teaching and mentoring student researchers part 1 dr. nancy allen college of education, qatar...

Teaching and MentoringStudent Researchers

Part 1Dr. Nancy Allen

College of Education, Qatar University

Dr. Gene JongsmaEducation Institute, Supreme

Education Council

Ms. Tarfa Al-NaimiEducation Institute, Supreme

Education Council

Research Skills Development Unit

Goals of this Workshop• To gain a broader understanding of student

research• To learn specific strategies for guiding students in

doing “paper research”• To learn specific strategies for guiding students in

doing “scientific research”


What is research?


What is Research?

“Research is diligent and systematic inquiry or investigation into a subject in order to discover or revise facts, theories, applications. . .”

www.dictionary.com

Creating new knowledge!


StudentResearch

PaperResearch

ScientificResearch


What is research?Paper Research/Library ResearchDefinition: Given a topic, search for information on that topic and summarize what you find.Example: Write a report on global warming.Advantages: Teaches student how to search for information, how to evaluate information (ICT Literacy), and how to summarize and synthesize informationDisadvantages: Students copy information or knowledge rather than creating it.


What is research?Scientific ResearchDefinition: Given a topic or question, systematically investigate that topic to discover new information, facts, or principles.Example: Is the drinking water in Doha homes safe?Advantages: Teaches students how to create new knowledge; empowers them to study issues that are important to themDisadvantages: Takes a lot of one-on-one or small group instruction; and not all students are interested


Who is responsible for

teaching research? What research skills should be taught at each grade?

Should all students

be expected to do

research?

A school-wide research model may help answer these

questions.


Where do research ideas come from?

Should we give studentsthe research topics?

Should we get thetopics from the students?


Where do research ideas come from?

TheCurriculum

TheLocal Culture

TheStudent


My research question

My big idea

Types of pollutio

n?

Causes of

pollution?

Solutions for pollution?

Air pollution in Qatar

What are the major sources of air pollution in Doha and what can be done

about them?

Pollution Big Idea:

Ask questions to narrow the idea:

Smaller idea:

Research question


Research Question Should Be :• Important

• Matter to me personally

• Clearly worded

• A question that can be answered

• Clear how it could be investigated

See handout: “Six Good Questions to Ask About Your Research Question”


How to Answer a Research QuestionWhat do I need to know ?

Where can I find information?

Think about what you need to do to answer the research question.


ICT Literacy


Sources of Information• Internet (World Wide Web)• Library (books, journals, magazines, printed materials)• Local resources (museums, ministries, medical centers)• Experts• Family members


The Internet: Surfing Through Noise*The Internet is like a growing vast ocean. We want to

teach students how to surf this ocean safely and wisely. They need to be aware of the currents they will encounter.

*George Lorenzo, Surfing Through Noise: Riding the Online Knowledge Wave. www.edpath.com/stn.htm

Bad CurrentsGarbage

MisinformationLies

Good CurrentsGifts of knowledgeUseful information

Interactive connectiveness


Searching the Internet• Search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN)• Metasearch engines (Cactisearch, Dogpile)• Other search engines (Kartoo, Clusty)• Subject Indexes or Directories• Online Libraries (Library Databases)• Encyclopedias (Wikipedia)


Do your students know how to use Google?

http://www.google.com


Where can I learn more about Google?

http://www.google.com/educators/


“Anyone conducting research who only goes to Google is not thinking critically.”

Steve BellUniversity Librarian

Temple University


What’s a metasearch engine?http://www.cactisearch.com


What’s a metasearch engine?http://www.dogpile.com


Other search engineshttp://www.clusty.com


Other search engineshttp://www.kartoo.com


Subject Indexes and Directories• Most use “subject trees” or “subject

directories”• Start with the “big idea” and drill down to more

specific ideasScience

Environment

Pollution

Air pollution

Websites


Google Directoryhttp://directory.google.com


Librarian’s Internet Indexhttp://www.lii.org


Online Librarieshttp://kids.nypl.org/internet


Online Encyclopediashttp://wikipedia.org


Can I trust this Website?How do I know if this

information is accurate?


Evaluating Websites: Basic Questions to Ask

Why was this page put on the Web?• Was it to inform people with facts and data?• Was it to explain something?• Was it to persuade people to belief something or take action?• Was it to sell something?• Was it to share or disclose some information?• Was it to entertain? (e.g., parody, satire)

Is this page appropriate for your purpose?• Does this page provide you with information that you need?• Is the information valid? Current?


Evaluating Websites: Which can I trust?Basic Questions to Ask• Look at the URL. Is this a personal page or a Website of a company,

organization, or other group? • Check the domain name. Is it appropriate for the content? (edu=education

sites; gov = government sites; org = organization sites)• Is it published by a group that makes sense? For example, does it come

from a newspaper? A governmental agency? A professional organization? university?

• Can you tell who wrote it or who created the Website? Can you find the name of the author? The organization? The agency?

• Can you find evidence of the authority or credentials of the authors? Look for links to things such as “About Us,” “Philosophy,” “Background,” or “Biography”

• How current is the Website? Has the information been updated? Look at the bottom of the page to find “last updated” or “date” to verify the last time the page was updated.

• Does the author use links or footnotes to document the information? Do the links work?

• If the Website contains links to other resources, are the links biased or slanted? Do they represent only one side of an issue?


Teaching students to be ethical and honest• Plagarism

– Using other people’s work without giving credit– A type of cheating– Dishonest and illegal

• Citing Sources– Telling where your ideas and information comes from


Types of Plagarism• copying word-for-word directly from a text without

acknowledgement;• using text downloaded from the Internet without

acknowledgement;• borrowing statistics or assembled facts from another

person or source without acknowledgement


Detecting Plagarismhttp://www.turnitin.com


Detecting Plagiarism: PlagiarismDirecthttp://www.plagiarismdirect.com


Using Google to Detect Plagiarism• Copy an exact phrase or sentence from the student’s paper

• Choose “Advanced Search” on Google• Past the phrase or sentence in “with the exact phrase”• Search


Thank you for listening!

If you have questions about researchor need additional information,

feel free to contact me.

Dr. [email protected] Phone: 456-0153

Mobile: 681-3987

[email protected] Pone: 456-0l69

mailto:[email protected]

teaching and mentoring student researchers part 1 dr. nancy allen college of education, qatar...

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