extension history seminar: the project research skills in practice state library of new south wales...
TRANSCRIPT
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 reports, autobiographies, interviews in contemporary newspapers) or unpublished (eg.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)
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.