Research at KCMS

Select and Narrow Your Topic

Brainstorm possible topics that interest you and where you can find enough research material.

Use a visual search engine to help you consider various aspects of your topic. Carrot 2

Conduct preliminary research to uncover the big ideas you'll want to include in your paper or project.

Create a good research question. Research questions should be:

Focused on a single topic or issue.
Researchable using primary and/or secondary sources
Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints.
Specific enough to answer thoroughly.
Complex enough to develop the answer over the space of a paper, thesis, or project. (scribbr.com)

Note Taking

KCMS Research Note Catcher

KCMS Research Note Cards

5 Easy Steps to Paraphrasing (scibbr.com)

Read the passage several times to fully understand the meaning.
Note down the key concepts.
Write your version of the text without looking at the original. Include the correct information, but change the sentence structure and words.
Compare your paraphrased text with the original one and if you find phrases too similar, make changes.
Cite the source of the text,

Why do sources matter?

Take the EASIEST QUIZ of ALL TIME.

Let's see how SOME OTHER FOLKS DID.

What did participants learn about Google when they realized they could use it to "cheat" and look for answers? What did participants learn they must do in order to find the correct results on Google?

CARP Method: Is this website fishy or can I trust it with quality information?

Content

Authority

Reliability

Purpose

Find Quality Sources

We've got quality resources for you!

KCMS Library Catalog (Destiny)

How to use Destiny for research, including citing Destiny sources (video)

Jeffco Databases

Here is more information about a few of our favorite JCPL databases!

Scholastic Go!

World Book

Explora for Teens

Gale Databases (Opposing Viewpoints)

Gale Databases (Global Issues and Biography)

Middle Search Plus from EBSCO

Card Numbers for KCMS students

Sweet Search: A Search Engine for Students

Google Tips and Tricks

Think about your search terms. Don't Google whole questions. Start broad and then get more specific.

Use Boolean searching when possible. (presentation)

Use the Google Explore Tool to research within a Doc. (video)

Use Control F to find keywords within a site. (video)

Consider domain type. Use the "site:" feature when Googling to find info within a certain reputable source or just site:edu or site:gov or site:org to filter to those types of domains.

Use the plus and minus feature to make your search results more precise. For example, type "Pedigree -dog +genetics" to find just information on genetic pedigree information, not the dog food.