extension history seminar: the project research skills in practice state library of new south wales...

Extension History Seminar: The Project

Research Skills in Practice

State Library of New South Wales Tuesday 1 November 2011

Matthew Stephens, Reference Librarian

Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection,Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales

http://www.hht.net.au

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

Two Key Factors

CreativityBeing originalChoosing your

sourcesWhich research

approach?

DisciplineReferencing &

BibliographiesChoosing your

sourcesApplying critical

thinkingBeing ethical

Key Aspects of Research

Being originalThink for yourselfWeigh up the results of your

research and say what you thinkEven if we share many common

experiences each of us brings something unique to our research

Key Aspects of Research

Choosing your sourcesPrimary sources

Records that provide firsthand accounts or evidence of historical events or experiences. Primary source material can be published (eg. reports, autobiographies, interviews in contemporary newspapers) or unpublished (eg. original letters, diaries, papers held within an archive).

Source: http://uow.libguides.com/content.php?

pid=131840&sid=1217938

Key Aspects of Research

Choosing your sources cont.Secondary sources

Secondhand accounts of historical events or experiences, which analyse and interpret the relevant primary sources. Secondary source material (eg. books, textbooks, journal articles) is usually written at a much later time after the event.

Source: http://uow.libguides.com/content.php?pid=131840&sid=1217938

Key Aspects of Research

Locating Sources – some examples:OnlineIn a libraryIn an archiveAt a museumTalking to people

Key Aspects of Research

Some useful online sources:Trove (http://trove.nla.gov.au/)

http://trove.nla.gov.au

Key Aspects of Research

More useful online sources:State Library of NSW

(http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/)Manuscripts, Oral History and

Pictures (State Library of NSW) (http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/search/SimpleSearch.aspx)

Google books (http://books.google.com.au/)

http://books.google.com.au

Key Aspects of Research

Choosing your research approachA study of documentsA study using pictures A study of objectsA series of interviewsA combination of all the above and

more

Key Aspects of Research

Referencing & bibliographiesReferencing 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 visit ASLA Referencing Guide:www.asla.org.au/docs/ReferencingGuide.doc

Key Aspects of Research

Thinking critically When considering a source don’t just

take it at face value Think about who created it and why Consider the arguments put forward

and make a judgment based on all the evidence you have collected

Key Aspects of Research

Being ethical Documenting your sources

If your research involves recent events or interviews, you will need to be aware of - Maintaining confidentiality Cultural sensitivities Protocols relating to different interview

subjects

Key Aspects of Research

In Summary:There is scope for being creative in

your research but this must be built on a foundation of methodological discipline.

There are many online sources available but you must always assess which are the most authoritative and trustworthy.

Case Study

Rediscovering a Lost Convict Building

Case Study

Robert Russell, 1836, lithograph. Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales.

Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney, 1836.

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.

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?

Case Study

Getting Started:What research approach shall we

take?What sources can we use and where

shall we find them?

Case Study

Research approach:Establish what is already known

Published material – books, newspapers, periodicals

Consider a combination of sources:DocumentaryPictorial

Case Study

Sources:Books, reports, periodicals, online documentsNewspapersMaps and plansArchivesPaintingsPhotographsAerial surveys

Possible information sources:Heritage reports about Cook + Phillip ParksHeritage Reports about the Australian Museum sitePlan of Hyde Park Allotments House of Lords Sessional Papers (Google Books)

Google

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 26 October 2011, <http://www.ausgrid.com.au/Common/Network-projects/Network-projects/Sydney-CBD-and-East/Sydney-CityGridproject/~/media/Files/Network/Network%20Projects/Sydney%20CBD/SCGvol2AppE.ashx>.

Footnote: 23.Wendy Thorp. Heritage Assessment, Phillip and Cook Parks, Sydney. March 1997. p.13.

Newspapers

Maps, Plans & Aerial Views

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.

Detail: Jardin Potagér de la Caserne des Convicts

Plan of the Town and Suburbs of Sydney, 1822

Source:  Mitchell Library M1 811.17/1822/1

Detail: Garden attached to Convict Barracks

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.

Detail Showing Gardener’s Lodge

Six Lite maps: http://lite.maps.nsw.gov.au/

Six Lite maps: http://lite.maps.nsw.gov.au/

Six Lite maps: http://lite.maps.nsw.gov.au/

Pictorial Evidence

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

Robert Russell, Sydney from Wooloomooloo, c1837

National Library of Australia. http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an2982901

Painting Details

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.

Similar Examples?

An Important Discovery

Photograph c1880, Australian Museum Archives

Australian Museum Archives AMS512/5.

Detail of Gardener’s Lodge

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.

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.