Embedded Files
Learning to find reliable information on your own is an important skill! Click here to access the school's 50+ databases. For even more databases, apply here for a NYPL library card and here for a Brooklyn Public Library card.
Â
But how do I start?
Research is a process of inquiry, and inquiry is a cycle. Inquiry involves actions that you can return to during your research process as many times as you need. Inquiry happens in different phases.
The Inquiry Cycle
The phases of inquiry
CONNECT: What topics do you connect with? What sparks your interest? Read general information on the topic.
WONDER: What do you want to know about this topic? What are you curious about? Develop your research question.
INVESTIGATE: Find reliable sources to answer your question. Research online, in databases and in books. Use critical thinking when choosing your sources. Not everything you read is true, and most souces have a bias. Do Lateral Reading.
CONSTRUCT: Begin to create meaning from your information. What conclusions can you draw? Organize your ideas so that other people can understand them. Create a mind map, an outline, or come up with your own system of organization.
EXPRESS: Create your final product (essay, presentation, video, etc.) and share your conclusions with your audience.
REFLECT: Ask youself "how did it go?" Think and write about what you feel proud of, what you would do differently, and what new questions you have.
Finding Reliable Sources
Scholarly vs. Popular sources
This video explains some of the differences between scholarly and popular sources. This table shows characteristics of scholarly versus popular sources. Both scholarly and popular sources can be appropriate for your research, depending on your research question, but research assignments will often require you to consult primarily with scholarly materials. Databases are your best bet for locating scholarly sources.
In general, scholarly sources are written by experts in the field and peer reviewed by other experts. Popular sources may be written by journalists, bloggers, or writers with an interest in the subject. They may be edited by someone without specific expertise in the field.
Vertical and Lateral Reading
Vertical and lateral reading are strategies for checking the validity of the information you find on the internet. Vertical reading is when you look at the source itself, and decide whether a website looks trustworthy. Lateral reading is when you look outside the source to see if the person or organization who published the website is a reliable authority.
Page updated
Report abuse