Research Project

Description

You will be assigned one of more of Chaucer's shorter poems, and you will prepare an electronic edition of the text(s) for publication on the Internet.  The edition will consist of the following:  

• A public domain version of the text(s), with hypertext glosses

• A critical introduction

• An annotated bibliography of all available scholarship.

Sample Projects

The Minor Poems of Geoffrey Chaucer:  Editions of eight of Chaucer's short poems, prepared for publication on the web by students in the English Department at Edgewood College  

FrontPage Template

Template file:  A blank template for entering your project into FrontPage.  Use this template for preparing the final version of your project.  You can save the files directly onto a floppy disk, and then use FrontPage or some other html editor to enter your own work.

Procedure

Preliminary work

• Read the poem(s) carefully.
• Read background material available on web (if any).
• Get a blank 3.5" IBM-formatted disk, or a blank CD-ROM; this will be your project disk, and will be turned in at the end of the project.

Research and bibliography

• Start with the online bibliographies available on the Resources on Chaucer webpage; the two bibliographies available through the U. of Texas/San Antonio are especially useful.  Do a thorough search for articles and books on your poem(s). (Don't neglect book-length general studies which may include sections of relevant material.) 
• Next, search the MLA Bibliography thoroughly for additional articles and books that you may have missed. This step is important--not everything will be in the online bibliographies.  
• Order any relevant articles or books through inter-library loan. [Note: This will be the focus of your first conference with Prof. Hunter]
• Read through the relevant articles and books, taking notes as you go.
  • Make sure that you keep a record of the full bibliographic information on each piece--you're going to need it later.
  • Pay particular attention to additional bibliographies included in the articles and books; use these to track down additional sources.
  • Hint: If you can find a recent article with a good bibliography of its own, you can make your own source-hunting a lot easier.
• Compile an annotated bibliography of all the sources you have found; enter the bibliography into the "temp_bibliography.htm" file in the template. Save your work on your project disk.

Preparation of the text

• Enter the text of the poem(s) or prose piece into the "temp_text.htm" file in the template. For a short poem, it is usually easier to type the text, but you may use a scanner if you wish (there are scanners available in the computer lab, or ask Professor Hunter for help). Save your work on your project disk.
• Proofread the text carefully. This is particularly important for scanned documents.

Preparation of the glosses

• Gloss all unfamiliar words, and enter the glosses in the "temp_glosses.htm" file in the template.
  • Use the following format for glosses: [word: definition].
  • Set a bookmark at the front of each gloss.
  • Save your work on your project disk.
• Gloss all obscure or unfamiliar historical, biographical, or mythological references, or anything else you think might need explaining for a twenty-first century reader; enter the glosses in the "temp_glosses.htm" file in the template. 
  • Use the following format for glosses: [word, phrase, or name: explanation].
  • Set a bookmark at the front of each gloss.
  • Save your work on your project disk.
• Hyperlink all glossed items in the text to their bookmarked explanations or definitions. Save your work on your project disk.

Critical introduction

• Write a critical introduction for the poem(s). Enter it in the "temp_intro.htm" file in the template. Save your work on your project disk   [Note: This will be the subject of your second conference with Prof. Hunter; we will also go over the annotated bibliography in this conference.] Include the following elements in your introduction:
  • An overview or summary description of the work(s).
  • Background on the composition of the work(s) (including dates if available).
  • A review of scholarship on the work(s).
  • A brief critical interpretation of the work(s).

Final formatting

• Rename all of your files so that they reflect the poem(s) you are working on.  (Just replace the "temp" in the filename with an abbreviated version of your poem's title.)
• Check all of your hyperlinks to make sure they work properly (make sure you check both the links to the glosses and the links in the left-hand "Contents" frame).  Correct any links that do not work properly.  
• Make sure that your material displays properly in the main frame, and that the glosses display in the frame at the bottom of the page.
• Save the completed project on your project disk, and schedule your final conference with Prof. Hunter.
• Turn in the disk.
• All projects will be reviewed for publication as part of the Chaucer's Minor Poems edition or other appropriate edition.