Research 101 Formulate a research question Develop a research plan Validate sources & research Develop your presentation

The Research Topic  Once you determine what you want to write about, do some preliminary searching to make sure there is enough information  Modify your topic/question if research is scarce  Create a research plan  Begin to research your topic –Use reliable sources –Note bibliographic information

The Research Plan  The research plan outlines your deadlines and deliverables –It holds you accountable and makes sure you don’t get behind on your schedule

The Research Plan 1. State your Major Research Question 2. Determine the three topics about your question that you will answer 3. Continue your research 4. Once you have completed your research, organize your data according to topic 5. Within the topic, organize your notes in the order in which you want to present them 6. Write your paper/presentation

Important Definitions  Bibliographic information – the locating information about a source –author, title, publishing info, etc.  Reliable source – a credible or believable source of information –Don’t believe everything you read!

What are Reliable Sources?  Not all printed media and online media are created equal! –Anybody can write and print materials –Anybody can post something on the Internet  So…. Some information may not be accurate. Check these out….

Reliable…. or not?

Reliable Internet Sources –If there is no author, is the site reliable?  You must ALWAYS verify your source –Identify the author of the information and determine whether he/she could be considered a “subject-matter” expert. edu.us.org.gov.org.gov  Wikipedia is not reliable, nor is ask.com

Research  Your data should be organized in a manner that makes it easy for you to reorganize it and “shuffle” it around when you are preparing to write  Use note cards or some other form of note taking to itemize your data

Research  Begin research using an online database  LDMS Library Media Center  World Book Online  login: LDMS1 password: LDMS1  At LDMS use the World Book Online database  Do not print whole articles!  All pictures in World Book Online are copyright friendly.

Some Definitions About Taking Notes…  Paraphrase – to restate the meaning of something in different words without interpreting the ideas  Summarize – to reduce large amounts of text to their essential points and main ideas  Plagiarism – to present the ideas of words of another as your own without crediting the source

More on Notes  No matter what method you use to take notes, you MUST be sure to note the bibliographical information.  Use an online MLA generator to easily create the bibliography

If You Need Help….  Just ASK!!!  Good researching skills will be invaluable for the rest of your schooling, if not your career!