THE BIG QUESTION
G E T T I N G S TA R T E D O N Y O U R
RESEARCH PROJECT
Essential Question: The Big Question Research Project . . . Where do I start???
Objectives: The learner will:
• break his/her Big Question down into searchable terms.
• look for resources (books, databases, internet) to begin to explore the Big Question
THE BIG
QUESTION
Closing activity:
Identify searchable terms and
sources you can use to explore your Big Question
Essential Question: The Big Question Research Project . . .
Where do I start???
GETTING
STARTED
U N D E R S TA N D I N G YO U R
QUESTION
Closing activity:
Identify searchable terms and
sources you can use to explore your Big Question
WHY IS IT CALLED
“THE BIG QUESTION?”
Essential Question:
The Big Question Research Project . . .
Where do I start???
• Questions that, throughout history and across the world, people have sought
to answer
– Philosophical question
– No right answer
– Usually not a simple answer
– Speaks to the Human Condition
– Thematic
• Because of this, keep your question in mind as you watch the news, listen to
the radio, read the news. People continue to grapple with these questions!
Closing activity:
Identify searchable terms and
sources you can use to explore your Big Question
WHAT ARE ARTIFACTS?
Essential Question:
The Big Question Research Project . . .
Where do I start???
• Artifact—item made by a human being, typically of
cultural or historical interest
• In this case, you are looking for works (books, short
stories, poems, news articles, movies, etc.) that are of
interest because they EXPLORE your big question in
some sort of way
• Will your artifact answer your question directly?
–No!
Closing activity:
Identify searchable terms and
sources you can use to explore your Big Question
Essential Question:
The Big Question Research Project . . .
Where do I start???
SEARCHING: STEP 1
FINDING
SEARCHABLE
TERMS
Closing activity:
Identify searchable terms and
sources you can use to explore your Big Question
BREAKING DOWN YOUR BIG
QUESTION --WORKSHEET
Essential Question:
The Big Question Research Project . . .
Where do I start???
Your Big Question:
Example: Why are there haves and have-nots?
Identify concepts within your topic:
(Tip: Keep it simple; one word or phrase per concept).
wealth
AND
poverty
AND
income inequality
Closing activity:
Identify searchable terms and
sources you can use to explore your Big Question
Essential Question:
The Big Question Research Project . . .
Where do I start???
Brainstorm synonyms, alternate spellings, and related topics for each concept:
Wealth
Poverty
Income Inequality
Rich
Affluence
Prosperity
Abundance
Poor
Indigence
Homelessness
Scarcity
Economy
Equity
Minimum Wage
“One Percent”
Buddy Break!
Pair up with the person you are sitting with and share what you have so far. Help your buddy
come up with concepts and key words! On your EXIT TICKET, write down two of your best
keywords.
Closing activity:
Identify searchable terms and
sources you can use to explore your Big Question
Essential Question:
The Big Question Research Project . . .
Where do I start???
SEARCHING: STEP 2
FINDING RESOURCES:
B O O K S , DATA B A S E S ,
WEBSITES
Closing activity:
Identify searchable terms and
sources you can use to explore your Big Question
Essential Question:
The Big Question Research Project . . .
Where do I start???
BOOKS
• Search for books using Alexandria
• To get to Alexandria, go to: Tuscarora—Library—Search School Catalog
• Using your keywords from your chart, do an ALL WORDS SEARCH
• When you find a book that looks like it may be helpful, click on it to see summary, and
then Show Copy Information to see where it is located in the library
o HINT: When you are looking at the Bibliographic Record (Book Information page), look under
SUBJECTS for more subject headings which will give you more sources.
o Click on a subject to find more books
Buddy Break!
Go to Alexandria and do a subject or all words search on your topic. Help each other select one book
that each of you feel will be helpful. Write the title and author of that book on your EXIT TICKET.
Closing activity:
Identify searchable terms and
sources you can use to explore your Big Question
DATABASES
Essential Question:
The Big Question Research Project . . .
Where do I start???
• LCPS databases are all accessible at school without a username or password. Go to:
Tuscarora, Library, Subscription Databases by Subject
• At home, use the username lcpsh and the password is high, unless it is INFOTRAC, for
which you ONLY need to put in the password (“high”) when it says “Please enter your library
ID, barcode, or other ID” and then click “Proceed.”
• From the Tuscarora Library Page, click on Subscription Databases by Subject and
choose the subject area of your topic.
• Browse through the databases to see which one may be helpful to you. Consider topic and
type of information needed.
Buddy Break!
