Research Skills

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When high-ability students learn necessary research skills they enter college, and sometimes their career, prepared to meet the rigor that awaits them. They are more often aware of the research tools and skills needed for effective research and understand the expectations of scholarly disciplines. Assignments that teach research tools can help students gain confidence in doing research and teach a sense of how scholars use resources in a field of study.  Students should learn to think like a disciplinarian through the research of that field.  High-ability students may also use these skills to learn more about their area of passion through independent research.

Teaching research skills begins as early as Kindergarten and even for some parents, before their child actually begins school.  High-ability students naturally ask questions about their world. They understand when someone says – “I don’t know, but let’s find out.”  They also are very observant of their world and can give descriptive information of what they learn from their observations.  This is the first step to research.

As students progress through school, research skills, of course, become more sophisticated.   Research skills are not grade assigned but are taught at different levels of understanding as a student progresses and should follow the student’s readiness, ability, and interest.

Students should be able to:

Select a research topic of interest

  • Use criteria for selecting a research topic.
  • Identify key concepts of the topic.
  • Form relevant questions about the topic.
  • Understand that it is the issue within the topic that determines the need for more meaningful research: i.e. How is the horse valued in today’s society? vs. horses; Can disease be eradicated from the world? vs. smallpox; or How does the currency of a government have world wide effects? vs. currency.

Use multiple resources to gather information: electronic resources, library resources, experts, student-developed resources and community resources

  • Use key words and questions to search for resources.
  • Identify, locate, and differentiate between primary and secondary sources of information.
  • Cite sources correctly.
  • Evaluate the reliability of a source by using criteria such as  date of information, authority of person giving the information, etc.

Locate, analyze and understand the information

  • Learn the skill of skimming and scanning.
  • Recognize keywords and concepts in the information.
  • Understand that information may vary from source to source.
  • Make decisions about the usefulness and accuracy of the information.
  • Use various note-taking strategies.
  • Examine information from different points of view.

Organize information

  • Evaluate, predict, and draw conclusions based on facts and premises in the information.
  • Paraphrase information.
  • Sort, classify and sequence pieces of information.
  • Use graphic organizers and/or outlines to arrange information.
  • Summarize main points.

Present research findings

  • Analyze and choose the most appropriate format for presentation or product (may be assigned by the teacher).
  • Consider the purpose and audience for the product or presentation.
  • Share new understandings in an interesting way.
  • Plan and develop the presentation or product.

Reflect, assess and evaluate the process

  • Modify work based on feedback.
  • Reflect and identify additional areas of interest.

Selecting a research topic

First, topic selection may come from the student or from a list supplied by the teacher.

  • Student choice should be part of the research selection since student interest will produce a better research product.
  • Students use criteria for choosing a topic. Criteria may include:  what really interests me?... what topic is the most useful to me?...what would be interesting to others?... what topic has the most adequate number of resources?...is this topic too broad?...is this topic too narrow?...
  • As students choose their topic, it is important that they understand the expectations of the assignment.  Guidelines and frequent analysis of assigned steps are essential in guiding students through the research process.

Next, the students identify what they already know about the topic and what questions they have about the topic?

  • This can be done with a KWH chart. or by looking at the overall topic with a mind map or web.
  • A preliminary look at some materials on the topic will aid this process and give some background information for the next step.

Then, help students form relevant questions about the topic:

  • Is there an issue or problem that can be studied in this topic?
  • What can I investigate or prove about this topic?
  • What are the essential questions that I want answered about this topic?
  • Who are the stakeholders that are affected or involved in this topic that I need to know about?
  • Do I have a position on the issues involved in this topic?

Gathering Information

Multiple resources are used when gathering information.  Students do not automatically know where to go to find out about their topic. This is a good time to:

  • learn the library system (books, periodicals reference sources, microfiche, etc.);
  • understand search engines and keyword searches on the internet;
  • learn and practice interview skills;
  • and understand other ways to gather relevant data, such as surveys, letter writing to experts in the field, and personal observations.

Students need to learn about, understand and be able to use primary source documents and secondary documents in their research.

  • Primary sources are original documents or original writings of a person.  An example of a primary source would be a letter written by a soldier in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.  One source of primary documents is The National Archives at http://www.archives.gov/education
  • Secondary sources differ from primary sources in that the documents have been summarized or edited. A secondary source of the same material would be an account in a social studies book or an encyclopedia giving the difficulties faced by soldiers during the Civil War.

Understanding the creditability of sources is essential to research skills.  Generally, print resources found in libraries have undergone an evaluation process but web resources have not. Students must learn to judge Internet sources with a careful eye.

In evaluating all sources, a few things students need to think about are:

  • Does the author have some authority or qualifications (education, title)?
  • Does the author list references or a bibliography for the information in the article?
  • What is the date of publication?  Is it outdated?
  • Is the publisher familiar or connected with a university?
  • Can the information be backed up by other sources?
  • Is the information biased?  Is its purpose to persuade?
  • Is the source and information relevant to the research issue or questions?

