Books
Journal articles
Newspapers
Government documents
Reference works
High-quality Internet sources
Interviews with experts
Use library indexes and adjust your keywords
for broader or narrower results.
 Creating a Research Plan (cont.)
Keep track of your sources.
Maintain a clear and accurate record of your
research resources.
You will be expected to cite your sources.
A citation contains information about the
source author and where your evidence can
be found.
Keep track of citations to help you avoid accidental
plagiarism or the incorrect crediting of a source.
Creating a Research Plan (cont.)
Information typically required for citations:
Name of author and his or her credentials
Title of the work
Source (title of the publication)
Date of the publication
Volume number of the publication (for periodicals)
Publisher and city of publication (for books)
Page number where the evidence appears
URL for Internet sources
Creating a Research Plan (cont.)
Develop a reliable system for matching each
citation to the evidence you obtain.
Immediately record citation information.
Do not assume that the URL that appears on the
bottom of the page when Internet evidence is
printed out is sufficient for a citation.
 Evaluating a Sources Credibility
Credible sources
Those that can be
reasonably trusted to be
accurate and objective
Expertise
Possession of knowledge
necessary to offer reliable
facts or opinions about the
topic
 Evaluating a Sources Credibility
(cont.)
Objectivity
Sources with no bias that would prevent them
from making an impartial judgment on your
topic
Avoid evidence from biased sources.
Audience members are unlikely to accept the point
you are trying to prove if your source is biased.
Evaluating a Sources Credibility
(cont.)
 Evaluating a Sources Credibility
(cont.)
Observational capacity
Ability to witness a situation for oneself
Sources with training and experience make
more credible observers.
Recency
Timeliness
Newer evidence is generally more reliable.
Do not overlook classic and enduring evidence.
 Conducting Library Research
Libraries offer:
Convenient access to the broadest range of
credible sources
Sources not available on Web sites
Databases with indexed collections of articles
relevant to your topic
Librarians who can help you find what you
need
 Conducting Library Research
(cont.)
Books
Store huge amounts of information written by
people with extensive experience in subject
areas
Best place to start your research
Likely to provide in-depth information on your
topic
Typically offer synthetic thinking on your topic
Most are vetted before publication.
 Conducting Library Research
(cont.)
To find books related to your topic, use the
librarys electronic catalog by subject in
person, online, or on a digital e-reader.
Also browse through books nearby on the shelves.
 Conducting Library Research
(cont.)
Periodicals: Publications that appear at
regular intervals
Advantages:
Scholarly journals provide credible information.
Peer-reviewed articles in journals provide sound
research.
Consult general periodical indexes.
Use specialized periodical indexes.
Ask your research librarian for help.
 Conducting Library Research
(cont.)
Newspapers
Provide very current information
Libraries often have indexes for articles from
major and local newspapers.
Consult both general and specialized newspaper
indexes.
Most newspapers have Web sites and many
offer a searchable database.
 Conducting Library Research
(cont.)
Reference works
Compilations of background information on
major topic areas
Help with introductory research on a topic
Major categories:
Encyclopedias
Dictionaries
Quotation books
Atlases
Yearbooks
 Conducting Library Research
(cont.)
Government documents
Provide detailed and useful information on
laws, regulations, and government activities
Resources for finding government documents:
Catalog of U.S. Government Publications
GPO Access
CQ Electronic Library
 Using the Internet
Benefits of Internet research:
Access is convenient and searching is quick.
You can find an immense volume of
information, including that found in quality
sources accessed through many linked
libraries.
The World Wide Web contains about 170
trillion bytes of information.
Seventeen times the size of the print collections in
the Library of Congress!
Using the Internet (cont.)
 Using the Internet (cont.)
Disadvantages of Internet research:
Authorities publish in print, not online.
Information may not be credible or of
sufficient quality; anyone can post anything.
The top-level domain is no longer a reliable
gauge of the quality of a Web site.
Information from advocacy or commercial
groups may contain incorrect or biased
information.
 Using the Internet (cont.)
Evaluating the credibility of online sources
Can be difficult
Many sites fail to identify authors and/or
credentials.
Many articles are posted without expert
reviewing or editing.
Important to develop guidelines for evaluating
the credibility of the sites youre considering
using
 Using the Internet (cont.)
Credibility assessment guidelines from The
Virtual Chase
How credible are the Web sites linked to and from
this site?
Does another credible source provide information
similar to that found on the site youre evaluating?
Does the site weigh arguments for both sides of an
issue?
Is there advertising on the site?
Is the sites word choice professional?
 Using the Internet (cont.)
Credibility of social media
Lack of review before information is posted
Wikipedia is a popular example.
Any user can modify the content.
Studies show it suffers from omissions and is not a
neutral source of information.
Can be used to learn background information at
the start of your research.
 Using the Internet (cont.)
Searching the World Wide Web
Search engine: Program that continually
visits Web pages and indexes what is found
Search results are sorted to make them more
useful, based on various criteria.
Try several to see which is best for you.
Most frequently-used search engines are Google,
Bing, and Yahoo!
 Using the Internet (cont.)
How to improve the quality of your search:
Use quotation marks around key phrases.
Use precise search terms.
Use advanced search features.
Use scholarly search features.
Web directories
Compiled by human editors
More likely to provide quality sources
Directories maintained by universities include
Internet Public Library 2 (ipl2) and Infomine.
 Interviewing Sources
Prepare for your interview.
Determine what you want to find out through
an interview.
Decide whom to interview.
Person should be an expert on the subject.
 Interviewing Sources (cont.)
Set up your interview.
Contact potential interview subjects in person if
possible.
Identify yourself.
Explain that youre preparing a speech.
Describe what you hope to learn from the interview.
Be prepared to answer any questions.
Be willing to accommodate the persons
schedule.
 Interviewing Sources (cont.)
Plan your interview questions.
Prepare focused questions that the person
you are interviewing is in a unique position to
answer.
Frame each question based on the
information that you need.
Consider asking a candid question that the
interviewee might like to avoid, but phrase it
professionally.
 Interviewing Sources (cont.)
Conduct the interview.
Arrive on time and dress accordingly.
Explain the purpose of your interview.
Start with friendly, easy-to-answer questions.
Stay focused and take notes.
Maintain eye contact.
Be open to new information.
Listen carefully.
Ask for permission to record the interview.
 Interviewing Sources (cont.)
Evaluate your notes.
Ensure that your notes are accurate by
reviewing them immediately after the
interview.
Contact the interviewee for clarification, if
necessary.
 Presenting Evidence in Your
Speeches
Important considerations:
Document all your sources.
Present evidence in claim-source-support
order.
Use evidence in a supporting role.
Paraphrase responsibly.
Power wording is unethical.