Focus Question: What is the purpose of research, and how do you select a topic and begin to research it?
Part 1
Before class begins, write the following question for the class: What would the world be like if no one conducted research?
When class begins, give students five minutes to write a response to the question above. Encourage them to think about what disciplines (e.g., biology, engineering, history) depend on research. How would the lack of research affect our society? Tell them that they will be sharing some of their ideas after the activity, but the writing task will not be evaluated or scored. This is a journaling activity that should allow students to write freely.
After the journaling exercise, allow students to share their visions of a world without research.
“Based on your responses, I think we can agree that research is vital to our world. Think about the objects you use every day. Cell phones are products of research. Eyeglasses and contacts are products of research. Even the pens and pencils you used to write your journal response are products of research and experimentation.
“Often, research starts with a question. ‘How can I create a phone that I can carry with me? What have other researchers discovered about the technology that would be required for this device?’
“In this unit, we will explore the research process. Today you will learn how to conduct research to locate and select appropriate sources. Later, you will learn how to document your research according to the MLA, which stands for Modern Language Association. Your end product will be an annotated bibliography, which is a document that formally presents full citations and analyses. Citations give details about your sources’ publication or location information while the analyses give a summary of the sources you read and evaluated as a part of researching your topic. If you were going to write a research paper, you could use an annotated bibliography to help guide your process. First, however, you need to select a topic to explore.”
Part 2
“How do you choose a topic? It is simple; you think of a question that can be answered by conducting research. On a different sheet of paper, spend five minutes listing questions whose answers you would like to research. The questions may be about history. For example, you could research the question, ‘How did the state border become established?’ The questions could be about nature, such as ‘How did the various forests in North America develop?’ Maybe you’re interested in researching cultural trends or movements. You could research the question, ‘How is modern fashion different from 1920s fashion?’ Research is an exciting activity because the answers to your questions are waiting for you to discover them.”
Give students five minutes to write a list of questions whose answers they would like to research. Walk around the room and offer encouragement and suggestions to students who are having difficulty brainstorming. Share and give constructive evaluation of their questions.
“After you are satisfied with your list, choose one topic (in the form of a question) that will be the focus of your research.”
If students cannot decide on a topic, ask them to choose one to explore today for the lesson, and then consider other options before the next lesson. Ultimately, approve each student’s topic early on in the unit or collect students’ topics as an exit ticket.
Part 3
If possible, hold the class session in a computer lab. If not possible, gather students to view research on one computer with the screen projected so all can see.
“Now that you have picked a topic to explore, what do you do next? How do we begin conducting research? Each day we are bombarded with information, but how can we tell if the information that we receive is credible?” If needed, spend a few minutes having students provide a definition of credibility and encourage them to include the definition of information sources. “In this unit you will choose a topic to research and write an annotated bibliography. But gathering information and evidence to support your position can be tricky when using the Web, so we will explore how to evaluate the credibility of information.”
Give students a copy of the Web Site Credibility and Reliability handout (LW-8-3-1_Web Site Credibility.doc). Read the directions as a class, and explain each column. When possible, frame the content as a series of questions. For example, ask students the difference between a Web domain ending in “.gov” versus one ending in “.com.” Emphasize to the students that they should be considering these traits as they read, analyze, and evaluate the sources they find while researching. To supplement what students do not know, use the following general guidelines for evaluating Web sites http://www.classzone.com/books/research_guide/page_build.cfm?content=web_eval_criteria&state=none:
- Web domains ending in .gov, .us, or .edu are generally trustworthy and unbiased.
- Addresses that include a tilde (~) indicate that an individual created the site and that it is not affiliated with a corporation or organization. This implies a personal agenda may be expressed versus objective reporting of information. Avoid these types of sites because they usually contain some type of bias.
- Honest, straightforward sites usually provide a way to contact the host, author, or company.
- The point of view of the writing can reveal the position and purpose of the writer. If first person words like ‘I’ or ‘me’ are used, the material will most likely be subjective. However, third person point of view may hide personal opinions in seemingly objective formatting.