Students need to keep track of their sources as they gather their information.  They also need to know the appropriate information needed for citing the source.  After teaching students the purpose and format of a bibliography, teacher may direct students to the following website as a simple and effective tool to help them form their bibliography http://citationmachine.net/

Analyzing and understanding the information

Students today may be overwhelmed with the amount of information that is available.

  • Skimming the information allows students to learn the main ideas of the text without reading the whole text.  To skim, students use headings and other organizers, read the first sentence of each paragraph or the first and last paragraph of the article.  This is helpful when students seek information such as dates, names, or places but are not reading for comprehension.  More in-depth reading occurs when a student requires a greater understanding of the information.
  • On the other hand, scanning text means looking for key words or ideas.  It is another way to determine whether the information is relevant to the research.  The student must know the key words and concepts of their area of research before the scanning process begins.

Note-taking looks for key words and concepts but in addition, it also involves making decisions about what is useful to students in their research.  Teaching students to write short, concise ideas that they find in the text can be a challenge.  It is a skill that must be taught and not assumed. Note taking lesson.

Analyzing the information helps students understand the key words and concepts in what they are finding and also the key questions about the information such as the following:

  • Are there other points of view other than what is in this article?
  • Does this information provide some answers to the question(s) I have?
  • Does this information provide new knowledge and understandings to me?
  • Can I find trends or patterns in this and other information that I have gathered?

Organizing information

Paraphrasing and summarizing the notes and information gathered is another challenging phase of the research process.  It requires the higher order thinking skills of analyzing the facts and opinions they have found, evaluating them, and synthesizing all information into ideas and answers. With guidance from the teacher, the students categorize and classify their information, disregard extraneous information, make inferences and interpretations about the information and draw conclusions about what they have learned in their research.  For young students, this could be accomplished by putting the facts into a timeline, by sequencing the information, or by classifying the information into categories.  For older students, it means organizing the information so that the main points are evident, answers to questions are prioritized, and possible new questions are formulated.

Graphic organizers may be used when looking at the information that has been gathered.  Sample organizers may be found at http://schools.u46.org/index.pl?id=24846. Teachers may design their own organizers to suit the purpose of the lesson and age of the student.

Outlining information is another good tool that can be used to look at the big ideas and answers that have surfaced or to revisit the KWH chart to reorganize the information from the research.

The teacher of high-ability students must assume the role of metacognitive coach.  Coaching means asking students questions for their own clarification, helping them define their thinking processes, and supporting their work as they make decisions and create new understandings. Being a metacognitive coach guides students to be able to conduct research independently and/or with a partner or team. Metacognition Model

Presenting Research Information

Developing a product is often where students think “the fun” begins.  Writing a research report is just one way to communicate what has been learned during the research process.  Students should have a choice of a variety of presentation formats.   An appropriate presentation should consider the information to be presented, the audience that will receive the information and the talent of the student.  In the beginning, the only audience may be the teacher, but as the student progresses, a wider audience should be considered.  Even in the beginning, parents can be a great and understanding audience.

Planning the presentation is part of the thinking process.  Besides the above considerations, questions the students should ask themselves are:

  • What would make this presentation interesting?
  • What is the time frame for the presentation?
  • What materials do I need for this presentation?
  • How would someone in this field present the information?
  • Are there issues or problems that may arise?
  • How will the audience learn my information the best?
  • How do I present my information so that it applies to real world issues and problems?

Products fall into four categories:

  • Visual such as a mobile, comic strip, mural, poster
  • Oral such as a speech, newscast, panel discussion, debate
  • Written such as a report, poem, newspaper story, essay
  • Kinesthetic such as a dramatization, simulation, model, or board game

Reflecting on the process

The final step in the teaching of research skills is to let students evaluate and reflect on what they have done.   This can be a reflection of the work they did, as well as an analysis of what might be the next step in their research if they are still interested in learning more.  In thinking about their work, they will want to:

  • Determine whether or not the research project was successful.
  • Identify the research skills that can be improved.
  • Evaluate what would be done differently next time.
  • Consider how the knowledge gained through the experience will help further research.
  • Decide next steps for the project.  Perhaps there are new ideas and information that could lead to more research.

Research can be taught as a skill-based activity with an independent study project or as an important strategy in studying a topic presented within a unit. Common Core Standards and Topics.

Example:

Common Core Standard: W.6.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization and analysis of relevant content.

Topic: Science Grade 6: Energy - light, heat, and sound

Essential Question: What are the positive and negative effects of renewable and non-renewable energy?

Research can be conducted on two levels:

  • Level 1: The teacher provides the research documents.
  • Level 2: Students conduct their own research to find documents.

Because high-ability learners like to question, analyze and gain new understandings about the world around them, teachers need to incorporate research activities into their curriculum.  Teaching students effective research strategies gives them the tools they need to become life-long learners.

References:

College of William and Mary.(n.d.). Research model. Retrieved from http://cfge.wm.edu/curriculum.htm

Elementary Independent School Library Association, Initials. (2009). Research skills scope and sequence. [Web]. Retrieved from http://eisla.wikispaces.com/file/view/RSSS+booklet.pdf

Johnsen,S.K. & Goree,K. (2005). Independent study for gifted learners. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press, Inc.