Research Skills
Purpose
To
inform readers through
synthesizing information
Synthesizing information means
you collect it from various
places and combine it with what
you already know
Primary and Secondary
Sources

You should try to use primary sources
whenever possible
 Primary sources are firsthand accounts of
events / facts
 Examples of primary sources include
diaries, journals, letters, and
autobiographies
 Secondary sources are secondhand
accounts of facts. Examples of secondary
sources include biographies and
encyclopedias
Who Should Evaluate Sources?
ALL sources, whether primary
or secondary, need to be
evaluated by the researcher.
It is your job to determine
whether the source is good or
not.
Evaluating a Source – the 4 R’s





Check to see if a source meets the following four
criteria:
1. Relevant – does it relate to the topic? Check the
index / table of contents / skim the information to
see.
2. Reliable – Is the author an authority or an
expert? Is the source a real news or information
source vs. an individual?
3. Recent – is the information up-to-date?
4. Representative – are both sides represented, or
is the source neutral? Avoid sources that show a
bias in one direction or the other.
Relevant?
You need to find out
about the Apollo 13
Recent?
disaster for a project in
your science class. You Reliable?
find a .gov site that lists
Representative?
all of the United States
space missions and lists
the astronauts who
served. The copyright
Evaluate
the
source
date is 2005.
You’re researching the use Relevant?
of steroids in professional
sports. You find a .com
Recent?
website that discusses both
sides of the steroid problem Reliable?
in professional sports – both
Representative?
why steroids are wrong and
why some people feel
compelled to use them. The
website is anonymous and
does not have a copyright
Evaluate
the
source
date.
Relevant?
You’re trying to find out who your
state representatives are and how to
Recent?
write to them about some concerns
you have about public safety in your
Reliable?
neighborhood. You find a .org
website that lists the representatives
of your state and how they feel about Representative?
certain issues. The website places a
red “x” next to representatives who
feel a certain way about political
issues and urges you not to vote for
them. The website is authored by
someone with a PhD, and it was
Evaluate the source
updated last week.
You’re looking for
Relevant?
information on how to train
two dogs to live in the same Recent?
house. You find a .com site
that advertises the services Reliable?
of a “pet whisperer” who
Representative?
can come to your house
and train your dogs for you.
The website is authored by
the pet whisperer, and it
was updated two weeks
Evaluate
the
source
ago.
Relevant?
You’re writing a report on
why we should not ban
Recent?
smoking. You find a .org
website that supports your
Reliable?
views and lists multiple
reasons why smoking is not Representative?
harmful and how it helps the
economy. It includes charts
and statistics. The website is
authored by a group called
“Tobacco Executives United”
and it was updated Evaluate
in 2009. the source
Relevant?
You’re looking up information
on the causes leading up to
Recent?
The American Revolution.
You look up The American
Reliable?
Revolution in the
encyclopedia and find lots of Representative?
information about specific
battles. The authors of the
encyclopedia are history
professors and consultants.
The copyright date is 2004.
Evaluate the source
Now that you’ve practiced…
Complete the following group activity. Be
ready to share your answers!
Divide into your 3 person groups.
Directions for Source Evaluations





Assign roles: reader / charter / leader
Read the articles aloud one at a time to the group
With the leader’s help, evaluate each article (three
total)
Evaluate each article and identify problems (if
any) with each of the 4 R’s
Have the leader share the answers if called upon
Article One

SUBJECT: Rihanna and Chris Brown Break-Up
Article 1: Are Chris Brown and Rihanna Broken Up? By
Courtney Hazlett, msnbc.com
Are Chris Brown and Rihanna broken up, or aren't they? At issue are
a flurry of text messages that reportedly were exchanged between
the two after Brown was photographed in a West Hollywood
tattoo parlor with Girlicious singer Natalie Meji on April 13.
“When Ri saw the pictures, she sent Chris a text message, and
Chris said, ‘It’s none of your business,’ ” reported Us Weekly.
Brown and Rihanna have yet to confirm that they’ve parted ways.
Rihanna recently announced she will give her first live
performance since the alleged assault with a May 28 concert in
Dubai.
Article 2

Article 2: Rihanna Dumps Chris Brown. by
Dan Wooton, www.newsoftheworld.co.uk
DEVASTATED RIHANNA has finally seen sense
and DUMPED her Good Boy Turned Bad, CHRIS
BROWN. The faithful Umbrella singer initially
wanted to stand by the disgraced R&B star after
he allegedly attacked her before the Grammys in
LA last Sunday. The chart-topper went into hiding
after suffering a bloody nose, swollen lip and
facial bruising, as Chris was arrested. My source
explained: "Rihanna really did think that Chris
was the love of her life. But when everyone started
to question their relationship, she burst into tears
and reluctantly agreed that they were right. She
just can't believe it's ended this way."
Article 3
Article 3: Why Did Rihanna Break Up With Chris Brown? From
WikiAnswers
Theories as to why Rihanna and Chris broke up
 No one knows if they really broke up. All i know is that they got into a
fight causing Chris to get arrested and Rihanna, beat up.
 Apparently it was because rihanna thought chris browns car keys
outside the window-Rihanna cheated on Chris Brown, to make a long
story short. They got into a fight over it, she threw his keys out the
window and they started to throw punches.
 They broke up because they got in a fight because chris was flirting
with leona lewis
 They broke up because CHRIS BROWN got a text message from
PARIS HILTON and he didn't want to show RHIANNA the txt
message
 They break up because Rihanna caught him with Jordan Sparks and
that is what her new song "take a bow" is about! The guy in the music
video even looks like chris1 check it out on yahoo music videos!
Part 1, continued
Since anyone can publish a web
page, it’s extra important to
evaluate websites. In addition to
checking for the 4 R’s, check the
domain of the website URL. This
doesn’t always work, but it can
help in many cases.
Common Domains and What They Mean
DOMAIN
MEANING
RELIABLE???
.edu
Educational
institution
Usually.
.gov
Government body
Yes.
.org
Nonprofit
organization
Sometimes. Some
organizations will be
trying to promote a
cause
.com
Commerical
enterprise (business)
Sometimes, but often
not. Evaluate very
carefully!!!
.net
Organization offering Usually.
Internet services
Research Skills, Part 2 – How to Focus a Topic
Depending on the type of project or paper you are expected to research,
your topic may be broad, limited, or narrow.

