Steps to research for elementary students:

1. Choose or identify a topic.
Sometimes elementary students will be given a topic of research by their teacher, and they will need to understand what is included in that topic. Other times students may have some choice in the topic they will research, or perhaps will have free choice. Either way students will need to identify:

1. The parameters of the topic. If it is Abraham Lincoln, does that include biographical information, information on his presidency, or only information on his presidency during the Civil War? Teachers should be very specific about their expectations, or students may get lost in their research.

2. Define search terms for the topic. Students are not usually familiar with keywords for searching. They may try putting in too much information ("How many times was President Abraham Lincoln trying to make laws for the United States of America") or too little ("Lincoln"). They need practice with identifying search terms and narrowing their searches, particularly if using a large search engine, like Google.

2. Search for information.
Students should use appropriate tools. Adults are used to using Google, Yahoo, Bing, and others as their search engines. In college we use databases that the college has purchased, but it is rare that individuals purchase subscriptions to "commercial-free" databases on their own. However, our school has purchased a high-quality set of age-appropriate databases for our students to use. Students should log in to MackinVia.com when researching, and use the selection of research databases there. Students will need practice and guidance to know which database to use for which topics.

3. Organize information.
Students will need to learn how to evaluate websites and information, as well as to select pertinent information.
Students will also need to know how to take notes on their research, and to make order of the notes they take. Many of our databases in MackinVia allow students to highlight articles and send those to their Google Drive or G-Mail.
Students will also need to learn to provide citation for their sources. For primary grades, this may be as simple as just identifying the type of source they used, i.e., a book, computer, asked a grownup, etc. For the older grades, the databases in MackinVia provide one-click citation that can be copied and pasted to their presentation or list of sources. Every database, every article or book has these citations available.

4. Share information.