1. Conducting Research
English 2

2. Not everything is what it appears…

3. Be an educated consumer of information
Doing research means not only finding information, but deciding whether a given source is reliable, comprehensive and accurate

4. So where can you look for information?
Nonfiction articles (newspapers,
magazines, the Web)
Fiction
Interviews
Images
Field research
Primary and secondary sources
Expert opinions

5. To find a source
Choose an appropriate keyword. For example, to locate interviews with survivors of the HMS Titanic disaster, “Titanic” and “survivors” and “interviews” would all be effective keywords.

6. Use Boolean search terms
Searching for “Titanic” and “survivors” and “interviews” will provide more useful results than looking for each of these terms individually.

7. How Reliable Is the Source?
Who compiled the information?
Who published it?
What was their purpose?
What do other people within the field think about it?

8. How Reliable Is the Source?
Who compiled the information?
Who published it?
What was their purpose?
What do other people within the field think about it?

9. Taking Notes Details about the publication: Author
Title of the article
Title of the publication
Publisher
Date of publication (if known)
Date of most recent revision

10. Taking Notes
How did this source answer the questions you had about this subject?
What point of view does this source express?
How does this source lead to other questions about the subject?
How comprehensive or reliable do you find this source?