Memorial Middle School

The following guide was designed to help Middle School students and their parents understand the research process. 

Understanding Your Task

• What am I to do?
  • Do I understand the task?
  • What is my final product?
  • Are there any intermediate products? Example: note cards, outline, etc.
  • What is my action plan and timetable for completion of my work?
  • Who is my audience?
  • How will my product impact my audience: Entertain, Inform, Teach, Persuade?
• Did my teacher state any information requirements or limitations?
  • Is there a minimum number of sources?
  • Have I been told to use a specific source?  Examples: textbook, encyclopedia, etc.
  • Is there a maximum for a source type?  Example: use only one encyclopedia.
  • Do my sources need to be current?  Example: use nothing over 5 years old.
  • Do I need graphics or illustrations?
• How will my work be evaluated?

Understanding Your Topic

• What is my essential question?
• What are the main topics and subtopics?
• What are some key words for my topics?  What are some synonyms?
• What do I already know?
• What do I need to find out?

Places to Go, People to See

• What libraries are available to me? 
  • School Media Center
  • Public Libraries
• What Community resources are available to me?
  • Historical Society
  • Museums
  • Clubs and Service Organizations
• What people resources are available?
  • Teachers
  • Librarians
  • Subject Experts
  • Family Members
  • Community Leaders
  • Businesses 

Get Organized

• Get a pocket binder or pocket folder and use it just for this project.
• Use index cards to take notes.  Use rubber bands to keep your cards together.
• Keep all your project notes together.  You may need to turn them in with your finished product.
• Be sure you have everything you'll need BEFORE you leave home.
• Reread your assignment before you start your research and again before you begin writing.
• If you are unfamiliar with your topic, start with your textbook or a general encyclopedia.
• Consult a librarian -- They're research experts!

Avoid Plagiarism
Copying someone else's work and presenting it as your own is called plagiarism.  It is unethical and illegal.  Real research means finding facts, thinking about what you've learned, organizing the information, and presenting it in your own words.   Your teachers are familiar with your writing ability and style.  They will suspect plagiarism if your paper or presentation does not look like your work. 

Potential Sources -- What looks like a good bet for your topic?

• Primary Sources -- materials created at or near the time of an event
  • Eyewitness account
  • Interview
  • Letters and Diaries
  • Historic Text Documents: newspaper, magazine, brochure, announcement, law
  • Historic Non-text Documents: photo, poster, video, audio
  • Experiment
  • Observation
    
• Secondary Sources -- materials created sometime after an event
  • Books
  • Dictionary
  • Encyclopedia
  • Atlas
  • Almanac
  • Magazines and Newspapers
  • Online subscription databases
  • CD-ROM Source
  • World Wide Web
  • Audiotape and Videotape

Evaluating Sources -- Does it meet my needs? Is it reliable?
Before you begin to take notes, take a few minutes to browse through a source.  Does it look like it is worth your time?  Does it provide new information, or does it repeat information that you've already found?  A good researcher needs to be selective.  

• Books and Magazines and CD-ROMs
  • What is the primary topic of the book, magazine article, or CD-ROM?  Will it suit my research needs?
  • What are the author's qualifications? -- This information is often found in an introduction or on the dust jacket of a book.  Magazines may list this on the first page of the article.  CD-ROMs may state this in an introduction or in the installation booklet.
  • Does the book have a table of contents and an index?
  • When was the book published?  -- Look on the back of the title page.
  • When was a magazine published? -- Look on the magazine cover.
  • When was the CD-ROM published? -- Look on the front of the disk.
  • If the topic is controversial, did the author present varying views?
  • Is there a bibliography that may help you locate additional sources? 

• World Wide Web Sources
  • Does this site add valuable information to my research?
  • Who created the page? 
  • What organization publishes the site? Example: University (.edu),  School (.k-12), Government (.gov),  Commercial interest (.com),  Non-profit organization (.org).
  • When was the page last updated?  This is often noted at the bottom of a page.
  • Does the page include the author's e-mail address?
• Video and Audio Sources
  • How can I use the information in this audio/video?
  • Who produced the program?  This is usually listed on the box.
  • When was it made? This is listed on the box or in the beginning credits.
• Personal Interviews, Letters, and e-mail
  • Is this person qualified to talk about my topic?
  • Did I get permission to quote him/her in my paper or presentation?

