FIRST NATIONS ETHNOGRAPHY: INTRODUCTION
From a master plan to a final draft
-- How to break projects into bite-sized pieces.
TASK (FACTS TO FIND)
Anthropology is the study of human groupings and the interactions of human beings--how they structure their lives, deal with each other, and deal with the world around them.
Ethnography: an organized way of describing the characteristics of a culture
FOR EXAMPLE:
Humans lived as hunter–gatherers in small, extended family units long before they lived in agricultural settlements. For most of that time, small game and gathered foods constituted the most significant form of wealth — enough food to stay alive. At some point, larger groups figured out how to band together to hunt bigger game. Our mastodon–hunting ancestors must have found ways to suspend mistrust and strict self–interest long enough to cooperate for the benefit of all. It is unlikely that unrelated groups would be able to accomplish huge game hunting while also fighting with each other.
Your teacher wants you to present ethnographic research on First Nations groups in Canada. Based on the information you gather, you will construct an ethnographic report (an account of a culture's attributes) of that group. This will be in the form of research essay overviewing your key findings on your subject.
PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT
The purpose of this project is for you to recognize the fundamental importance of understanding what people have found out before and the need to gather existing knowledge and information.
- You will need to access SECONDARY RESOURCES (publicly available) which could include websites, newspapers, e-magazines, and books, and document your use of them.
- You will need to use TOOLS such as databases, and search engines, and also document your use of these tools.
You will write your article as an anthropologist interested in how factors such as how group dynamics are interlinked with day-to-day activities such as finding food, worshiping, and trading. The events of human history are also intrinsically linked to the complexities of geography:
-climate,
-land and water resources,
-plants and animals,
-and transportation routes.
PROCESS
The first step is to have a clear understanding of the overall research process, what should be done when, and the purpose of the activity.
You need to follow a sequence of tasks in the research process. You must understand that your grade depends on completing each task in the specified order.
1. Taking notes: Identification of purpose (First Nations PowerPoint on Categories of Information)
2. Clearly define your research statement (Research Statement Work Sheet)
3. Devise appropriate keywords (Devising Keywords Work Sheet)
I will be marking both the demonstration of information literacy and the final product. Don't feel anxious as I will explicitly tell you how to go about completing this project.
E- Lesson 1: ORGANIZING EXPOSITION
Your job is not to provide general background information, but only certain kinds of information about certain native groups in Canada. Your teacher knows that you are new to this job, and so she has provided you with a list of categories to use in finding specific facts.
To do this, you will need to research the following topical categories:
CATEGORIES OF INFORMATION TO RESEARCH
View:
firstNations.ppt
Download: paragraph starters
Subsistence
Hunting and Gathering
Agriculture
Social organization
Leadership and Government
Religion
Kinship
-Matrilocal
-Patrilocal
-Patriarchal
-Patrilineal
-Matrilineal
-Bilateral
Without abstract language, it would be impossible for a historian to make generalizations about human experience which has been drawn together and interpreted in these terms.
Writing Example
INTRODUCTION
Subsistence practices are often the basis for many types of social relationships. For example, animals that typically travel or forage in groups are most effectively exploited by organized hunting parties. The organization of such parties is often in turn dictated by rules established within social groups, rules that are based on kinship, marriage, or experience. The tools that people use, the territories they control, and the knowledge they require to subsist are often subject to rules of inheritance or exchange that also determine or are determined by social relationships. In addition, relationships with the supernatural and the wider principles of cosmic organization are often closely related to the ways in which people make a living.
* Note how terms flow through the introduction as broad topic and related sub-topics (narrower topics). The main concepts are combined in the first topic sentence, and the narrower aspects of the topic provide COHESION in the paragraph.
In the example ABOVE, the separate aspects of the search were synthesized into one cohesive paragraph. You may need to conduct separate searches on each strand of the research statement. For example, information on HAIDA ritual may require a different search than for information on fishing and hunting practices.
1.1 Activities and Submissions
Download the synthesis example. Introductory paragraph starters have been modelled for you. Fill in the Topic Sentence Starters.
ORGANIZING EXPOSITION.DOC
E-Lesson 2: SEARCH DESIGN
Our first lesson focuses on the importance of understanding how search engines work, and how to effectively use them. We will explore what it means to our economy (and your future employment!) to have effective search strategies.
