Introduction to Research Mary Beth Grice October 24, 2013

What is Research? The act of collecting information about a topic People usually do research when they want to know more about a certain topic

When to Research When you have questions or want to know more about something Projects or assignments for school

Where to Research Libraries Databases Encyclopedias / Reference books Internet

Big6 One helpful way to break the research process down into steps is called the Big6. As you might guess, there are six steps in this process!

Big6 Step 1: Define the Information Problem  What is my assignment?  What are some topics or questions I need to answer it?  What information will I need to have to answer the problem?

Step 1: Choose the Topic Assignment - Choose a Native American tribe and describe:  Where they lived  How they got their food  If they traveled or stayed in permanent houses  Their types of clothing

Step 1: Create Questions  Tribe: Pee Dee Where did they live? How did they get their food? Did they travel or stay in permanent houses? What types of clothing did they wear?

Big6 Step 2: Information Seeking Strategies  What resources (websites, databases, etc.) could I use to solve this problem or question?  What are the best sources I could use to complete the task?

Step 2: What resources can I use? SC DISCUS StudySC SweetSearch4me.com Library Catalog

Big6 Step 3: Locate and Access Information  Where can I find these sources? (in a book? online?)  Once I have the source, how will I find the information I need within it?

Step 3: Finding the Source

Big6 Step 4: Use of Information  What kinds of information am I looking for in this source?  What information in this source helps to answer my information problem?

Step 4: Finding the Information in the Source

Big6 Step 5: Putting it All Together  How should I organize the information I have from several sources?  How should I present the finished product?

Step 5: Organizing the Information Word for Word  the Pee Dee Indians lived along the Pee Dee River from Winyah Bay (near Georgetown, S.C.) to the Town Creek area of North Carolina. They raised crops for food and used the river as a trade route with other tribes.

Step 5: Organizing the Information In my own words  The Pee Dee Native Americans lived near the Pee Dee River in South Carolina. This area stretched from Winyah Bay in SC to Town Creek in North Carolina. The Pee Dee tribe grew crops for food and traded with other Native Americans using the Pee Dee river.

Big6 Step 6: How Did I do?  Did I follow the instructions and meet the requirements?  Did I complete the Big6 steps successfully?

Step 6: How did I do? 1. Did I create questions to guide my research? Yes! 2. Did I find the best sources to find information? Yes! 3. Did I find the resource and the needed information in it? Yes!

Step 6: How did I do? 4. Did I find the information I needed in the source? Yes! Did I organize the information I have from my sources correctly? Yes! Did I complete the Big6 steps and the assignment requirements successfully? Yes!

Putting things in your own words It’s not nice to copy exactly what other people have written People can even get in trouble if they copy what people write word for word It’s best to rewrite things in your own words Try reading the passage once or twice and then writing what you remember

Citing Sources When you use information from a source, jot down the title of the source, the website link, the date you got it. Here’s an example:  Pee Dee Indians, lleryentry.cfm?entryID=91, October 23, lleryentry.cfm?entryID=91

Research Resources will be provided for you to research on Monday. You may use:  Books  Websites  Databases  The Internet

Research SC DISCUS StudySC SweetSearch4me.com Library Catalog

Wiki Assignment A wiki is a website that multiple people can edit together. You will be split into groups of three, with a total of six groups.

Wiki Assignment Using the steps we just talked about, you will conduct research and compare two Native American tribes that you have learned about. One from the Pacific Northwest (Tlingit, Chinook, or Kwakiutl) and one of your choice from a different region.

Wiki Assignment Each group member will choose two tribes and research the following questions: Where did they live? How did they get their food? Did they travel or stay in permanent houses? What types of clothing did they wear?

Wiki Assignment: Going to the Website

Wiki Assignment: Signing in Click the sign in button

Wiki Assignment: Signing in Sign in Username: firstnamelastn ame (johnsmith) Password: harkless

Wiki Assignment: Selecting the Wiki After you login, click on My Wikis and select the wiki

Wiki Assignment: Home Page

Wiki Assignment: Going to Your Group

Wiki Assignment: Creating a Page

Type in what you want to say about the tribes and then click the save button in the right hand corner

Wiki Assignment: Creating a Page Click on the edit button in the right hand corner to change what you wrote