Research
six steps to online research
- Questioning
- Planning
- Gathering
- Sorting & Sifting
- Synthesizing
- Evaluating
Questioning
You must understand the assignment before you can begin to ask questions about the project.
Once you understand the topic, then you should brainstorm and write down some questions about the topic. This is a great time to come up with key words to use with search engines.
Planning
Once you have some questions, then you can start to plan out your project. How long is it going to take? Where should you look for information? How many different sources do you need? Will you need to work with others?
Gathering
While it might seem the easiest thing to get all your information from the Internet, it is not the best thing to do. There is a lot of misleading and even bad information out on the Web. It is a great place to get information, but it should never be the only place to get information. You need to go to the library and check out books on your subject as well. You should use as many primary sources as possible.
Primary sources include diaries, journals, speeches, interviews, letters, memos, manuscripts and other papers in which individuals describe events in which they were participants or observers. Memoirs and autobiographies are also types of primary sources. Important primary sources are records, such as births, deaths, marriages, permits and licenses and census data. Photographs, audio recordings and moving pictures or video recordings can also be considered primary sources.
Sorting and Sifting
Once you have gathered together many different sources, you need to put them in some sort of order. Sorting information into categories or even piles can be useful. While you do this, you can start to get rid of the information that you won't use. Also, you need to get rid of repeated information.
Synthesizing
Now that you have all you information gathered and sorted, you need to put it together into one project. There are many different ways to do this. One idea is to do Concept Mapping. To do a Map, you write the main idea in the center of the page — it may be a word or a phrase — then place related ideas on branches that fan out from this central idea.
You can also use the outlining method. With an outline you first identify the topic, then create some main categories and then subcategories.
Evaluating
Once you have finished your project review it and make sure it satisfies the requirements.
REMEMBER!
While doing research,please remember to make effective use of your time online and in the library/media center. You must stay on task at all times. Use a wide variety of information sources, both print and non-print, and take meaningful notes. Keep your information organized and keep careful bibliographic records of all sources used and remember to cite all sources!
One great tool to help keep your bibliographic records in correct form is NoodleTools .From selecting a search engine and finding some relevant sources, to citing those sources in MLA style, NoodleTools makes online research easier!
QuickCite will help you create MLA style sources for: Books, Encyclopedia articles, Magazine articles, Online Magazine articles, Newspaper Articles, Professional Web Pages, Personal Web pages, E-Mail messages, Interviews and even online discussion boards or forums.
