Oklahoma History Research & Evidence-Based Practice 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A researcher examining Oklahoma's constitutional convention of 1906 finds that women were excluded from delegate participation. How should this fact inform the analysis of the resulting constitution?
- It is irrelevant since the constitution applies to all citizens
- It reveals a structural bias that shaped which perspectives and priorities were embedded in the founding document (Correct answer)
- It proves the constitution is legally invalid
- It should only be noted in a footnote
Correct answer: It reveals a structural bias that shaped which perspectives and priorities were embedded in the founding document
The exclusion of women from the convention reveals whose voices shaped founding decisions, which is critical context for interpreting the document's priorities.
Question 2: Which research technique is most appropriate for identifying patterns in Oklahoma oil lease agreements across the early 20th century?
- Close reading of a single lease document
- Ethnographic field observation
- Systematic content analysis of a large sample of lease documents (Correct answer)
- Interviewing current oil executives
Correct answer: Systematic content analysis of a large sample of lease documents
Systematic content analysis of a large document sample allows researchers to identify patterns, trends, and anomalies across many cases.
Question 3: What does it mean to 'situate a source in its historical context' when studying Oklahoma's statehood era?
- To physically locate where the document was written
- To understand the political, social, and economic circumstances that shaped the source's creation and perspective (Correct answer)
- To translate the document into modern language
- To confirm the document's publication date
Correct answer: To understand the political, social, and economic circumstances that shaped the source's creation and perspective
Situating a source means understanding the conditions of its creation so you can interpret its meaning and limitations accurately.
Question 4: A historian researching the Greenwood District in Tulsa before 1921 wants to measure economic prosperity. Which evidence type would be most quantitatively rigorous?
- Memoir accounts describing the district as 'wealthy'
- Business incorporation records, property tax rolls, and bank deposit data (Correct answer)
- Newspaper editorials praising the district
- Photographs of prosperous-looking storefronts
Correct answer: Business incorporation records, property tax rolls, and bank deposit data
Business incorporation records, property tax rolls, and bank deposit data provide measurable financial evidence for evaluating economic prosperity.
Question 5: When synthesizing sources about Oklahoma's Dust Bowl migration, a researcher finds that government reports and personal memoirs tell very different stories. What is the appropriate scholarly response?
- Discard the personal memoirs as subjective
- Privilege government data as more official
- Present both narratives and analyze why they differ, using the tension as analytical insight (Correct answer)
- Average the two accounts to find a middle ground
Correct answer: Present both narratives and analyze why they differ, using the tension as analytical insight
Presenting both narratives and analyzing their differences transforms source tension into analytical insight about what each perspective reveals.
Question 6: Which practice best ensures academic integrity when using the Oklahoma Digital Prairie (digital archive) for historical research?
- Downloading images without attribution to save time
- Properly citing each document with its collection, accession number, and access date (Correct answer)
- Paraphrasing content to avoid citation requirements
- Using only documents that support a predetermined thesis
Correct answer: Properly citing each document with its collection, accession number, and access date
Proper citation with collection details, accession numbers, and access dates allows others to verify sources and upholds scholarly integrity.
Question 7: A researcher uses a 1930s WPA (Works Progress Administration) interview with an Oklahoma Cherokee elder to understand removal memory. What methodological caution is necessary?
- WPA interviews were conducted by the tribe itself, so no bias exists
- The interviewer's identity, questions, and editing choices may have shaped what was recorded and how (Correct answer)
- Interviews from that era are always more reliable than documents
- The elder's age makes the account automatically unreliable
Correct answer: The interviewer's identity, questions, and editing choices may have shaped what was recorded and how
The identity and agenda of the interviewer, along with editorial choices, influence what gets recorded, preserved, and how it is framed in oral history interviews.
Oklahoma History Research & Evidence-Based Practice 5
A researcher examining Oklahoma's constitutional convention of 1906 finds that women were excluded from delegate participation.
How should this fact inform the analysis of the resulting constitution?