Research Tools
Research is a life skill. You will use it to choose a college, manage your finances, make purchases, or decide where to go on a vacation. Here at WHS your research may result in various products, such as a thesis paper, digital presentation, video, lab report, speech, debate, spreadsheet, podcast, etc. There are many different ways of approaching research & inquiry. Here are some strategies to help you find your way. Our goal is to help you become critical and ethical users of information.
Discover (Think & Plan):
Be sure that you understand the task assigned to you, including:
Type of product, its audience, its purpose, and the timeline involved.
Select a topic & gather background information to narrow your focus
Choose a topic that you are interested in! Here are some places to start:
Utilize the a concept map to gather background information
What do you know, and what do you need to know, about the topic?
What keywords or phrases will connect you with helpful information?
Are there alternative words, acronyms, abbreviations or related ideas for your topic?
Pose a clear, well-developed research question related to your topic*
Essential questions are not answered by "yes" or "no". They should be arguable and spark debate.
Good research questions should be clear, focused, and prompt the reader to want to know more.
Utilize our Research Question Stems for help in formulating a question.
*You will need to spend a considerable amount of time on your preliminary reading in order to develop an essential question. As you read, it will help to ask questions such as: Are there common themes related to this topic? What have researchers pursued in relation to this topic? Is there is anything controversial about this topic? Can the answer to my question spark debate? Do you have strong reactions, for or against, the positions taken by researchers? The answer to your question should not be obvious or necessarily true.
Locate (Find & Gather):
Locate information from multiple and differentiated quality sources* to help you investigate your research question. Inquiry is a journey, and you will probably need to change directions as you go. “Tweak” your search terms as needed. Here's where to go to find a sources to support your work:
*Your teacher may have specific requirements in terms of the amount and diversity of sources (books, periodical - newspaper and magazine- articles, scholarly journal articles, expert testimony, primary sources, secondary sources, etc.)
Destiny - search our catalog to access books and eBooks from our collection
Library Databases – our subscription databases cover all subject areas (access this page with the password given out at the LLC)
ResearchIT CT: CT’s Digital Library – more databases
Consider organizations that might be authorities on your topic (ie: Civil Liberties: American Civil Liberties Union)
Other helpful sources: interviews, other libraries, museums, historical societies, local experts.
Evaluate (Analyze & Take Notes):
As you interpret your sources, it will be important to assess quality, accuracy and validity by using critical thinking.
Utilize our Source Vetting page for help in evaluating and fact-checking. Just as in a recipe, the product is only as good as the ingredients used! Sources must be analyzed for accuracy, credibility, validity, currency, point of view and bias.
Are your search results relevant to your information needs? Boolean search terms (AND, OR, NOT) will help you limit or broaden your search.
Compare and contrast so that you are sure that you have a balanced collection of sources. See Purdue’s OWL: Evaluating Sources.
We recommend Noodletools for note-taking.
Apply (Putting it all Together):
Use the information you have gathered in order to synthesize what you have learned.
Noodletools® may be used to create and sort digital note-cards and outlines whether or not it is required by your teacher. Whatever works for you, as long as your teacher approves, is fine.
Keep track of every source used for each note-card! Noodletools® helps you do this by “attaching” each source to a card.
Noodletools®note-card template has sections for “Summary or Paraphrase”; “Direct Quotations”; and “My Ideas”: this is a good place to remind yourself of the next steps needed.
Direct quotations should be used sparingly, and only if the author has said something in a unique or remarkable way.
Your notes should reflect your understanding and interpretation of what you have read, and summarize the important thoughts and ideas in your own words; ethical researchers do not plagiarize. (See "Avoiding Plagiarism" section below). Good note-taking takes time!
Be sure to edit, and collaborate with others in peer-editing if your teacher allows for this.
Communicate (Share your Final Product):
Your final product may take many forms, depending on the requirements provided by your teacher. Whether you create a thesis paper, digital presentation, video, lab report, speech, debate, spreadsheet, podcast, etc., you will want to consider your audience:
Who will you share your product with?
What is your message or purpose?
Can you demonstrate confidence and a willingness to take risks?
Can you provide innovative solutions to authentic problems?
Have you cited your sources properly? (see “Citing Sources” below)
Reflect (Assess the Process and the Product):
Critical thinkers continually reflect on both their process and the product it generates. As we mentioned above, inquiry is a journey, and requires flexibility and adaptability, the willingness to attend to feedback, ask new questions and change direction when necessary.
Citing Sources – Now that you have become a critical user of information, you must also be sure to be an ethical user of information, practicing good citizenship in a digital world.
See our Citation Tools page for help and information on citation format.
Avoiding Plagiarism :
The CTHSS Student Handbook defines plagiarism as “use or copying of the academic work of another individual and presenting it as the student’s own work without proper attribution” (page 63).
Plagiarism "may lead to disciplinary action (including, but not limited to removal from class, suspension and/or expulsion) includes conduct on school grounds or at a school-sponsored activity, and conduct off school grounds".
Annotated Bibliography
Your teacher may require an annotated bibliography as a part of your research. An annotated bibliography is a bibliography that also includes a brief analysis of the content, quality, and usefulness of each source. As you look critically at each of your sources, think about the author’s purpose, the intended audience, and the usefulness and timeliness of the content. Is the source credible? What is the nature of the source (ie: periodical; reference work; scholarly journal article; accessed in print or digitally, etc.) Does this source confirm or contradict any of your other sources? Does it support or refute your thesis? Does it lead you to other sources? Please note that the Noodletools® citation format provides you with a template for adding annotations.
Still confused? See Mr. Dunaj in the library learning commons.
Here is some terminology that might also help:
Glossary: Research terms defined
About Historical Primary Sources:
Historical primary sources can be found in print or in many of our databases. Primary sources may include documents, speeches, interviews, historical newspaper articles, eyewitness accounts, letters, personal journal or diary entries, etc. Primary sources may also be visual in nature, such as political cartoons, photographs, paintings, etc.
About Historical Secondary Sources:
Historical secondary sources provide information about a topic or event that is based on an analysis of primary or other secondary sources. Your textbook is an example of a secondary source. The best secondary sources are written by scholars or experts in the field.
About Scientific Sources:
Scientific primary sources are reports of original research that are intended for use by the scientific community. These reports are found in scholarly, peer-reviewed journals. Secondary sources are intended for use by non scientific readers. These are generally found in periodicals such as newspapers and magazines, and they sometimes simplify the process of finding and evaluating the primary literature. They tend to be works which repackage, reorganize, reinterpret, summarize, index or otherwise "add value" to the new information reported in the primary literature. Learn more at SUNY Albany.