1. INTRODUCTion TO RESEARCH
Presentation Name
Course Name
Unit # – Lesson #.# – Lesson Name
INTRODUCTion TO RESEARCH
Finding information to guide your design
Introduction to Engineering Design
© 2012 Project Lead The Way, Inc.

2. Introduction to Research
Introduction to Engineering Design TM
Unit 1 – Lesson 1.1 – Introduction to a DesignProcess
“Basic research is what I am doing when I don’t know what I am doing.”
Werner von Braun
Father of the United States space program
Project Lead The Way, Inc.
Copyright 2007

3. Introduction to Research
Introduction to Engineering Design TM
Unit 1 – Lesson 1.1 – Introduction to a DesignProcess
Types of Research
Primary Research
Generating original information (experiments, designs, observations, interview, surveys, etc.)
What you will be doing!
Secondary Research
Gathering information that has already been generated (online research, book research, researching published sources, etc.)
The activities in this lesson require more secondary research.
Project Lead The Way, Inc.
Copyright 2007

4. Secondary Research: Sources of Information
Introduction to Research
Introduction to Engineering Design TM
Unit 1 – Lesson 1.1 – Introduction to a DesignProcess
Secondary Research: Sources of Information
Books (look in the school library)
Encyclopedias, dictionaries, and atlases
Books on specific subjects
Magazines
Wikipedia
Youtube – be careful on this site! Always have permission, and never look for unrelated information.
Project Lead The Way, Inc.
Copyright 2007

5. Finding Newspaper, Magazine & Scholarly Journal Articles
Introduction to Research
Introduction to Engineering Design TM
Unit 1 – Lesson 1.1 – Introduction to a DesignProcess
Finding Newspaper, Magazine & Scholarly Journal Articles
Scholarly databases will help you to find reliable information on the web. A great free resource is Google Scholar!
Google Scholar
General Databases (starting points)
Google Scholar – freely accessible on the web; scholarly content in Google
ProQuest eLibrary – K-12 schools
ProQuest Academic Complete – Colleges and universities
EbscoHost MasterFILE Premier – Public libraries
Project Lead The Way, Inc.
Copyright 2007

6. Introduction to Research
Introduction to Engineering Design TM
Unit 1 – Lesson 1.1 – Introduction to a DesignProcess
Research Process
Define your topic, project, or problem
Identify key words for the topic – try a thesaurus for synonyms
Identify all resources that can provide you with information
NOTE: Wikipedia is NOT a good source for information! However, at the bottom of a Wikipedia page, you can find links to good sources. Use those links to find information!
Use what you’ve learned to search for books, articles, web sites and other resources
Project Lead The Way, Inc.
Copyright 2007

7. Citing Research Sources
Presentation Name
Course Name
Unit # – Lesson #.# – Lesson Name
Citing Research Sources
You have to give credit to your sources! Try to use APA citing. An easy way to do this is by using Son of Citation Machine! This is a free resource that makes your citations for you!
NOT citing sources is plaigerism. The consequence for pliagerism is a “ZERO” for your project.
MLA: MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
APA: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
Chicago: The Chicago Manual of Style
Turabian: Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations

8. References
Garibaldi, J. (2003). Mla handbook for writers of research papers. (6 ed.).
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). (1960). Wernher von braun. [Web Photo]. Retrieved from p.jpg