Research+Classes

Charles Olney is nationally known as one of the best researchers in debate. As a nationally successful collegiate debater (and top speaker of the National Debate Tournament), the college community lauded him for his ability to out-research teams with double the resources. Upon graduation, Charles become a highly sought after debate coach and has worked at Michigan State, Harvard, Gonzaga, and most recently Dartmouth.

Charles' ability to produce high quality files covers all types of arguments (from the politics DA to the cutting edge kritikal arguments). Join him for as many of these research classes as possible to learn how to quickly and adeptly produce efficient files that will win you debates.

Charles will be in Novak every day during Research Time. Depending on the size of the group, the classes will be held right outside or at the tables at the far end (away from the cafe).

Feel free to email questions: olneyce at gmail.com

Monday (7/14)
This session is designed for folks who have not done much independent research. We’ll go over some of the basic stuff to help you get started.
 * 6:30-7:00 - Getting started: basic research techniques**

This will cover how to keep your research purposeful and manageable. Don’t find yourself flailing around like a chicken with its head cut off. We’ll go over some of the basic tools for keeping yourself organized and on track as you begin large research assignments. Intended primarily for intermediate researchers but will be helpful across the spectrum
 * 8:00-8:30 – General research techniques: What to look for, and how to know when you’ve found it**

Tuesday (7/15)
Exploring the many hidden wonders of the Google-verse. This will focus on A) the art of good searching, and B) technical aspects within Google that many people don’t know about (advanced search, news, alerts, searching by filetype, dateranges, etc.)
 * 8:00-8:30 - Research tools: getting the most out of Google**



Wednesday (7/16)
There is so much more out there than Google. Come here to talk about alternate mechanisms for finding good evidence. Academic databases, books, think tanks, law reviews, RSS feeds, etc.
 * 8:00-8:30 – Research basics: beyond Google**

[|www.free-ocr.com/] []
 * Free OCR online:**

Thursday (7/17)
These aspects of card production are often treated as afterthoughts, but they are sneakily very important. We’ll talk about what makes a good tag (spoiler: it should be clear and concise), and how to get the most mileage out of your underlining. I know this one doesn’t sound very exciting, but this is often one of the easiest place to significantly improve your work.
 * 8:00-8:30 – Tagging and underlining: the secret MVPs of debate research**

Friday (7/17)
What it says on the box.
 * 6:30-7:00 – Writing a 1AC**