Welcome to the Maine East High School library's guide to research and resources on Shakespeare and Elizabethan life. Over the next few days, you will be exploring life in 16th century England. The purpose of this website is to make the research process easier and help you get the most out of your time in the library. You can either start at the beginning of the page and scroll through all of the steps or click on the links below.

Step 1: Define

The very first step in any research process is to ask yourself, “What am I researching? What do I need to be doing? ”

To some extent, this is decided for you. Your assignment is to write an article for a magazine aimed at teenagers in Shakespeare’s time. Click here to see the class handout on the project.

Now that you know generally what you are supposed to be looking into, you need to narrow down the topic. Find some aspect of Elizabethan life that seems interesting to you and form a question about it. You aren’t expected to know the answer to that question yet, but you do need to have some idea what you are looking for before you start taking notes.

But what if you don’t know much about Elizabethan times and aren’t ready to form the perfect research question? Don’t worry. No one is expected to be a Shakespearean scholar. Start by trying to get a big picture of the times, explore sources that will give you a broad overview without loading you down with details.

Here are some suggestions:

Mr. Aldworth, Mrs. Irwin, Mrs. Perrone, and Mr. Walsh (teachers at Maine West) put together a website describing various aspects of Shakespeare and Elizabethan times. Follow the links to learn more.

Much Ado About Shakespeare

Encyclopedias are always great starting points. They will give you the most important facts about a topic without getting into all of the details. For this project, try:

• look under topics such as food and drink, dance, clothing, etc

• this is a general encyclopedia covering many topics, so the information on Elizabethan times is limited but worth a look
• search term suggestions: “Elizabethan life,” Renaissance and medicine

Step 2: Locate

Books:

Did you know that Shakespeare has his very own call number in the library? Books on Shakespeare and his life and times can be found at 822.33.

Books on the Elizabethan Era tend to be at 942 and 942.05

Also, try searching in the catalog.
Maine East Catalog
Public Libraries:

• DesPlaines Public Library
• Glenview Public Library
• Morton Grove Public Library
• Nile Public Library
• Park Ridge Public Library

Databases:
Biographies
Student Resource Center
         Recommended keyword search: Elizabethan

Search tips

• Check your spelling.
• Use only one word or a short phrase. The database will get confused by
• complete sentences.
• Try variations of words.
• If you want the words you use to stay together, add quotation marks. For example, “Much Ado About Nothing.”
• Too many results? Try using a more specific search word or combining words. For example, Shakespeare and Food.
• Too few results? Use a more general word or phrase. Instead of “16th century quoit-throwing”, try 16th century and games.
• Change the search from subject to keyword.

Internet Sources

Be very careful when using internet sources. More on that in a minute…

Remember to keep track of where you find information; you will need to cite all sources.

Select & Analyze:

Remember to check both the table of contents and the index of a book before deciding whether to use it or not.

Using Internet Sites
Before using an internet site, it is important to evaluate it. There are over 8 billion websites currently searchable through Google. Who decides what gets published on the internet? Can you trust the information you find there? Before using any website, remember your ABC’s.

Citations
It is extremely important that you cite ALL of your sources.
Maine East uses MLA format for works cited. Click here for a guide on MLA style.

After you research, look at your question from step 1 again. Did you answer it?

If you haven't already, it's time to develop a thesis statement. The simplest way to do that is to rephrase your question as a statement.

         What did teens do for fun during Elizabethan times?
         Teens did x, y, and z for fun during Elizabethan times.

Check your notes. Do all your notes relate to your statement and can you arrange them in a logical order?

Step 5: Create and Present

This is where you take all of that information you researched carefully and turn it into something. In this case, you will be creating articles for Shakesteen Magazine. Click here for the detailed instructions.

Step 6: Evaluate

This is the step where you find out how you did. But before you turn your project over for a grade, there are certain things you can do to evaluate yourself.

First, ask yourself, "Did I answer the question I proposed in step 1?"

Next, look at the checklist from your packet. Click here to see it.

When your project is finally graded, you will be evaluated on two separate rubrics.

• Components Rubric
• Information Literacy Rubric