- Wikipedia, Ask.com, About.com, Askpedia, and Answerbag might provide quick information, but they are usually not in-depth and do not always post reliable or verified facts. These sites should not be used as information sources, though they can serve as good springboards to begin asking research questions.
- In researching, try to locate primary documents. Secondary documents can be effective if they provide direct links to primary sources.
- Statistics, testimonials, real-life experiences, and data from studies are useful information to gather for answering a research question.
- When in doubt, librarians are extremely knowledgeable and can help students by giving a second opinion. However, ensure that students make a strong effort on their own and do not take advantage of or monopolize a librarian’s time.
“You will be using this handout to help you evaluate resources with information on your topic.”
Part 4
“When using Web sources of information, it is common for people to simply enter their general topic into a search engine and randomly begin clicking links. Using this method, it can take you a very long time to locate relevant and useful information. However, two quick ways to narrow your search and save time are to:
1) Use quotation marks around a topic that you want to search. This will pull information that contains only the phrase in the exact order that you specify. However, you might want to try variations or paraphrases of the topic so that your search is not too narrow. For example, we could type ‘forest development in North America.’
2) Use a Boolean search by typing the word and between two topics or words. This increases your search. For example, we could type ‘forest development and North America.’”
If you are in a computer lab or are using a projected screen, demonstrate how the resulting searches become more focused and that there are fewer options.
“Once a list of Web sites has been generated, you need to quickly evaluate which sites are useful without having to go to each one. When viewing a search list, you can quickly rule out some entries simply by their Web address, title, or description phrasing. Remember to use variations of your search phrase.
“Credibility is important for a writer to establish so that the reader will believe what you have written, trust you as a writer, and trust your judgment. In fact, let’s spend a few minutes evaluating the credibility of Web sites about research. The content on these sites will help you quickly determine the credibility of your individual search results. Finding credible sources is a key part of your assignment.”
Many resources can help you teach students how to evaluate sources. The two Web sites referenced below are just two of many that can help. As a class, search the phrase, “Using research and evidence.” The following Web site from Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) should be near the top of the results page: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/02/. It may be beneficial before class to experiment with various search engines so that the results are predictable. This Web site is listed on the Web Site Credibility and Reliability handout. As a class, use the criteria on the handout to evaluate the site and discuss these as a class. In general, resources from OWL are credible, so you can use the site’s contents to help students better understand how to find credible sources.
The second Web site listed in the Web Site Credibility and Reliability handout is a short reference article from Princeton University about primary and secondary sources: http://www.princeton.edu/~refdesk/primary2.html, which students can read and evaluate. Notice that though this Web address includes a tilde, it is affiliated with Princeton University. This should reinforce the idea that given the vast amount of information available on the Internet, we need to use good judgment when using the credibility criteria to evaluate sources.
After the class has evaluated the first two Web sites, conclude: “Your goal in researching is to become informed about your topic and to eventually answer your question as a result. As you research, take notes on intriguing facts and keep track of the Web addresses you visit and the articles you read because you will need to return to them later for more details and information to give the authors credit. At the end of the unit, you will use these notes to help you write an annotated bibliography.”
Provide 30 minutes to an hour of research time for students to establish their topics. Monitor students during this process and provide additional guidance where needed.
“After you finish your research, use the results of your research and newfound knowledge to write a thesis statement that you know you can support. With so many resources available, writing a thesis statement saves you time by narrowing your focus. Additionally, the annotated bibliography that you will write at the end of this unit will require you to write a thesis and provide citations for and summaries of several articles. Your thesis is a statement of what your research proves or is trying to prove. It is the agenda of your paper, the point of your writing.”
For students who determine their thesis early, allow them to begin taking more formal notes on the issue as long as they are also keeping track of their sources. Emphasize that citing the source of information is critical to being perceived as a credible writer.
Collect their thesis statements and provide feedback before continuing with the unit.
Extension:
- Students who might be going beyond the standards can use advanced databases to search journals and newspaper articles and to search for legal and historical documents. Ask the librarian for access to electronic libraries.
- Students who may require additional practice can conduct research from a list of pre-selected Web sites to explore a chosen topic. You can preload the Web addresses on a Web page or in a document, so students do not have to use time typing in various search phrases.
