Getting Started With Research
21st Century Learning
Research Defined
-careful study that is done to find and report new knowledge about something
-the activity of getting information about a subject
Video Tutorials: How to search a database
The Big 6 Research Model
1. Task Definition
1.1 Define the information problem
1.2 Identify information needed
2. Information Seeking Strategies
2.1 Determine all possible sources
2.2 Select the best sources
3. Location and Access
3.1 Locate sources (intellectually and physically)
3.2 Find information within sources
4. Use of Information
4.1 Engage (e.g., read, hear, view, touch)
4.2 Extract relevant information
5. Synthesis
5.1 Organize from multiple sources
5.2 Present the information
6. Evaluation
6.1 Judge the product (effectiveness)
6.2 Judge the process (efficiency)
Website Evaluation
Evaluating Web Pages Requires Two Actions:
• be suspicious
• think critically about every page you find
1. Look at the URL:
Personal page or site?
What type of domain is it? com org/net edu gov/mil/us other:
Appropriate for the content?
Published by entity that makes sense?
Does it correspond to the name of the site?
Publisher or Domain Name entity:
2. Scan the perimeter of page, looking for answers to these questions:
Who wrote the page? Email or Name Listed?
Dated? Date Current enough?
Credentials on this subject?
Evidence?
3. Look for these indicators of quality:
Sources well documented?
Complete? If 2nd-hand information, is it not altered or forged?
Links to more resources? Do they work?
Other viewpoints? Bias?
4. What do others say? Opinions of it?
Who links to it? Many or few? Hint: In Google search: link:all.or.part.of.url
Is the page rated well in a directory? http://about.com
Look up the author in Google
Does it all add up?
Why was the page put on the Web? Inform, facts, data, explain, persuade, sell, entice,
share/disclose, other
Possibly ironic? Satire or parody?
BOTTOM LINE: Is the web page as good as (or better than) what you could find in journal articles or other published literature that is not on the free, general web?
Citing Your Sources
Citation Videos:
Additional Resources For Researching
Take The Survey!
Need More Help?
Email Mrs. Mustian at: shea.mustian@orange.k12.nc.us