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
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)
Additional Databases
Website Evaluation
Evaluating Web Pages Requires Two Actions:
• be suspicious
• think critically about every page you find
1. Look at the URL:
Is this a personal page or site?
What type of domain is it? (.com .org/net .edu .gov/mil/us other?)
Is the domain appropriate for the content?
Does the published by entity make sense?
Does the published by entity correspond to the name of the site?
Check out this explanation of the parts of a URL and how Facebook was involved in a URL debacle! https://doepud.co.uk/blog.php/anatomy-of-a-url
2. Scan the perimeter of page, looking for answers to these questions:
Who wrote the page?
What email or name is listed?
Is there a site published date? Is the site published date current?
What are the subject credentials of the publishing entity?
3. Look for these indicators of quality:
Are the sources of the published information well documented?
Is the published information complete? If 2nd-hand information, is it not altered or forged?
Are there links to more resources? Do they work?
Are multiple viewpoints represented? Is the site biased?
4. What do others say? Opinions of it?
Who links to it? Many or few? Hint: In Google search: link: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? (To inform with facts, data; To explain; To persuade; To sell; To entice; To share/disclose; Other)
Is the published information possibly ironic? is the site a 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?
EasyBib
Citation Machine
BibMe
THE POT OF GOLD AT THE END OF THE RESEARCH RAINBOW
This links to the google sheet for research that Ms. Bradley has created. It includes citation help, links to videos, and a sample sheet (named TEMPLATE) to use for gathering and storing your research.
Erin Bradley, MLIS and research helper
Email: erin.bradley@orange.k12.nc.us
Website: http://crhsmediacenter.weebly.com/
Location: Cedar Ridge High School, New Grady Brown School Road, Hillsborough, NC, United States
Phone: 919.245.4000
Twitter: @CRHSMediaCenter
Many thanks to Shea Mustian, MLIS at Orange High School (NC), for help with this smore!