Keep Track of What You've Used -- Make source cards
Once you've decided to use a source, make a source card.  It takes only a minute or two but will save time in the long run.  The cards are useful when you want to return to a source, and they help you document your research.  It is a good idea to write the author's last name first.  This will help you later when you are writing your bibliography.

A sample source card for a book looks like this:

A sample source card for a magazine looks like this:

A sample source card for an encyclopedia looks like this:

A sample source card for a web site looks like this:

Other sources require the following information:

• CD-ROM
  • Name of the CD-ROM
  • Publisher
  • Date of Publication

• Video and Audio Sources
  • Title of the tape
  • Producer
  • Date produced
• Interviews, letters, and e-mail
  • Name of person
  • Date the interview was conducted
  • Date the letter or e-mail was written

Taking Notes -- Use note cards
It is important for you to take notes in your own words.  You should take notes even if you have photocopied articles or printed web pages.  Putting notes in your own words will help you identify and understand key points.  It also helps you avoid plagiarism. 

Note cards are a great way to gather and organize information.  Write one fact per card and include the source you used.  Don't write on the top line of your card, you'll need that space later.  A sample note card might look like this:

or this

There are a few times when you are allowed to copy directly from a source.   Examples: You might use a direct quote from a letter or interview; or you might use an author's opinion or statement about a subject.  Whenever you copy directly, you should put quotation marks around the information and properly credit the source.

Review Your Assignment and Organize Your Notes
Reread your assignment.  Read all your note cards and sort them by type of information.  For example, if you are writing about Egypt you may have one pile about the land, another pile about the people, and yet another pile about transportation.   Write the category in pencil at the top of each card.  Can you think of any important topics you missed in your research?  If so, you'll need to fill in the gaps. 

Ready to Write?  -- Use a graphic organizer
Graphic organizers and outlines help you organize your thoughts before you write.   Some organizers help you to identify main points and supporting details.   Other organizers help you to identify a sequence of events or a cause and effect.   You may use an organizer provided by your teacher or you may download one from the State of California Online Resources for Education or the Graphic Organizer Index.   Complete the graphic organizer and sort your cards accordingly.  Can you think of any important topics you missed in your research?  If so, you'll need to fill in the gaps. 

Writing Process
Leave plenty of time to prepare your presentation or research paper.   Avoid plagiarism -- use your own words!  Be careful to use correct spelling and grammar.  Use spell check, but don't count on it to catch all errors.   Spell check simply identifies words that are not in the dictionary.  It can't identify  incorrect word choices like there for their, it can't check for typos like form for from, and it can't check for improperly spelled names.  Consider your first effort to be a draft.  Read your work carefully and make necessary revisions.  Have someone else read it and ask questions or make suggestions.  Edit again before you publish. 

• Draft
• Revise
• Conference
• Edit
• Publish

Cite Your Sources -- Create a Bibliography
A bibliography is a list of all the sources that you used for your research paper or project.  It may include books, encyclopedias, CD-ROMs, World Wide Web addresses, interviews, etc.  It is arranged alphabetically.  For example:

"CIA World Factbook -- Egypt"   http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/eg.html  (December 28, 1999).

"Egypt."  Compton's Encyclopedia, 1997.

Swerdlow, Joel.  "Tale of Two Cities."  National Geographic   August 1, 1999: 34-44.

Wright, John W.  The New York Times 1999 Almanac.  New York: Penguin, 1998.

• Visit this web site for help with your bibliography:
  • OSLIS Bibliography -  This site includes interactive forms to build a bibliography.

Evaluation
Congratulations, you've finished your project!  But wait, there's one more step.   Ask yourself the following questions.  The answers will help you evaluate and improve your research skills.

• Does my final product fulfill the task?
• Did I successfully address my audience?
• Did I follow all the steps that my teacher required?
• Was I organized?
• Did I use my time well?
• Did I take good notes?
• Did I present the information in my own words?
• Did I cite my sources?

• Did I finish on time?
• Am I proud of my work?
• What can I do next time to improve my work?