Research Skills in Practice - Matthew Stephens
- 1. Extension History Seminar: The Project, 2013 Research Skills in Practice
- 2. Dr Matthew Stephens, Reference Librarian Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, Sydney Living Museums sydneylivingmuseums.com.au
- 3. Today’s Session The session will be divided into two parts: 1. Discussion of key aspects of research 2. Case study: Rediscovering a lost convict building
- 4. Two Key Factors Creativity Being original Choosing your sources Which research approach? Discipline Referencing & Bibliographies Choosing your sources Applying critical thinking Being ethical
- 5. Key Aspects of Research Being original Think for yourself Weigh up the results of your research and say what you think
- 6. Key Aspects of Research Locating Sources – some examples: Online In a library In an archive At a museum Talking to people
- 7. Key Aspects of Research Some useful online sources: Trove (http://trove.nla.gov.au/)
- 9. Key Aspects of Research More useful online sources: State Library of NSW (http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/) Manuscripts, Oral History & Pictures (State Library of NSW) (http://www.acmssearch.sl.nsw.gov.au/s/search. html?collection=slnsw) Google books (http://books.google.com.au/)
- 13. Key Aspects of Research Choosing your research approach A study of documents A study using pictures A study of objects A series of interviews A combination of all the above and more
- 14. Key Aspects of Research Referencing & bibliographies Referencing Because you are expected to refer to the work of others in the course of your research, you are required to document where this material comes from. A bibliography is a list of all works used to write an essay and appears at the end of the paper. For more info google “ASLA Referencing Guide”.
- 15. Key Aspects of Research In Summary: There is scope for being creative in your research but this needs to be built on a foundation of methodological discipline. There are many online sources available but it’s important to assess which are the most authoritative and trustworthy.
- 16. Case Study Rediscovering a Lost Convict Building
- 17. Case Study Hyde Park Barracks Museum, Sydney Living Museums Photograph (c) Nicholas Watt, Historic Houses Trust of NSW
- 18. Case Study Background: A kitchen garden is known to have existed next to Hyde Park Barracks in the 1820s. The life of the garden was short-lived and was abandoned by the end of the 1820s. There is evidence from plans of the site that there was a small building in the garden.
- 19. Case Study Research Question: What was the building in the garden like and what was its function? What was its architectural form? What materials was it made from? How was it used? When was it demolished?
- 20. Case Study Getting Started: What research approach shall we take? What sources can we use and where shall we find them?
- 21. Case Study Research approach: Establish what is already known Published material – books, newspapers, periodicals Consider a combination of sources: Documentary Pictorial
- 22. Case Study Sources: Books, reports, periodicals, online documents Newspapers Maps and plans Archives Paintings Photographs Aerial surveys
- 23. Google Possible information sources: Heritage reports about Cook + Phillip Parks Heritage Reports about the Australian Museum site Plan of Hyde Park Allotments House of Lords Sessional Papers (Google Books)
- 24. Casey & Lowe Pty Ltd 2004, Sydney CityGrid Project: Non-Indigenous Archaeological Assessment for PlanCom Consulting Pty Ltd on behalf of Energy Australia, p. 35, viewed 4 November 2013, < http://www.ausgrid.com.au/Common/Network-projects/Network-projects/Sydney-CBD-and-East/Sydney-CityG >. Footnote: 23.Wendy Thorp. Heritage Assessment, Phillip and Cook Parks, Sydney. March 1997. p.13.
- 25. Newspapers
- 29. Maps, Plans & Aerial Views
- 30. Esquisse de la Ville de Sydney, 1823 Source: Louis de Freycinet, Voyage Autour du Monde … Atlas Historique par Mrs. Js. Argo, A. Pellion & Ca., Paris, 1825, pl. 94. Caroline Simpson Collection, Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales.
- 31. Detail: Jardin Potagér de la Caserne des Convicts
- 32. Plan of the Town and Suburbs of Sydney, 1822 Source: Mitchell Library M1 811.17/1822/1
- 33. Detail: Garden attached to Convict Barracks
- 34. Survey of Wooloomooloo and the Convict Garden, 1830 Butler, 1831, SG Map S.696, State Records of New South Wales. Reduced plan of SG Map S.696, 1830.
- 35. Detail Showing Gardener’s Lodge
- 40. John Carmichael, Sydney from Woolloomooloo Hill, 1829 From Select Views of Sydney, New South Wales. Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, SLM.
- 41. Fanny Macleay, View of Sydney when St Mary's was building, ca. 1830 State library of New South Wales. http://www.acmssearch.sl.nsw.gov.au/search/itemDetailPaged.cgi? itemID=844892
- 42. Frederick Garling, View of Sydney from Woolloomooloo, Looking West, 1839 Dixson Galleries, State Library of New South Wales. http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemDetailPaged.aspx?itemID=423603
- 43. Robert Russell, Sydney from Wooloomooloo, c1837 National Library of Australia. http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an2982901
- 44. Painting Details
- 45. An Unexpected Surprise! Source: T.H. Braim, A History of New South Wales: From its Settlement to the Close of the Year 1844, London: R. Bentley, 1846, frontispiece, Vol. 2, Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, SLM.
- 48. Photograph c1880, Australian Museum Archives Australian Museum Archives AMS512/5.
- 49. Detail of Gardener’s Lodge
- 50. How was the Building Used? • In the 1840s the octagon was inhabited by a Constable Brown and his wife. The Browns’ idyllic view down a grassy slope towards Woolloomooloo Bay was obliterated by the construction of the Australian Museum in 1846, and the couple was evicted by the Museum trustees in 1850. The octagon was used by the museum as taxidermist’s workshop until 1865 when it was converted into a kitchen and wash house. Sources: Sydney Morning Herald, 5 April 1845, p.3. Various correspondence, Australian Museum Archives.
- 51. Research Question: • What was the building in the garden like? – What was its architectural form? • It was single storey, octagonal in shape with a central chimney. – What materials was it made from? • Brick and stucco with a shingle roof. – How was it used? • Police constable’s house; taxidermist’s workshop. – When was it demolished? • Between c1880 and 1885.
- 52. Insites, Summer 10, Issue 62