Print to Digital

If a child can't learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn. Ignacio Estrada

Summary of Print to Digital Research Skills

The "Quick Steps" below for print and digital research skills are a simple summary of the basic skills in each of the six steps of The Research Process. Steps are the "What" is needed to accomplish in your research and skills are the "How" to accomplish those steps. Like learning the four functions of arithmetic before using a calculator, learning basic library research skills is essential for a successful transition to digital research.

So what does this mean for digital natives, young people who have been using a device for information and activities since early childhood? (article) It means the same thing: learning basic library research skills is KEY! And library research skills need to be taught. They are not acquired by intuition. Apply the basic skills below on the left, and build upon them, to accomplish the quick steps of digital skills below on the right. To go beyond the "Quick Steps" for a deeper understanding, click on the title of each basic library research step and go to the full Web page. View Research Process 4Digital World YouTube for an overview of the six practical research steps presented in this website and see how this process fully supports emerging literacies that move students toward academic success in a digital world. Use everything without fear of copyright infringement.

How to be a better researcher:

Print "library skills" carry over to digital skills.

Quick Steps

Print "Library Skills"

Topic

Quick Steps

Digital Skills

STEP 1: Topic

Locate and confirm a topic by using topic synonyms to locate information in your school library's OPAC, library or online databases, eBook libraries, and search engines.
Triangulate: Confirm topic information in three different kinds of Web sources, for example, the topic "Jupiter:" online database or encyclopedia, eBook, Web site.
Narrow or broaden your topic based on information.
Use your eChecklist to guide you through the steps of research, accessible as a Google doc.

STEP 2: Subtopics

Confirm "general" subtopics or pre-search "specific" subtopics in Websites, online encyclopedias, nonfiction eBooks using:
- Table of contents = search field
- Index = search field
- Visual cues, such as boldly titled sections of Websites, drop-down menus, subheadings, etc.
- Use Boolean search techniques: AND to limit a search and OR to expand a search.
Outline/Guideline: Use subtopics as the criteria for locating and selecting information from your Internet-connected device and from any type of source accessible on that device, such as InstaGrok for subtopics.

STEP 3: Sources

Triangulate: Use a variety of kinds of digital sources, at least three when possible or in combination with print sources.
Locate Primary sources online: letters, diaries, photographs, artifacts, interviews, legal documents, court transcripts, speeches, autobiographies, and creative works (art. music, poetry, plays). Use Web sites such as Calisphere.
Locate Secondary sources online: nonfiction eBooks, images, videos, periodicals and journals, newspapers, maps, charts, references (dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, almanacs).l
Use criteria to evaluate online sources to avoid fake sites. Beware of blogs and wikis that have questionable authority and therefore questionable information.

STEP 4: Read/Think/Select

Reading: 1) Skim/ scan to locate information in Web site subheadings, bolded words, and menus; use chunking strategies, then 2) Use comprehension skills and general reading strategies. 3) Be aware of the digital reading controversy.
Thinking: Compare what is read to the purpose for reading, which is to support the topic. Use close reading strategies to think about content to increase comprehension and to compare information found to the requirements of topic and subtopics.
Selecting: mouseover highlight keywords, facts, paragraphs to summarize or paraphrase, and quotes to support subtopics.

STEP 5: Take Notes

A good free and easily accessible way to take digital notes is by using Google sheets. Have your Google drive already set up and available.
Types of digital notes: Cornell (digital form), individual or shared Google doc, app such as Evernote, Hyperdoc, etc.
Forms of digital notes: keyword, fact/phrase, NEVER whole sentences without quotes with endnotes, paraphrase/summarize.
Pre-sort: Group notes by subtopic as you find information in a variety of sources.
Cite: Be sure every note refers back to a cited source.
DO NOT cut and paste highlighted information. That is outright plagiarism. Be very selective in copying quotes and use them for strategic support, not the entire report. You need to interpret and analyze information.
Check out the “5 Tips for Effective Digital Note Taking.”

STEP 6: Sort Notes

Pre-sort to sort: Notes originally titled with subtopics make sorting easy.
Use a sorting system: Within subtopic sections group notes by time, related concepts, paragraphs, etc. This can be done with different colors of your digital highlighting feature.
Now you can cut and paste! Going paperless, within a subtopic section, electronically shift notes into a logical sequence, then into paragraphs.
Perhaps use an app such as Evernote to create “stacks” and “tags” to sort and locate notes

Technology moves students beyond the classroom to the world of information

Photo credit to @simoncrook