Information Literacy
Is this a quality resource?
What makes a good resource?
Relevancy - Does this source deal specifically with your topic?
Scope - Does this source only mention your topic briefly or does a substantial portion of the resource discuss your topic?
Currency (as applicable to the topic) - When was this piece written? Does the age of the source affect its relevancy to your topic?
Credibility/Reliability - Who is the author? Do they have the authority to speak about this topic? What are the author’s credentials? Has this resource been reviewed by other experts in this field of study?
Purpose - Informative vs. Persuasive. What is the intention of this source? Is the author trying to persuade you or is the author presenting information? Is there a bias you should be mindful of?
Sources are divided into two main groups; primary and secondary.
Primary sources provide a firsthand account or insider's look at a specific person, a specific time period, or a specific event. If a primary source could speak to us it would say, “I was there; this is my experience or my experiment.” Examples of primary sources include diaries, personal journals, autobiographies, memoirs, personal correspondence, interviews, speeches, newspaper articles or news footage from a specific time in history, official records, original photographs, creative works such as plays, poetry, music, or art, and also original research data. Primary sources can be documents, photographs, film or video footage, and objects/artifacts. Please note that primary source does not necessarily equal factual source. Primary sources provide firsthand accounts of an event, experience, or experiment. It is up to you, the researcher, to evaluate each of those accounts individually to build an informed, knowledgeable, and well-rounded assertion about your topic.
A secondary source is an interpretation or analysis of one or more primary sources. If a secondary source could speak to us it would say, “I wasn’t there but I read about the topic and researched the topic; these are my thoughts on the matter.” Examples of secondary resources include such publications as biographies, commentaries, criticisms, textbooks, articles, and critical essays.
Example:
The first book, I Never Had it Made, is an autobiography written by Jackie Robinson, and is his personal account of his experiences of being the first black major league baseball player. This source says to us, "I was there; this is my experience." This is a primary source.
The next book, Blackout, is the story of Jackie Robinson and his first spring training experience. This book draws from historical documents to chronicle this important event. This book says to us, "I wasn’t there, but I conducted research about this event and these are my thoughts on the matter." This book is a secondary resource.
The third article, "The Sports Front with Smokey," recounts important happenings in the sports world of 1946. This journalist and his audience were living through these times, experiencing the impact of these events. This source says to us, "I was there; this is my experience." This is a primary source.
I Never Had It Made by Jackie Robinson; Alfred Duckett
ISBN: 9780060555979
Publication Date: 2003-05-06
The Autobiography of a Boy of Summer Who Became a Man for All Seasons. Before Reggie Jackson, before Hank Aaron, baseball's stars had one undeniable trait in common: they were all white. In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke that barrier, striking a crucial blow for racial equality and changing the world of sports forever. I Never Had It Made is Robinson's own candid, hard-hitting account of what it took to become the first black man in history to play in the major leagues.
I Never Had It Made recalls Robinson's early years and influences: his time at UCLA, where he became the school's first four-letter athlete; his army stint during World War II, when he challenged Jim Crow laws and narrowly escaped court martial; his years of frustration, on and off the field, with the Negro Leagues; and finally that fateful day when Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers proposed what became known as the "Noble Experiment"—Robinson would step up to bat to integrate and revolutionize baseball.
More than a baseball story, I Never Had It Made also reveals the highs and lows of Robinson's life after baseball. He recounts his political aspirations and civil rights activism; his friendships with Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, William Buckley, Jr., and Nelson Rockefeller; and his troubled relationship with his son, Jackie, Jr. Originally published the year Robinson died, I Never Had It Made endures as an inspiring story of a man whose heroism extended well beyond the playing field.
About the Author
Jackie Robinson shared the turbulent and triumphant story of his life with freelance writer Alfred Duckett, who contributed to the powerful speeches and sermons of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Co-author of I Never Had it Made, Alfred Duckett assisted Jackie Robinson in writing a newspaper column, and had an important role working on the speeches and sermons of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Blackout by Chris Lamb
ISBN: 0803280475
Publication Date: 2006-03-01
In the spring of 1946, following the defeat of Hitler’s Germany, America found itself still struggling with the subtler but no less insidious tyrannies of racism and segregation at home. In the midst of it all, Jackie Robinson, a full year away from breaking major league baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers, was undergoing a harrowing dress rehearsal for integration—his first spring training as a minor league prospect with the Montreal Royals, Brooklyn’s AAA team. In Blackout, Chris Lamb tells what happened during these six weeks in segregated Florida—six weeks that would become a critical juncture for the national pastime and for an American society on the threshold of a civil rights revolution.
Blackout chronicles Robinson’s tremendous ordeal during that crucial spring training—how he struggled on the field and off. The restaurants and hotels that welcomed his white teammates were closed to him, and in one city after another he was prohibited from taking the field. Steeping his story in its complex cultural context, Lamb describes Robinson’s determination and anxiety, the reaction of the black and white communities to his appearance, and the unique and influential role of the press—mainstream reporting, the alternative black weeklies, and the Communist Daily Worker—in the integration of baseball. Told here in detail for the first time, this story brilliantly encapsulates the larger history of a man, a sport, and a nation on the verge of great and enduring change.
About the Author
Chris Lamb is a professor of journalism at the Indiana University School of Journalism, Indianapolis.
The Sports Front with Smokey by Howard "Smokey" Molden
Publication Date: The Voice, January 03, 1947
In a year when such great and significant strides have been made, it is only natural that the men and institutions who are mainly responsible for the gains deserve to be cited for their contributions. Here is our "Sports Hone Roll" for the past year:
Branch Rickey - Broke down baseball's unwritten barrier against Negro players by signing Jackie Robinson and four others to the Brooklyn farm clubs.
5 Clues that the article is peer-reviewed:
- References – always look for a list of works cited, a bibliography, or a reference list
- Author – educational and professional credentials provided
- Abstract – a short summary highlighting the content of the article
- Audience – content written using specialized terminology
- Graphs and Charts – visually communicated empirical data