Broad: refers to an entire category of information without being
specific (example: Research authors)

Limited: limits the broad category by being a little more specific
(example: Research a specific author)

Narrow: Completely narrows the category even further by being very
specific (example: Research how Nightjohn was influenced by Gary
Paulsen’s own upbringing)
Sometimes you will be asked to create your own research project – to
make an inquiry. In most cases, you will need to either limit or
broaden your topic in order to be able to do the research.
For example, if you were told to research a topic that interests you, what
would you choose?
Questions to Discuss
Answer the following questions at your table, then
be ready to share your answers.
 Which type of topic would be the easiest to
research, and why?
 Which type of topic would be the most difficult to
research, and why?
 Which type of topic would require the highest
amount of synthesis (combining the research with
your own ideas), and why?
 What would some examples of each type of topic
be?
 Why is it important for you to be able to tell what
type of research topic you have chosen and been
assigned?
Common Topic Problems

Most people run into problems when doing
research because their topics are too broad
or too narrow.
 The easiest topic to research would be
limited, but not so narrow that you can’t
find any information.
 If you are given a broad topic, what are
things you could do to make the topic more
manageable?
 If you choose a limited topic, what could
you do to make the topic more manageable?
Identify Topic Types
On your own sheet of paper, write whether each topic is broad,
limited, or narrow, then give a suggestion for either
broadening or narrowing the topic as needed.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Issues American Indians faced after the Civil War
American Indians
Raindances and other ceremonies of the Iroquois
Risk factors for cancer in young adults
Health
Cancer
Causes of the American Revolution
War
The effects of the Boston Tea Party on the colonists
Practice

Choose one of the broad topics from the
previous slide. Without using the examples
I gave you, turn the broad topic into two
different limited topics. Finally, turn each of
the limited topics into a narrow topic.
 Illustrate the process on a small poster that
is neat enough to be displayed.
Citing Sources
 Citing
sources means that you show
where you got your information.
 Citing shows evidence of your
research, which makes you more
reliable.
 It lets your readers know where they
can go to check on the information.
 It gives credit where credit is due.
What Should Be Cited?

Any words, ideas or images that you do not
create yourself must be properly credited if
you use them in your work. Why? Because
you are using someone else's intellectual
property.
IMPORTANT LEGAL INFO!!!
When it isn't
yours, you need
to cite your
source.
Direct Quotations vs. Paraphrasing
 You
can use a source by directly
quoting it
 If you put the information in your own
words, but you didn’t know it before,
you are paraphrasing – not directly
copying.
 You are still supposed to cite sources
that you paraphrase!
Two types of plagiarism:

Intentional
– Copying a friend’s work
– Buying or borrowing papers
other people wrote
– Cutting and pasting blocks
of text from electronic
sources without
documenting
– Media “borrowing”without
documentation
– Web publishing without
permissions of creators

Unintentional
– Careless paraphrasing
– Poor documentation
– Quoting excessively
– Failure to use your own
“voice”
www.sdst.org
What about pictures?
Yes!
Anything you did not
create yourself
should be cited.
Plagiarism

Presenting someone else's words, ideas,
etc., as your own, whether intentional or
not, is plagiarism.
 Lack of knowledge is not a defense against
plagiarism.
 Plagiarism is theft - stealing someone's
intellectual property without crediting the
source.
 It is unethical, dishonest, and illegal.
 Intellectual property is protected under US
law. It’s also prosecuted by educational
institutions.
Real life consequences:




Damaged the reputation of two prominent historians, Stephen
Ambrose and Doris Kearns Goodwin,
– Kearns left television position and stepped down as Pulitzer Prize
judge for “lifting” 50 passages for her 1987 book The Fitzgeralds
and the Kennedys (Lewis)
Senator Joseph Biden dropped his 1987 campaign for the Democratic
presidential nomination. (Sabato)
– Copied in law school and borrowed from campaign speeches of
Robert Kennedy
Boston Globe journalist Mike Barnicle forced to resign for plagiarism
in his columns (“Boston Columnist . . .”)
Probe of plagiarism at UVA--45 students dismissed, 3 graduate
degrees revoked
– CNN Article AP. 26 Nov. 2001
– Channel One Article AP. 27 Nov. 2002
www.sdst.org
What to Include in a Citation
In general, include the following information
in a citation:
 Author
 Title
 Publisher
 Place of Publication
 Date of Publication
For websites, you’ll also need to know when
you accessed the site and the web address
(url)
Credits
Elements of Literature, 5th Course
Holt High School Handbook 2
Glencoe Speech
http://www.sdst.org/shs/library/powerpoint/pl
agiarism.ppt