Teaching and Mentoring Student Researchers Part 1 Dr. Nancy Allen College of Education, Qatar University Dr. Gene Jongsma Education Institute, Supreme Education Council Ms. Tarfa Al-Naimi Education Institute, Supreme Education Council

Research Skills Development Unit Goals of this Workshop To gain a broader understanding of student research To learn specific strategies for guiding students in doing “paper research” To learn specific strategies for guiding students in doing “scientific research”

Research Skills Development Unit What is research?

Research Skills Development Unit What is Research? “ Research is diligent and systematic inquiry or investigation into a subject in order to discover or revise facts, theories, applications...” Creating new knowledge!

Research Skills Development Unit Student Research Paper Research Scientific Research

Research Skills Development Unit What is research? Paper Research/Library Research Definition: Given a topic, search for information on that topic and summarize what you find. Example: Write a report on global warming. Advantages: Teaches student how to search for information, how to evaluate information (ICT Literacy), and how to summarize and synthesize information Disadvantages: Students copy information or knowledge rather than creating it.

Research Skills Development Unit What is research? Scientific Research Definition: Given a topic or question, systematically investigate that topic to discover new information, facts, or principles. Example: Is the drinking water in Doha homes safe? Advantages: Teaches students how to create new knowledge; empowers them to study issues that are important to them Disadvantages: Takes a lot of one-on-one or small group instruction; and not all students are interested

Research Skills Development Unit Who is responsible for teaching research? What research skills should be taught at each grade? Should all students be expected to do research? A school-wide research model may help answer these questions.

Research Skills Development Unit Where do research ideas come from? Should we give students the research topics? Should we get the topics from the students?

Research Skills Development Unit Where do research ideas come from? The Curriculum The Local Culture The Student

Research Skills Development Unit My research question My big idea Types of pollution ? Causes of pollution? Solutions for pollution? Air pollution in Qatar What are the major sources of air pollution in Doha and what can be done about them? Pollution Big Idea: Ask questions to narrow the idea: Smaller idea: Research question

Research Skills Development Unit Research Question Should Be : Important Matter to me personally Clearly worded A question that can be answered Clear how it could be investigated See handout: “Six Good Questions to Ask About Your Research Question”

Research Skills Development Unit How to Answer a Research Question What do I need to know ? Where can I find information? Think about what you need to do to answer the research question.

Research Skills Development Unit ICT Literacy

Research Skills Development Unit Sources of Information Internet (World Wide Web) Library (books, journals, magazines, printed materials) Local resources (museums, ministries, medical centers) Experts Family members

Research Skills Development Unit The Internet: Surfing Through Noise* The Internet is like a growing vast ocean. We want to teach students how to surf this ocean safely and wisely. They need to be aware of the currents they will encounter. *George Lorenzo, Surfing Through Noise: Riding the Online Knowledge Wave. Bad Currents Garbage Misinformation Lies Good Currents Gifts of knowledge Useful information Interactive connectiveness

Research Skills Development Unit Searching the Internet Search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN) Metasearch engines (Cactisearch, Dogpile) Other search engines (Kartoo, Clusty) Subject Indexes or Directories Online Libraries (Library Databases) Encyclopedias (Wikipedia)

Research Skills Development Unit Do your students know how to use Google?

Research Skills Development Unit Where can I learn more about Google?

Research Skills Development Unit “Anyone conducting research who only goes to Google is not thinking critically.” Steve Bell University Librarian Temple University

Research Skills Development Unit What’s a metasearch engine?

Research Skills Development Unit What’s a metasearch engine?

Research Skills Development Unit Other search engines

Research Skills Development Unit Other search engines

Research Skills Development Unit Other search engines

Research Skills Development Unit Other search engines

Research Skills Development Unit Subject Indexes and Directories Most use “subject trees” or “subject directories” Start with the “big idea” and drill down to more specific ideas Science Environment Pollution Air pollution Websites

Research Skills Development Unit Google Directory

Research Skills Development Unit Librarian’s Internet Index

Research Skills Development Unit Online Libraries

Research Skills Development Unit Online Encyclopedias

Research Skills Development Unit Can I trust this Website? How do I know if this information is accurate?

Research Skills Development Unit Evaluating Websites: Basic Questions to Ask Why was this page put on the Web? Was it to inform people with facts and data? Was it to explain something? Was it to persuade people to belief something or take action? Was it to sell something? Was it to share or disclose some information? Was it to entertain? (e.g., parody, satire) Is this page appropriate for your purpose? Does this page provide you with information that you need? Is the information valid? Current?

Research Skills Development Unit Evaluating Websites: Which can I trust? Basic Questions to Ask Look at the URL. Is this a personal page or a Website of a company, organization, or other group? Check the domain name. Is it appropriate for the content? (edu=education sites; gov = government sites; org = organization sites) Is it published by a group that makes sense? For example, does it come from a newspaper? A governmental agency? A professional organization? university? Can you tell who wrote it or who created the Website? Can you find the name of the author? The organization? The agency? Can you find evidence of the authority or credentials of the authors? Look for links to things such as “About Us,” “Philosophy,” “Background,” or “Biography” How current is the Website? Has the information been updated? Look at the bottom of the page to find “last updated” or “date” to verify the last time the page was updated. Does the author use links or footnotes to document the information? Do the links work? If the Website contains links to other resources, are the links biased or slanted? Do they represent only one side of an issue?

Research Skills Development Unit Teaching students to be ethical and honest Plagarism – Using other people’s work without giving credit – A type of cheating – Dishonest and illegal Citing Sources – Telling where your ideas and information comes from

Research Skills Development Unit Types of Plagarism copying word-for-word directly from a text without acknowledgement; using text downloaded from the Internet without acknowledgement; borrowing statistics or assembled facts from another person or source without acknowledgement

Research Skills Development Unit Detecting Plagarism

Research Skills Development Unit Detecting Plagiarism: PlagiarismDirect

Research Skills Development Unit Using Google to Detect Plagiarism Copy an exact phrase or sentence from the student’s paper Choose “Advanced Search” on Google Past the phrase or sentence in “with the exact phrase” Search

Research Skills Development Unit Thank you for listening! If you have questions about research or need additional information, feel free to contact me. Dr. Gene Office Phone: Mobile: Tarfa Office Pone: 456-0l69