Decomuntary Research in Translation

Lesson Plan: Documentary Research

Grade Level: Secondary / University Intro
Subject: Research Methods

Topic: Introduction to Documentary Research

 Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• Define documentary research.
• Identify appropriate documentary sources.
• Evaluate sources for credibility and relevance.
• Organize and analyze information from documents.
• Present findings ethically and effectively.

 Lesson Procedure

1. Introduction

• Begin with a question: “What comes to mind when you hear the term documentary research?”
• Collect student responses on the board.
• Provide a clear definition: Documentary research is the systematic study of written, visual, or recorded documents to answer a research question.
• Give a quick example: analyzing newspapers to study public opinion in the 1960s.

2. Step-by-Step Exploration

Step 1: Formulating a Research Question

• Explain the importance of a focused question.
• Activity: Students brainstorm one question (e.g., “How has climate change been reported in media?”).

Step 2: Locating Sources

• Discuss types: books, articles, reports, archives, films.
• Activity: Students list possible sources for their chosen question.

Step 3: Evaluating Sources

• Teach criteria: authenticity, credibility, relevance, bias.
• Example: Compare a government report vs. an NGO publication.

Step 4: Organizing Information

• Demonstrate note-taking strategies (tables, mind maps).
• Activity: Students practice note-taking from a short article.