BEAMing Your Selfie

Nicole Branch

Santa Clara University Library

Lesson adapted from Woodward & Ganski, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee; Engaging Ideas by John C. Bean, and Joseph Bizup, Boston University. Image courtesy of Flickr user Ayesha Stager.

Objectives

• Plan & execute a search strategy

• Evaluate sources for relevance & purpose

• Discuss potential value of sources

• Select sources for purposes of your assignment

Researching Archetypes

• Develop your archetype character

• Find examples of writing styles associated with your character

• Find sources to understand & develop style

Ways of Categorizing Sources

• Scholarly -------------------------- Popular

• Primary --------------------------- Secondary

• Good -------------------------------- Bad

Bizup’s “BEAM”

• Background

• Exhibit/Evidence

• Argument

• Method

Background

A background source is “any source, assumed to be noncontroversial, used to provide context… facts and information”

Examples include:

• Encyclopedia articles

• Biographies

• Historical accounts

Exhibit/Evidence

Exhibit sources are sources you analyze or use as evidence. For this course you might identify a person that embodies the archetype you would like to create to serve as an example.

Examples include: • Examples of person’s work (author, musician,

entertainer, etc.)• Quotations• Interviews with the author/musician/entertainer, etc.• Field observations or research (for fields like sociology)

Argument

An argument source is a source that tells you about “the conversation of critical views and relevant scholarship” related to the topic.

Examples include:

• Critical reviews of a person’s work

• Scholarly articles on a particular topic

Method

Method sources provide information about the theories or methods the writer/musician/entertainer or other figure is employing

Examples include:

• Articles on a particular writing genre or style

• References to particular theories or methods (feminism, post-colonialism, etc.)

What can you do with these sources for your writing?

• Understand factors that may impact the “character” of your archetype/creator

• Understand the historical context of the archetype/creatorBackground

• Analyze and understand the style of the archetype (word choice, tone, structure)Exhibit

• Gather information about how the archetype is perceived by others

• Gather additional information about the archetype/style/toneArgument

• Explore the genre and style of the archetype as it relates to the field (of writing, entertainment, art, etc.)Method

Listed below are specific ways that you can use BEAM sources for your work in this course.

BEAM Your Selfies

For each of your three archetypes, use the mind map to brainstorm sources for each BEAM element.

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Image courtesy of The White House from Washington, DC (P042515LJ-0719) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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Where will you find these sources?

• Look for encyclopedia entries and biographies in:

• Reference sources (Wikipedia, CREDO, Gale Virtual Reference)

• Gale Artemis (biographies)Background

• Look for the complete text of a figure’s work or interviews in:

• OSCAR Library Catalog (books)

• Gale Artemis (primary sources)

• GoogleExhibit

• Look for reviews, interviews, and critiques in:

• Gale Artemis (for literature)

• Communication Source (for pop culture figures/genres)

• Film & Television Index (for film and television figures)Argument

• Look for scholarly articles on genres/styles or theories/methods in:

• Gale Artemis (for literature)

• Communication Source (for pop culture figures/genres)

• Film & Television Index (for film and television figures)Method

Find Sources

• Using the suggested databases, find sources to help develop your archetype and for your upcoming assignment

Don’t hesitate to contact me!

Nicole Branch

nbranch@scu.edu

x5436