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HIST 285/LACS 270 Military Dictatorships in South America

This guide is designed to help the students in Professor Norek's Spring 2023 Semester class with their research.

Final Project

Final Project: 

Primary Source Analysis: This evaluation is the foundation of your research project. It is based on analyzing a single primary source of your choice, which cannot be a primary cultural source.

 

Outline: Present a 1-page outline of your final project. In the outline, you should include the theme, a research question, the source, objectives, and an annotated bibliography (1 to 2 sentences per book or article). 

 

The Project: The final project is either an analytical 10-12 pages length research essay or a 2500-3500 words creative writing project with a digital component (for which you should also present a 1-page length analytical conception background).

In both, you will be analyzing and discussing the historical context of a minimum of two and a maximum of three primary sources.

Choosing Your Topic

Choosing a research topic can be tricky. Here are some tips to help you get started with selecting and developing your topic.

Brainstorm - Brainstorm different areas of interest and topic ideas. You can check the following places for inspiration.

  • Your class syllabus and class readings - looks for themes and ideas that interest you
  • Check the news and run a web search - browse online for current events or content that seems interesting
  • Browse our library databases - test out topic ideas and see what you discover

Explore and test out your topic idea - try searching for your topic online and in library databases to see what you find. Are you finding information that you can use for your research assignment? Is what you are finding interesting to you?

Scope your topic - sometimes a topic can be too broad or too narrow to start. Refine your topic with these tips

  • Narrow topics - if you aren't finding information, think about ways to broaden or expand your idea. What are some larger themes or concepts that you could explore in your topic?
  • Broad topics - if you are overwhelmed with search results and feel that your sources are all over the place, think about how you can narrow things down. Is there a specific detail, place, person, event, etc. that you can focus on for your research?

Talk to an expert -  Contact your librarian. Research which faculty members and graduate students at Emory specialize in the area you are researching. Reach out via email and see if they have the time to chat with you about resources, texts, or authors you should look into while you are researching your topic. While they may not be able to read your research proposal they will be able to recommend additional reading to help you develop your research topic.  

Research assignments often occur in stages, such as beginning with a proposal or an annotated bibliography. For more information on annotated bibliographies, and how they can help you with your research assignment, see this guide from Purdue OWL

Reference Sources

Reference Sources provide you contextual information and an overview of the critical historical events and figures. They are written based on primary and secondary sources. These are good are for familiarizing yourself with your research area.

Reference sources can:

  • Provide an overview of your topic
  • Are often written by scholars or experts in the field
  • Provide key people, places, events, and terms that you can use to refine your searches
  • Often offer suggestions for further reading