cultivate your curiosity
TRANSCRIPT
CULTIVATE
YOUR
CURIOSITYGrow your research skills in six steps.
1 PICK A TOPIC.
Is your topic just a sprout of an idea?
Or maybe you need to narrow it down.
Consider these tips
Make sure you meet the requirements of the assignment.
Be careful to choose a topic that is not too narrow.
Find a topic that interests you.
Be careful to choose a topic that is not too broad.
These Websites might help you get started.
www.factmonster.com www.worldbookonline.com/kids/home
(Metcalf, 2010)
You need the tools of organization right
from the beginning of your project.
2 GET ORGANIZED.
Bibliography: Keep a list of all the resources you
look at, even if you don’t use them in the end.
Type them into a Word document or start a list on
www.easybib.com or www.bibme.org.
Notes: Write down all of your own ideas and thoughts
AND important quotes from your sources as you begin
researching. Use a notebook and pencil, create a
Word document, or try one of these tools…
Look at these examples
http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/media/hh/pdfs/ideaorganizers/research_ideaorg.pdf
Research Paper Organizer
from TIME for Kids online.
NoteCard from
4teachers.org
You have to sign up, but its free!
http://notestar.4teachers.org/
Here’s a hand drawn mind map.
(Hickein, 2010)
3 READY, SET, SEARCH.
Search the library
• encyclopedias
• reference books
• almanacs
Search the Web
www.google.com
www.kids.yahoo.com
www.bing.com
Just like a bee collecting pollen,
now you need to start gathering
information about your topic.
4 DIG DEEPER.
Search the library
• biographies
• newspapers
• magazines
Search the Web
www.cybrary.org
www.kidsclick.org
www.kidsknowit.com
Expand your search to include
more specific or unique sources.
Remember to keep adding to your
notes and bibliography!
5 VERIFY RESOURCES.
Whether your sources are online or in print, ask yourself
these questions to check for quality and integrity.
Who is the author? Does he know what he’s talking
about?
What did you find and what does it mean? Is it true? Does
it make you feel uncomfortable in any way?
When was it written? Should you find a more current
source?
Where is the author or publisher from? Does that matter?
Why was it written: to persuade, educate or entertain?
Adapted from Redefining Literacy by David Warlick, 2009.
6 HARVEST & ARRANGE.
You’ve done it! Now it’s time to harvest all those ideas
and start arranging them into a finished product!
One last bit of advice...
As you put the pieces of your research together,
be careful not to copy someone else’s ideas.
This one is the original. This one is a copy.
Plagiarizing is stealing.
Use citations and your bibliography to
give credit where credit is due!
1. Pick a topic.
2. Get organized.
3. Ready, set, search.
4. Dig deeper.
5. Verify resources.
6. Harvest and arrange.
LET’S REVIEW.
Now go and grow!
Presentation
created by
Andrea Brainard
July 26, 2011
Information Retrieval and Transfer Class
Pittsburg State University