B EGINNING R ESEARCH THE B IG 6
WAY
T HE B IG 6
Day 1
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
What is it?

A way to calm yourself down when faced with a
daunting task that will require research

A problem-solving method

It can apply to all your subjects, not just English
What is the first step?

TASK DEFINITION

What is my information problem?

What information will I need to solve this problem or
complete this task?
TASK D EFINITION

What is your task when it comes to this research unit?
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Write a 5-7 page paper

Use MLA format
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Cite your sources to avoid plagiarism

Use a variety of credible sources, both print and nonprint

Pick a side in a persuasive argument

Use correct grammar and spelling

Include clear main point sentences, supporting details,
and transitions

Find the best research and incorporate it with your own
ideas
B UT H OW DO WE EVEN GET
STARTED ?

How do you accomplish all of those goals if you don’t
even know what your initial research question will
be?

Let’s take a look at this article by Somni Sengupta
from The New York Times.
T HE FACEBOOK D ILEMMA

What are the important questions we should ask
ourselves after reading this article?

What parts of my private information does Facebook
provide to other companies?

How are these other companies using my private
information?

What could be the negative effects of this informationsharing in the long run?

What are the benefits of this information sharing?

How does it affect my day-to-day life?

Should one company have all of this power?
E SSENTIAL Q UESTIONS

Essential questions ask what is important about the
topic.

A informative paper on the history of Facebook is not
really necessary. Why?


It’s been done before. It’s not new. It’s not contributing
to the piles of information out there in the world.
"Questions may be the most powerful technology we
have ever created," said Jamie McKenzie, editor of the
educational technology journal From Now On (qtd. In
Valenza).
S OME GOOD E SSENTIAL
Q UESTIONS :
Information
taken from:
“Best Answers”
by Joyce Valenza

Which one?


How?


Understand problems, weigh options, propose solutions
What if?


Instead of writing a report on cancer; write a paper on which
disease deserves the most funding?
Ask a hypothetical question like, “What if the Germans won
WWII?”
Should?

Make a moral or practical decision based upon evidence


Should we clone humans?
Why?


Understand cause and effect
Why do people abuse children?
B ACK TO THE FACEBOOK
A RTICLE …

Are there any essential questions we left out?






What parts of my private information does Facebook
provide to other companies?
How are these other companies using my private
information?
What could be the negative effects of this informationsharing in the long run?
What are the benefits of this information sharing?
How does it affect my day-to-day life?
Should one company have all of this power?
C REATING A CENTRAL
RESEARCH QUESTION …
Day 2

You will need to focus your essential questions into one central
research question. Some of your essential questions will definitely
be addressed in the research process.

Back to the Facebook article…







What parts of my private information does Facebook provide to other
companies?
How are these other companies using my private information?
What could be the negative effects of this information-sharing in the
long run?
What are the benefits of this information sharing?
How does it affect my day-to-day life?
Should one company have all of this power?
What is the main question I would like to focus upon?

Should one company potentially have access to a huge percentage of
the world’s private information?
D IHYDROGEN M ONOXIDE

http://www.dhmo.org

What is the focus/point of this website?

Does the substance seem dangerous?

What do you think Dihydrogen Monoxide
actually is?
D ATABASES
Websites
VS .
W EBSITES
Databases

Not always credible


May contain accurate
information but not always
written by experts
Generally must pay to
subscribe

Contains information that
has been published and
reviewed

Includes an abundance of
resources

Generally free


Accessed through search
engines
Contains credible
information

Must be specific with
search terms

Can search loosely
EBSCOH OST

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtyp
e=ip,uid&custid=s8588123

How does this tool appear different than Google?
Day 3
G ALVESTON , T EXAS
Image taken from: city-data.com
S TEP 2: I NFORMATION
S EEKING S KILLS

Search engines map out different routes, just like
you did.

We need to know how the internet works so that
we know how to find our route, or our
information

Yesterday, we started this journey by discovering
the differences between databases and search
engines

Today, we are going to learn about the
differences between various search engines
H OMEWORK

Go to:
http://21cif.com/tutorials/micro/mm/searchengi
nes/

Complete the Search Engines Worksheet for
homework
W HAT IS A B OOLEAN
S EARCH ?
Day 4

It used to be a better, more academic way to search
through search engines

However, most search engines today are not Booleanfriendly

They are still effective search tools when using databases
or the online card catalog

What is it?


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Uses words called “operators”—AND, NOT, OR
These operators limit or expand searches
+ and – signs can also be used for AND and NOT
B ENEFITS

OF
B OOLEAN
Even if some search engines don’t focus on Boolean
searches anymore, Boolean can still be helpful to
determine keywords.

Remember our research question: Should one company
potentially have access to a huge percentage of the
world’s private information?

When searching in a database or search engine, what
keywords would we use to find information about this
question?

Facebook, privacy laws, privacy settings, Facebook
advertising—What else?
T HE 3M’ S
MUST USE
OF
MIGHT USE
K EYWORDS
MUSTN’T USE
Q UALITIES OF A C REDIBLE
W EBSITE
Day 5

We are continuing with Step 2: Information Seeking Strategies

We know that databases, especially our school’s, are generally
credible

But what about websites?

Read through the following tutorials, looking for signs of a
credible website:
-“Accuracy” http://21cif.com/tutorials/micro/mm/accuracy/
-“Bias” http://21cif.com/tutorials/micro/mm/bias/
-“Author: Who Wrote this Page?”
http://21cif.com/tutorials/micro/mm/author/
W HAT ARE THE Q UALITIES
Y OU R EAD ABOUT ?
S TEPS 1&2 P ROJECT

Go over Requirements

Go over Rubric

Pick Partner
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Come up with Topic
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Project due in two days