Prof. Benitez: Research using the Cañada College Archives

 What should a primary source annotation include?

1. A Citation appropriate to your assignment or discipline. This provides information on where to find the information again. 
2.  Summary or analysis which provides information on what the source is about. This is background information to give context to the material
   1. Why was it created?
   2. What information is it telling you?
   3. Who created it [though there might not be an author, there might be a company behind its creation].
   4. Who was it created for?
3. A Reflection which provides information on how you will use the primary source to support your research.
   1. How will this help enforce the argument?
   2. Are there any unique or helpful features that add to the text?

With primary sources, its annotation adds context to the source and how it will aid in analyzing the topic, event, or historical period. Most primary source annotations will NOT include an Analyze/Assess section but will include a more in-depth Reflect section to put the material in the context of the historical period.

Example:

College documents

Citation: Cañada College Fall 1968 Schedule of Classes. Cañada College, 1968. Cañada College Library Archives, Redwood City, CA. 1 April 2025.

Annotation: Summary paragraph: This schedule of Fall classes is the very first course schedule for the college, which opened its doors in September 1968. It was created by the new administration for the college community of students, faculty and staff. The format is plain 8 x 11" pages stapled along the top and does not include pictures or a cover page. It's possible there was a public facing version and this schedule was for internal use. The schedule lists the names and titles of each course, department, instructor, time, date and units for each class.

Reflection: I found the schedule useful to my research on athletics at the college 56 years ago. It shows that there were twice as many physical education classes just for men than for women, and that some classes like folk dancing and social dancing were designated "co-ed." The term co-ed meant that men and women could both enroll and participate in the class together. Information in this schedule about the types of classes offered for men vs. women, such as wrestling and "vigor activ" (vigorous activities) for men and "rhythm gym" for women enforces my argument that before the feminist movement grew stronger and Title IX legislation was passed in 1972, women were less encouraged and had fewer opportunities to participate in vigorous physical education and activities as compared to now. As only the instructor's last names are included, it would be interesting to find out from other sources whether the classes offered for women were taught by men or women or to interview a woman who took PE classes as a student at that time to find out about their experience.

Personal Interviews (not recorded, there is nothing your reader can refer to)

Personal interviews refer to those interviews that you conduct yourself. List the interview by the name of the interviewee. Include the descriptor "Personal interview" and the date of the interview.

Citation: Lis Darner. Personal interview. 19 April 2025.

Summary paragraph. In this short phone interview with retired nurse and Cañada College alumna Lis Darner during April 2025 I hoped to learn more about food available for college students on the Cañada College campus and how the discipline of nutrition was taught in the college's early days. We discussed Lis's time as a student in the early 1980's. She was planning to go into the field of nursing and this class was required. She recalled that she enjoyed the class very much and remembered a slogan her teacher shared: “Read the label and set a better table.” She recalled bringing her lunch from home and avoiding eating at the cafeteria in order to save money.

Reflection: Although unfortunately Lis did not have many specific memories of studying nutrition or what was served in the Cañada College cafeteria her memory that the other students in class were also female and intending to study nursing fits with the fact evidenced by another source, the course catalog, that in the college's early years nutrition was taught as part of the Home Economics Department rather than as a science course within the Biology Department as now. Her teacher's slogan about setting the table could point to the fact that college women were still being educated to be homemakers who would care for the families they raised rather than to enter a STEM field.

College Oral Histories (recorded - there is something your reader can refer to)

Citation:  Miller, Elizabeth. Interview by Laura Smail. 11 November 1985. Box 1. SMCCCD Oral History Project, Cañada College Library Archives, Redwood City, CA. 1 April 2025.