Research Guidelines
Your project question will require you to explore different types of resources as you research information. Each question asks for something different, but all require you to demonstrate six specific skills commonly known as the “Big6”.
I Determine what is being asked of you. Are you being asked to:
Examine (look critically for the purpose of investigating, inspecting, or test by questioning)
Compare & Contrast (examine for similarities & differences)
Hypothesize (create a theory to explain certain facts)
Define (concepts, ideas, terms, time periods, geography, values, beliefs, etc.)
Construct (create by building, a sort of piece by piece)
Chart (map or plan for the purpose of demonstrating a progression of ideas, geographical locations, historical events, etc.)
Gather (collect and/or group information for a conclusion)
Personify (to think of or represent a person or persons beliefs, philosophy, or values)
II Information seeking strategies
To know where to look, you MUST first know something about your subject. Your text book is a good place to begin, and will provide you with bibliographies and websites that you may find useful. Also, an encyclopedia is a general resource on all kinds of topics. Even those of us who have spent many years in school still go to this resource first when seeking information. Not all encyclopedias are the same. I recommend World Book Encyclopedia, as well as any other you prefer. It is always best to compare 2types of resources; they often have different information. Remember to use the index, not all information on any given topic/subject is located in one place in an encyclopedia.
III Location and Access
Locate:
You will need to rely upon a variety of resources as you search for specific information from within each source. The question you have been given determines the purpose of your research and provides the strategy and type of resources you will need.
If you are looking for :
Specific facts : use annuals, yearbooks, directories, encyclopedias, almanacs, dictionaries
History : Look in the 900’s if the library uses the Dewey Decimal Classification System & D’s if the library uses the Library of Congress Classification System(these are the two most common classification systems used in libraries), timelines, primary sources (example, look in the catalog for Chinese-History-Sources)
Location : use atlases, maps, gazetteers, guidebooks
People : a biography can be found in individual biographies, books about types of people, dictionaries, directories, and encyclopedias
Statistics : use annuals, almanacs
Access:
Accessing information means locating what you need from a source. Access tools direct you to information sources; i.e.
library catalogues direct to books, magazines & journals, videotapes;
Indexes direct to articles, portions of other works, and periodicals;
bibliographies in books and specialized references direct to a list of other works the author used to support his/her work;
search engines direct you to website and webpages. Different search engines perform different searches. Yahoo, Altavista, and Looksmart are directories (systemically arranged, usually by alphabet or classed, listing of persons or organizations, like the phone book). Google, Hotbot, and Webcrawler are search engines that search their own databases for the key words you have typed, they do not go all over the World Wide Web looking for your request. This is why you may get different information with different search engines. When you use a search engine you must sort your hits from the screen, which is
why it is often best to use a database that has collected information specific to your subject(like those on the Greely High School (GHS) library webpage or the Maine Electronic databases) before doing a general search on a general search engine. If you do choose to use a search engine you will need to evaluate each website to determine the sites’ validity in terms of : accuracy of information, authorship, objectivity, currency, and level of information coverage.
Greely High School (GHS) Library has several databases that you can access from your internet connected home computer or from a computer at Prince Memorial Library (PML). There are also links from GHS webpage to PML and the Portland Public Library (PPL). The GHS URL address is: http://www.msad51.org/GHS/library.htm
Librarian Mrs. Gray has provided a brief annotation for each of the postings to assist you in your choice of database. Some of the databases require a password, be sure to check with Mrs. Gray before school is out for the summer so that you may use all of the databases over the summer. You will probably find the Electronic Databases for the state of Maine http://libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/ , linked off of the webpage, an invaluable resource. The Maine databases require no password, but may ask for your library affiliation and zip code.
Prince Memorial Library (PML), or other area libraries, will have encyclopedias, dictionaries, and atlases* that will help with the beginning of your research. Interlibrary loans (ILL) are an option and possibly a necessity, but keep in mind it takes TIME to receive materials. In addition, you may also be able to utilize their internet connections and word processing if you do not have a home computer. Be prepared, you will NEED to use a larger library as you progress through your research.
* Atlas of the World’s Religion @PML traces geographically from ancient times religions throughout the world. You can view maps with general history of religion or select a specific geographical region or religion from the table of contents.
Portland Public Library (PPL) provides library cards free for folks residing in Cumberland County. The PPL catalog can be searched from their webpage http://www.portlandlibrary.com/ . PML can have materials sent from PPL to PML through ILL, although this takes time.
1) The Albert Brenner Glickman Library on Forest Ave at the Portland Campus(note: this library uses the Library of Congress Classification system)
2) The Gorham Campus library located in Bailey Hall
3) The Lewiston-Auburn Campus Library
University library resources are available to the general public while visiting the library facility itself. Some of the electronic resources are only available to University students, faculty, and staff. Ursus (is the shared catalog of the University of Maine System, Bangor Public Library, Maine State Library and Legislative Reference Library) can be linked from the GHS library web page.
NOTE: Remember to check each library for their hours of operations. Summer hours are often a reduced schedule and may not resemble the regular school year hours.
*Although you probably feel the first three steps are already a lot of work it is the following three steps that are the most difficult. The first three require you know or learn how to research, the following three steps reflect your ability to think critically.
IV Use of Information
The only way you will know what information is helpful and what isn’t is by “engaging” with the material. Depending on the type of information you will need to read, listen, view, or touch to determine, select, and extract what is relevant. It is often best not so search and locate great amounts of information before engaging with any of it. Begin by learning something about your question and expand as your information needs and interest increase. Sometimes a particular aspect of your subject/topic interests you and your search becomes narrower; sometimes it broadens. It all depends upon what you are looking for and why.
*Remember to always, always, keep track of what information you have found and where. There are many methods of doing this (index cards for example) and styles of reporting you sources (Modern Language Association (MLA) citation style for example, which is linked from the GHS webpage). The crime of using someone’s research efforts and intellectual thought is called plagiarism, and the crime speaks to the character of the individual. It is very serious. Plagiarism on any assignment may result in your receiving a lower grade, or even a zero!
V Synthesize
This step refers to putting pieces together in an organized way to present you thoughts based upon what you have located and therefore learned from your research for, in this situation, your teacher. Your concern here is with presenting/demonstrating your information and knowledge to your audience (who wants to know).
VII Evaluate
This is the last step, but an important one. This is where you demonstrate your ability to look back at all your work and make your final conclusion. You decide the efficiency of your research process and the effectiveness of your end product. The questions you now answer are “so what?” and “what have I learned?”. It is with this step and with these questions that you determine for yourself whether or not you have adequately accomplished what has been asked of you.
Created by: Deirdre Dupree, MLS Intern February 2003
Site Supervisor: Judy Gray
Sources Consulted
Berkowitz, Bob and Mike Eisenberg. The Big6 Skills . February 18, 2003. February 22, 2003. http://www.big6.com
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