Look at the databases with your buddy. Which ones look like they may be helpful to you? Explore
them and then write on your EXIT TICKET two which you feel will be helpful.
SEARCHING WITHIN THE DATABASES
Smart Searching Techniques: Putting Your Keywords Together in an Advanced Search Query
Combine your keywords with the three Boolean Operators: AND, OR, NOT
Essential Question:
The Big Question Research Project . . .
Where do I start???
AND will make your search smaller. If you are retrieving too many records on your topic, try adding another
search term with the operator AND.
Example: wealth AND poverty
OR will make your search bigger. If you are retrieving too few records on your topic, try adding another search
term with the operator OR.
Example: wealth OR affluence
NOT will exclude a word from your search results. If you are retrieving too many records on an unrelated topic,
try eliminating a word with the operator NOT.
Example: dolphins NOT (football OR NFL)
( ) use parenthesis to group synonyms or similar keywords together in long queries.
Example: (poverty or poor)
Closing activity:
Identify searchable terms and
sources you can use to explore your Big Question
ADDITIONAL SEARCHING TIPS
• Choose “Advance Search” to narrow your results:
Essential Question:
The Big Question Research Project . . .
Where do I start???
– Phrase Searching: Use quotation marks '' to search for two or more words in exact order - a phrase.
• Example: “income inequality“
– Truncation: Use an * asterisk after the root of a word to find various endings of a word.
• Example: econ* will retrieve economy, economic, economics, economical, etc.
• Note: not all databases support truncation
• Note: some databases may use ! or ? as a truncation symbol
– Wildcards: A wildcard character searches for any character in its place.
• Example: wom*n will retrieve woman and women
• Full-Text: Look for a Full-text limiting button to limit your results to Full-text documents only.
• Academic, Peer-Reviewed, or Scholarly: Look for the option to limit your results to scholarly
articles.
• Email: Look for the option to email yourself an article. You’ll have the article and citation information in
your email.
• Citation: Look for the ‘Cite’ link or the citation at the end of an article to copy and paste for your
bibliography. Many databases have this feature.
Closing activity:
Identify searchable terms and
sources you can use to explore your Big Question
Essential Question:
The Big Question Research Project . . .
Where do I start???
TRY IT!
Poetry and Short Story Reference Center
On the left hand side, under “Browse,” select Theme.
Look through the themes to find ones that most closely match your keywords. Click on the
theme and see what works address that theme. Choose one and explore!
Literary Reference Center
Under the search box, click on Advanced Search. Use your Boolean operators to search two key
terms. Browse your results.
Buddy Break!
Using the search techniques discussed, search either of the two databases above. Find an article in
one of them that may be helpful to you and write it down on your EXIT TICKET.
Closing activity:
Identify searchable terms and
sources you can use to explore your Big Question
Essential Question:
The Big Question Research Project . . .
Where do I start???
INTERNET
Not all internet sites are created equal! You must make sure when you are searching for a
website to use for research it is authoritative and reliable.
Think about these things:
Purpose—What is this site trying to do? If it is anything but INFORM you, be careful!
Audience—Is this article appropriate for high school student research?
Subject—Is this adequately addressing your Big Question?
Structure—Has this website been updated? Is it free of distracting pop-ups?
Closing activity:
Identify searchable terms and
sources you can use to explore your Big Question
SOME PLACES TO START . . .
Essential Question:
The Big Question Research Project . . .
Where do I start???
This I Believe
• A popular NPR series. We have two collections of these essays in the library (170 THI), or you can
find the series at http://thisibelieve.org/
– On the left hand side, click on Explore—Browse by Theme
– Look for your keywords!
**Visiting reputable news sites on a
regular basis is a great way to look
for articles. As these are questions
we continue to grapple with, they
continue to be addressed!
New York Times Learning Network
• Available at http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/?_r=0
• Search for keywords in search box
• On a recent visit, I opened to this article: What Are the Best Things in Life and Are They Free?
National Public Radio
• Go to www.npr.org
• Type in keyword in search circle at top right of page
Closing activity:
Identify searchable terms and
sources you can use to explore your Big Question
Essential Question:
The Big Question Research Project . . .
Where do I start???
Buddy Break!
Using the search techniques discussed, search one of the internet sites listed above. Find an article
in one of them that may be helpful to you and write it down on your EXIT TICKET.
CLOSING
Good luck with your research! Please
remember we are here to help!!!
Turn in/show your teacher your EXIT TICKET!!!
Closing activity:
Identify searchable terms and
sources you can use to explore your Big Question