WGST 201 - Harbolt: Notable American Woman Presentation

For this assignment, you will choose a notable American woman (check the list in Blackboard for ideas) and create a presentation on the following:

• Biographical information, including correct dates and historical context
• Contributions to feminism
• Contributions to others
• Why do you believe this woman is ‘notable’ and should be included in American history?

You must include ONLY one website along with two or more other sources (book, magazine, journal, encyclopedia, etc.).

How do you evaluate the credibility of information you find on websites via Google?

Why is the library the best place to find books, magazines, journals, encyclopedias, etc?

Finding Credible Websites

You can include one website as a source for this assignment. You can use Google to search for your notable woman, but make sure you evaluate the quality of a website before including it as a source. A simple way to evaluate a website is using a skill called lateral reading. Simply Google the website to find out more about it. (Watch this short video to see lateral reading in action.)

For example, if I Google "Ann Richards", I see a link to the website texaspolitics.utexas.edu, The Texas Politics Project. If I do a Google search for The Texas Politics Project, I can find out that this project is associated with the University of Texas Austin and seeks to confront the problem of Texas citizens' low engagement with politics and government. The director is a professor in the Department of Government at the University of Texas. Based on this information, the website seems like a credible source of information.

If you have questions about whether or not a website is credible, be sure to talk to your professor or Ask a Librarian.

Finding Books

1. Go to library.louisville.edu. In the search box at the top of the screen, click the Books tab and search for your notable woman in quotes. (e.g. "Ann Richards") [Note: If your notable woman has a common name or a lot of results don't seem to be about the right person, you can add more to your search--for example, "Ann Richards" AND Texas governor.] Click Go.
2. Look through the results for any relevant titles. Click on a title you are interested in to see a Summary of the book and the Table of Contents for each chapter title. On the right side of the screen, you'll see where you can find the book. All you need is your Cardinal Card to check out a book at the library.

Finding Encyclopedia Entries

1. In the same box on the library homepage where you searched for books, type the name of your notable woman (in quotes) AND encyclopedia. For example, "Ann Richards" AND encyclopedia. (Don't click the Books tab this time; leave it on the All tab.)
2. Click on an encyclopedia entry that you want to view to see access options. If the access options say "Request Item through Interlibrary Loan", that means we don't have it here at UofL but you can request a copy to receive the article for free from another school. Ask a librarian if you have any questions about this.

Finding Journal Articles/Magazines

Through the library

1. Start on the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies guide here: https://library.louisville.edu/subjects/womens-gender. In the left column, you'll see Recommended Databases for WGST research. Databases are where you will find journal articles. Many library databases also contain magazine articles. 
2. Hover over each database to see what it contains. Click on a database you want to search and enter your notable woman in quotes. (e.g. "Ann Richards")
3. Click on an article title that looks interesting to you to read the full text and download the PDF. If you are unable to find the full text of an article you want to read, ask a librarian about how you can get the article for free.
4. [Note: If you aren't finding good articles in WGST databases, you might want to try searching for your notable woman in sociology databases, history databases, or another subject relevant to your particular woman.]

Through Google Scholar

1. Google Scholar is another great place to find journal articles. Go to scholar.google.com and enter the name of your notable woman. 
2. You can link Google Scholar to the library website so you can easily access articles. In Google Scholar, click the three lines in the top left corner of the page, then go to Settings. Click Library Links on the left and type University of Louisville in the search box. Enter your ULink ID and password. When you search now, you will see PDFs appear on the right side of your search results for articles that the library owns. If you have trouble accessing the full text of an article you find through Google Scholar, just ask a librarian.