<< Chapter < Page Chapter >> Page >
"Researching Biography" explores strategies and resources for studying a person's life history, using as an example the author Douglas Sladen, whose works "Oriental Cairo" and "Queer Things about Egypt" are included in the online Travelers in the Middle East Archive (TIMEA). We discuss keeping track of your findings, using the library catalogs, research databases and periodical indexes, and finding out basic information about your subject. This is part two of a nine-part course that uses Sladen's work for a case study on performing historical research.
Douglas Sladen Drawn by Yoshio Markino

Author as subject

In the course of a research project, you come across an interesting book from the time period you are studying, but you know nothing about the authorand thus do not understand what perspective he or she has adopted. How do you study people's lives and glean significant details about them? In this module we willexplore how to conduct research into biography by doing a case study on how to research the background of Douglas Sladen, author of Oriental Cairo: City of the Arabian Nights . ( Oriental Cairo is one of many historical texts collected in the Travelers in the Middle East Archive (TIMEA) . ) We will be using a variety of resources, from the title page of his book to online catalogs. This module is designed to aid you instudying biography by suggesting research methods, providing examples and applying the information you find in a productive way that furthers your project as a whole.

We will begin by looking for books about our author, such as a biography or autobiography. Then we will move on to articles written about him orhis work contained in periodicals. Finally we will mine the daily newspaper archives for any mention of Douglas Sladen, including book reviews, his obituary or articlesby the author himself. But first we should make sure we know exactly who we are looking for.

Identifying your author

Basic information

In order to avoid accidentally researching the wrong author, it is important to gather some very basic information about our Douglas Sladen, suchas his full name, birth and death dates. If there are any copies of "Oriental Cairo" in the library, then the catalog should provide that information for us.If you would like to take a brief tutorial on how to access and use WebCat (the online catalog used by Fondren Library, our example library), visit our WebCat module . Let's do a quick Title Search on the catalog to see if it is in the stacks. Enter the title"oriental cairo" into the text box, and select the title search option.

A glance at the results list tells us that our book is not in the stacks.

Which brings up an interesting question...

What if the work you are looking for is not at your library?

Our research is certainly not limited to what can be found at our library, in thiscase Fondren. However, we are not yet left to the mercy of distant archives and dusty diaries. Fondren, like most other libraries, is part of a network ofsister institutions that make their collections available through interlibrary loan. Books from other collections can be located and accessed throughinterlibrary loan by visiting Open WorldCat .
Open WorldCat is the free version of a catalog that collects records from libraries around the world. Yourlibrary probably has a subscription to the full version of WorldCat , which includes additional features. The examples given below reflect the interface and toolsprovided by the full version of WorldCat available through OCLC's First Search .

Questions & Answers

what does preconceived mean
sammie Reply
physiological Psychology
Nwosu Reply
How can I develope my cognitive domain
Amanyire Reply
why is communication effective
Dakolo Reply
Communication is effective because it allows individuals to share ideas, thoughts, and information with others.
effective communication can lead to improved outcomes in various settings, including personal relationships, business environments, and educational settings. By communicating effectively, individuals can negotiate effectively, solve problems collaboratively, and work towards common goals.
it starts up serve and return practice/assessments.it helps find voice talking therapy also assessments through relaxed conversation.
miss
Every time someone flushes a toilet in the apartment building, the person begins to jumb back automatically after hearing the flush, before the water temperature changes. Identify the types of learning, if it is classical conditioning identify the NS, UCS, CS and CR. If it is operant conditioning, identify the type of consequence positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement or punishment
Wekolamo Reply
please i need answer
Wekolamo
because it helps many people around the world to understand how to interact with other people and understand them well, for example at work (job).
Manix Reply
Agreed 👍 There are many parts of our brains and behaviors, we really need to get to know. Blessings for everyone and happy Sunday!
ARC
A child is a member of community not society elucidate ?
JESSY Reply
Isn't practices worldwide, be it psychology, be it science. isn't much just a false belief of control over something the mind cannot truly comprehend?
Simon Reply
compare and contrast skinner's perspective on personality development on freud
namakula Reply
Skinner skipped the whole unconscious phenomenon and rather emphasized on classical conditioning
war
explain how nature and nurture affect the development and later the productivity of an individual.
Amesalu Reply
nature is an hereditary factor while nurture is an environmental factor which constitute an individual personality. so if an individual's parent has a deviant behavior and was also brought up in an deviant environment, observation of the behavior and the inborn trait we make the individual deviant.
Samuel
I am taking this course because I am hoping that I could somehow learn more about my chosen field of interest and due to the fact that being a PsyD really ignites my passion as an individual the more I hope to learn about developing and literally explore the complexity of my critical thinking skills
Zyryn Reply
good👍
Jonathan
and having a good philosophy of the world is like a sandwich and a peanut butter 👍
Jonathan
generally amnesi how long yrs memory loss
Kelu Reply
interpersonal relationships
Abdulfatai Reply
What would be the best educational aid(s) for gifted kids/savants?
Heidi Reply
treat them normal, if they want help then give them. that will make everyone happy
Saurabh
What are the treatment for autism?
Magret Reply
hello. autism is a umbrella term. autistic kids have different disorder overlapping. for example. a kid may show symptoms of ADHD and also learning disabilities. before treatment please make sure the kid doesn't have physical disabilities like hearing..vision..speech problem. sometimes these
Jharna
continue.. sometimes due to these physical problems..the diagnosis may be misdiagnosed. treatment for autism. well it depends on the severity. since autistic kids have problems in communicating and adopting to the environment.. it's best to expose the child in situations where the child
Jharna
child interact with other kids under doc supervision. play therapy. speech therapy. Engaging in different activities that activate most parts of the brain.. like drawing..painting. matching color board game. string and beads game. the more you interact with the child the more effective
Jharna
results you'll get.. please consult a therapist to know what suits best on your child. and last as a parent. I know sometimes it's overwhelming to guide a special kid. but trust the process and be strong and patient as a parent.
Jharna
Got questions? Join the online conversation and get instant answers!
Jobilize.com Reply

Get Jobilize Job Search Mobile App in your pocket Now!

Get it on Google Play Download on the App Store Now




Source:  OpenStax, Conducting historical research: the case of "oriental cairo". OpenStax CNX. Oct 23, 2006 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col10291/1.4
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.

Notification Switch

Would you like to follow the 'Conducting historical research: the case of "oriental cairo"' conversation and receive update notifications?

Ask