Research

Define- What are you writing about? What is the thesis statement? What questions are you trying to answer?

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Inquire- Do some preliminary research (presearch) on your topic. Wikipedia may be the first site you think of searching. Before you do, think about these questions: Who last edited the article? Is it factual? What does Wikipedia say about this entry? Are there any references? Could you use the references for your research? An encyclopedia (try Britannica Online) or a text book could also give you a brief overview of your topic. The USERNAME is wallkill and the password is library.

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Search- Where is the best place to find information on this topic? Don't always start with Google (try Google Books. Think about books (check out the OPALS to find books in our library , other search engines (Sweet Search was designed for students), online databases (check out PV LMC's databases), as well as newspapers. Don't forget things like interviews and other primary sources.

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Collect-Start gathering your information and record it on a Google Doc. 

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Organize- Use an outline first, then wrote note cards to organize your notes. 

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Verify-Is the information you are getting from a reputable source? Verify where the information is from by completing a source evaluation. 

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Express- How will you present the final project? One of the ways is writing a research paper, but you must also produce an artifact. Follow teacher guidelines AND view the MANY options you have to present the artifact.

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Reflect- This is an ongoing process. At each step of your research think about what worked and what didn't. What could you have done differently or better? What search strategies worked? Did you find a source that was particularly good? Any sources that you wouldn't use again?