CLASSROOM PROJECTS

HELP... HOW DO I START A RESEARCH PROJECT??

Information You Need to Know before You Start:

In order for you to maximize your research effort and stay organized there are two Information literacy models that you should follow when doing research. The first model is called the Big 6 Information Literacy Model© and you should become well acquainted with its steps as you will be using them to do research all of your life, whether it is to decide what car to buy or writing a paper.

Let's look at the 6 steps.

1. Task Definition A good way to get started! If you need to learn what questions to ask click here.

2. Information Seeking Strategies Determine the range of possible sources (brainstorm) and evaluate them.

3. Location & Access Locate resources and find your information in them. You need to make a list of keywords for this step, here is an excellent graphic organizer you can download and use.

4. Use of Information Engage the source (read it, listen to it, view it, touch it!) and take out the relevant information.

5. Synthesis Organize and present your information.

6. Evaluation Judge your product (how effective were you)!

and

When doing research remember the word "COWS" as it will help you in being successful and organized in your search. Look for your resources in this order.

Cows Information Literacy Model

C = Current Reference/Print Material
When doing research, always start with current reference books, textbooks and non-fiction library books. Learn some basic information about your subject and start a list of "keywords" you can use to gain more information on your topic.

O = Online Resources
Use these resources every day! Our online resources are the Gale Group and World Geography Online. These are password protected databases that you can access 24/7 from school or home. Get the URLs, usernames and passwords from the librarian. They work like a search engine but contain information that is not available for free on the World wide Web. College students use similar databases for their research projects.

W = Webliographies (Pre-selected web sites)
A webliography is similar to a bibliography only it's on the web. These are web sites that have been selected by your teacher or Ms. Sullivan to assist you with your project. Please go to your class web site to find the web site for your project.

then if all else fails --

S = Search Engines
Once you have learned about your subject by visiting all of the books, online programs, and web sites recommended by Ms.Sullivan and your teacher and you still need more information it is time to search the web. BEWARE! Search engines are not all created equal and you need to learn what types of information each will provide and how that information is presented. Take a few minutes and check out the following links. You will also need to know about the "invisible web" and how to access its information.

How to access print material:

To find the reference/print material in the library
you will use the Library's OPAC.

Before you use OPAC you should make a list of all the keywords you could use in researching your subject.

REMEMBER: When doing research you need to look at the second page of the book entry that you find and review the "notes" to gather information about the book. Also use the "subject" section of the page and look at the subject headings listed for the book. Using these subject headings is an excellent way to narrow or broaden your subject search. It can also provide you with additional keywords to use in searching for your topic. Use your bookbag while doing research using OPAC. It helps keep your research on track, provides you bibliographic information for your project, and will save you time in locating information in the library. Be sure to check out the Reference (R) Section of the library first for specialized encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases and almanacs to start your project

then

Major Search Engines

What can search engines do for you and how can they help you with your research. Read up on each of the major search engines and how they find information for you. Click on Major Search Engines.

and

Specialized Search Engines

To learn more about Specialized Search Engines, follow the links by clicking on Specialized Search Engines for your topic.

REMINDER!
Before you use any web site you will need to evaluate it's quality if it is to be included as a source in a research paper. There are several tools that you can use to evaluate these sites:

Evaluating Web Pages