It's probably a good thing that I don't do research for a living, what with me being so easily distracted and all. If I were to ever find employment in that field, I have no doubt that I'd be tossed out on my ear before the end of my first day on the job.
My biggest problem, especially when it comes to looking through old newspapers online, is that even if I'm only clicking on a particular page for say two lines worth of information, I almost always end up reading the entire page, and sometimes even a few of the subsequent pages from the same issue. I suppose this unto itself isn't a huge problem to some, but when you, or in this case, I, also tend to start writing things down for future reference, or opening new windows to seek out additional information about items in other stories on the page. When all is said and done, it's very easy for me to end up spending upwards of an hour on a page that I should've only been on for a couple of minutes or less.
And hey, it just so happens that I have a perfect, and rather fresh, example of what I'm talking about.
Yesterday I found myself trying to do a bit of research for a post on the Beavers blog (shameless plug!). One of the lines of inquiry took me to the July 29th, 1921 edition of the LeRoy Reporter (out of LeRoy, KS), which I realized within mere seconds was a false lead, but even so, I still wound up spending the next 30 minutes looking into multiple unrelated things from just that initial page. By the time I was done, I had no new information for the blog post, and I had to get off the computer and start getting ready to seize the day. I may not have gotten anything done, but I don't consider the session to have been a total wash, as I did come across a turn of phrase that was new to me, "turning turtle". I have no idea if anyone else cares or not, but hears the article in which said phrase was used:
I spent a few minutes looking for any additional info on Mrs. Amanda Gillespie, the driver, and could only find an article from five years earlier, in the same newspaper, that mentioned her and her husband had just celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary. With that information, even if she had gotten married at 16 (which I don't know), she would've been at least 62 years old at the time of this accident. I think it's safe to say that these gals were extremely lucky that day. Model T's from that era usually topped out at around 40mph, but I don't think that a 60-plus year-old woman would've been doing forty on a, most likely, unpaved country road during this time. It's also worth noting that seatbelts wouldn't appear in a Ford for another thirty years, and that people were routinely ejected from Model T's during accidents. If my assumption is correct, the slower speed at the time of this accident is probably the main contributor in all three women being able to walk away (figuratively speaking) from this particular incident.
So, in conclusion, I'm terribly unfocused when it comes to doing research, but do occasionally learn a thing or two. And while I don't get nearly as much done as I would like, I do enjoy reading through old papers, and going down historical rabbit holes, so I guess I can't say that my attempts are a complete waste of time; though it would be nice to be able to focus on specific tasks from time to time.
I have done many similar researches such as this. I have gotten a bit better at it though and just bookmark the site for a future time. As for LeRoy, KS, I might have heard of it before, but I looked it up and it sounds very similar to my town. They have about half the population, but otherwise, many of the same amenities or lack thereof.
ReplyDeleteI guess it's because I'm not very computer oriented, but I have to physically write things for future reference, as I tend to not go back to bookmarked things, and if I do, I will often be unable to figure out why I bookmarked it in the first place. As for LeRoy, it's funny because I just came across a former baseball player from there, and that's now two things from LeRoy, a place that I had never heard of until two weeks ago.
DeleteStories like this are a great example of why research for pleasure is so much fun. In my actual job, research (not historical research) is a major component, and I've taught lots of other researchers. So if you ever do find yourself in a corporate research job, happy to give you some advice!
ReplyDeleteHit publish too soon - also wanted to mention that I used to be a history student, and doing primary research in newspapers, used to get distracted by articles like this one. If I saw an article in a current newspaper about a fatal car accident, it wouldn't affect me, but in a newspaper from the 1940s or 1950s, it hit a lot harder for some reason.
DeleteThat's interesting. I don't think that I'm the corporate type, but I will file that info away, just in case it's ever needed :)
DeleteHistory student? And I don't know why it is either, but I can completely relate to your car accident analogy.
I suffer from the same problem. Today I spent over an hour researching guys from this high school basketball program from the 50's... that ended up leading to nothing worth writing about in a blog post. I'll still show it off in my flea market finds post eventually... but nobody (except anyone who reads this comment) will know the amount of time wasted on looking up these players.
ReplyDeleteOh no! It's not exactly the same, but sometime last year I spent about an hour gathering information on a former player, only to realize at some point that I was researching the wrong player; he had the same name, and played during the same era, but they were in fact two different guys. That was pretty sucky!
DeleteI am easily distracted and drift when I read stuff on the internet too. I start off reading about a topic and 45 minutes later I am on something completely different. I have heard the term "turning turtle" used for boating accidents, but never in terms of a car. I need to go catch up on the Beavers blog too.
ReplyDeleteI guess a lot of us from this then. I really envy those can focus on just one thing at a time, I feel like I would get a lot more done if I could. That's interesting to know that the term has been used for boats as well. Seems to me that "turned turtle" would be more appropriate when referring to a watercraft, and "turned tortoise" would be more apt for land vehicles, but I'm probably just overthinking it. And as far as the Beavers blog goes, there will be a new post up later today.
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