Oklahoma History Research & Evidence-Based Practice 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student wants to verify a claim that Oklahoma had more than 60 all-Black towns established after the Civil War. What is the most evidence-based approach?
- Accept the claim because it appears on multiple websites
- Search peer-reviewed historical journals and census records for documented town incorporations (Correct answer)
- Ask a local librarian for an informal estimate
- Look up the claim on a crowdsourced encyclopedia
Correct answer: Search peer-reviewed historical journals and census records for documented town incorporations
Peer-reviewed journals and census records provide documented, verifiable evidence rather than unverified secondary claims.
Question 2: The Dawes Act of 1887 is central to understanding Oklahoma's land history. Which type of evidence would best demonstrate its impact on tribal land ownership?
- Quantitative land acreage data before and after allotment (Correct answer)
- Anecdotal accounts from non-Native settlers only
- Maps of the Louisiana Purchase
- Newspaper opinion pieces from New York City
Correct answer: Quantitative land acreage data before and after allotment
Quantitative land acreage data before and after allotment directly measures the Dawes Act's effect on tribal land holdings.
Question 3: When evaluating a website about Oklahoma statehood history, which factor most increases source credibility?
- The website has a visually appealing design
- The content is authored by a named historian and cites primary sources (Correct answer)
- The site was published recently
- The site has many visitor reviews
Correct answer: The content is authored by a named historian and cites primary sources
Named authorship by a credentialed historian with cited primary sources signals accountability and scholarly rigor.
Question 4: Researchers studying the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995 might use the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) to access which type of records?
- Personal diaries of survivors
- Federal investigative and agency documents (Correct answer)
- Private insurance claims
- Published newspaper archives
Correct answer: Federal investigative and agency documents
FOIA allows researchers to request federal government documents such as FBI investigative files that would otherwise be restricted.
Question 5: A historian argues that Oklahoma's oil boom transformed its economy using GDP growth data from 1900-1930. What type of evidence is this?
- Anecdotal evidence
- Quantitative statistical evidence (Correct answer)
- Ethnographic evidence
- Archaeological evidence
Correct answer: Quantitative statistical evidence
GDP growth data is numerical and measurable, making it quantitative statistical evidence.
Question 6: Which research method would best capture the social experience of Oklahoma's Exodusters who settled in the state in the 1870s–1880s?
- Analyzing oil production statistics
- Reading congressional land grant legislation
- Combining oral history collections with community newspapers from that era (Correct answer)
- Reviewing modern demographic census data
Correct answer: Combining oral history collections with community newspapers from that era
Combining oral history collections with contemporary community newspapers captures both lived experience and documented community life of the Exodusters.
Question 7: What is the significance of peer review in evaluating historical research about Oklahoma's tribal sovereignty disputes?
- Peer review guarantees that conclusions are politically neutral
- It ensures that experts in the field have evaluated the methodology and evidence for validity (Correct answer)
- Peer-reviewed sources are always free of bias
- It means the government has approved the findings
Correct answer: It ensures that experts in the field have evaluated the methodology and evidence for validity
Peer review means qualified scholars have scrutinized the research methodology and evidence, which increases but does not guarantee reliability.
Oklahoma History Research & Evidence-Based Practice 3
A student wants to verify a claim that Oklahoma had more than 60 all-Black towns established after the Civil War.
What is the most evidence-based approach?