CHAPTER FOUR: PROBLEM-SOLVING & RESEARCH SKILLS

Chapter Objective, TEKS, & Essential Question  Objective:  Develop problem-solving and decision-making skills to generate summaries, generalizations, and thesis statements supported by evidence.  TEKS:  Social Studies Skills – 22 (B), 22 (D), 23, 23 (A), 23 (C)  Essential Question:  How do geographers approach problems and conduct research on geographic questions?

Chapter Vocabulary  Problem-Solving  Options  Brainstorming  Solution  Criteria  Source of Information  Gazetteer  Atlas  Internet  Wikipedia  Outline  Thesis Statement

Important Ideas  To solve problems, geographers and other social scientists first identify a problem. Then they gather information, consider options, weight the advantages and disadvantages of each option, try a solution, and evaluate how well it works.  To complete a research project, geographers first identify a well-defined geographic question. Then they find information from a variety of sources; take notes; compare and analyze facts and ideas; make an outline or graphic organizer; and communicate their results in a report or presentation.

Steps in Problem-Solving  Identify the Problem  Gather Information  List and Consider Options  Consider Advantages and Disadvantages  Choose and Implement a Solution  Develop Criteria and Judge its Effectiveness

Steps in Conducting Research  Select a Geographic Question  Find Information  Analyze the Information  Organize the Information  Write the Report/Presentation  Cite Sources in Bibliography

Sources of Information  Research is the process of searching for information about your topic. A source is something that provides information. Sources include the following:  Encyclopedias:  An encyclopedia has entries on a variety of topics.  Almanacs:  An almanac is a book that contains up-to-date information on a wide range of topics.

Sources of Information  Books:  A trade book is a book written for a general audience.  Gazetteers:  A gazetteer is a geographical dictionary, or index of political and physical features of the Earth.  Atlases:  An atlas is a book of maps. An atlas presents the geographic features and political boundaries of places.

Sources of Information  Periodicals:  A periodical refers to a newspaper, magazine, or journal.  Videotapes/DVDs/Blu-rays:  Videotapes, DVDs, and Blu-rays include newsreels, recorded interviews, and documentaries.  Digital Sources:  The Internet, is a major digital source of information today. Search engines like AOL, Google, or Yahoo! Are used to locate websites with information about a topic.

Organizing Information  There are many ways to organize the geographical information you find, such as:  Chronological:  It often helps to organize events in the order in which they occurred.  Cause-and-Effect:  You can also arrange information based on cause-and-effect relationships.

Organizing Information  Thematic Approach:  Sometimes you may organize information by various themes relating to your topic.  Problem-Solution Approach:  You can organize your information by describing the problems and then identifying and describing one or more solutions to that problem.