Most students do not plan or employ elaborate search strategies. Having no well-defined strategy can lead to a feeling of insecurity. A general lack of search knowledge amond teenagers is well documented. Most students use one word to search the Internet. We will learn about BOOLEAN OPERATORS which help refine your search topics.
Your librarian knows that you are new to this job, and she wants your research experience to be successful. She has asked you to follow these steps:
7-Step Search Process - NIBSETS
- N -- Use natural phrasing to capture ALL concepts.
- I -- Identify key words and phrases from the results. Work with the words. Try different combinations. Be as specific as possible. Mark common phrases with "quotation marks".
- B -- Find the ballpark. Identify topical groups or categories. Use search suggestions at the search engine.
- S -- Think about the kind of document you'd like to find. A white paper, a research study? What stock words would likely be used in a more authoritative document. Use these as search terms.
- E -- Expand an important concept by using OR: this AND (that OR"the other")
- T -- Narrow by searching for most important concept-word in the title of page.
- S -- Think about who would likely have the information. Target a particular domain or site. Could also search a group of sites.
- If there is a site or a topic that is distorting the results, use - to exclude it.
All about working with words, identifying the core concepts, and knowing when (and how) to use precision search. In formulating your search statement, use at least three words and preferably four. One and two-word searches will easily find a gazillion Web pages containing that word and not be able to tell you much about relevancy. A search engine is looking for words on pages, and not for pages that are necessarily about the topic. Try to think of several words that might have been used by authors in discussing the topic.
CLICK HERE:
2.1 Activities and Submissions
1. This is a two-part assignment. Review the PowerPoint tutorial Word Work (also located in the tutorial "Strategies for Web Searching >Keywords").
We will go over in class how to identify main concepts and construct search statements. For homework, you will be required to develop research questions and construct search strands on aspects of the topic.
2. Your second assignment will be to keep an ongoing record of how you search for information. Instead of starting each search anew, you will learn to modify your search strategy. You will be asked to write down your search terms and how they change. This will be given a mark out of 20. This is a large part of your overall mark.
Homework Assignment 1: Word Work--Identify the main concepts
Ongoing Search Record: 
Search Strategy Worksheet
Keep in mind, you WILL SUCCEED!!
E-Lesson 3: NOTE-TAKING AND DOCUMENTATION
In this lesson, we will consider the use of sources in writing history. You will learn how to properly document the information you find through summarizing information and using footnotes and bibliographies.
This assignment asks you to practice the embedded tasks of information retrieval:
- summarizing
- paraphrasing
- quoting
- compiling a bibliography
How many of you have had the experience where you sense that you've found the required information wanted by the teacher, but because you couldn't understand it well enough to put into your own words, you've copied it?
Documentation includes intricate systems for incorporating the speech (or text) of others into your own--this could include footnotes, endnotes, PARAPHRASING, and lists of works cited.
It is important to use information that is reliable, but equally important is using information that suits your reading level--using too easy or too difficult texts means that you are not extending your learning.
3.1 Activities and Submissions
1. Using ELECTRONIC NOTE-TAKING TOOLS
You are required to take all notes online. You will demonstrate that you have transformed the original information. In order to do this. I will ask you to copy and paste the original into the note-taking form, and then to paraphrase it using only 6 words.
2. Using ELECTRONIC CITATION TOOLS
Every source you use must be documented in a Works Cited sheet to be handed in with your essay.I will go over how to locate website authoring information. This can be tricky. I am also giving you a simple guide as a reference tool to identify types of websites, as this makes a HUGE difference in how you cite pages.
Link to site: NoodleTools
Instructions for registration
Your login is the same as the computer login
i.e., tamcam.grad2013
password is stmcknights
Noodle Tools Registration.doc
How to cite a site
E-Lesson 4: ADVANCED SEARCH STRATEGIES
CLICK HERE
4.1 Activities and Submissions
Keep a search record of all your keyword search statements
Search_Record.doc
Assignment
Research Skills: Writing and Researching in Social Studies
- 3-4 page essay
- Paraphrased paragraphs
- Quotation
- Footnotes / Works Cited in nonstandard form
assignment.doc
Critera
Organizing Exposition /5
Word Work Homework /10
Search Record Worksheet /25
Note-taking Online Worksheet /15
Works Cited Online Worksheet /15
Essay /30
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