Doing research effectively is an art in itself that involves various skills honed with practice. It’s essential for students to be taught the art of doing research effectively. Unfortunately, however, research skills are not often taught as part of the curriculum.
There tends to be overestimation on the part of teachers when judging students' research capabilities. Being tech-savvy does not automatically translate into good research skills. Doing research is not as simple as typing in the assignment topic into Google and copying down the results from the first few links. Students should be taught on plagiarism, verification of information, effective keywords, how search engines work and so on.
Here are a few tips and tricks to help teachers teach their students the skill of asking the right questions and properly judge whether their research is valid or not.
Start simple – For students beginning to do research on their own, take baby steps. Provide students with valid websites from which they can prepare a paper. This is a good idea because it keeps them focused on the information they get from these websites and all they need to do is write an informative, precise and articulate paper based on what they are handed. At this stage, you can teach them about plagiarism and how to avoid it.
Using search engines – When they have done around 4 or 5 research papers, you can move on to the next logical step: allowing them to search for their own websites. At this stage, you can teach them how Google and other search engines work. You can do a comparison study by entering the same topic into two different search engines and compare the results.
a) Tell them about search engine optimization and how it works.
b) Talk about the various types of domains such as .com, .gov, .org, .edu and .net. They need to know that “.com” websites are commercial ones that would not have the information they are looking for.
c) Use specific Google commands to narrow the search down. If students want to focus their research on educational sites, they can suffix the 'site:edu' command in Google to their keywords. For instance, enter 'The French Revolution site:edu'. The 'site:' command is a very useful filter that researchers can use to search only in specific sites like governmental, educational, etc.
Use other similar Google research tips and tricks to drastically reduce the 'search' in your research.
The search process itself is a multi-step process. Kathleen Morris, a primary school teacher and blogger puts it in a simple, yet comprehensive manner at her site kathleenamorris.com. She gives 5 basic steps that help school students do effective research.
1) Clarify – What is it exactly that you need to do research on? The words you use in the search box are highly important. Bring in clarity as to what exactly you are searching for and then proceed to search for it. It saves a ton of time!
2) Search – Once you have figured out exactly what words you need to use, do the actual search. If the results are not satisfactory, try rephrasing or check the suggestions that Google offers.
3) Delve – Choosing which sites to use for your research is another skill that needs to be mastered over time. Most of us tend to rely on the first page of links that Google suggests. This is where you can talk about search engine optimization and how there may be more relevant sites further down the line.
4) Evaluate – Teach them the importance of verifying information. There are quotes out there that are attributed to the wrong person. Simple things like this can cost students precious marks. Therefore, taking the time to verify the information they have gathered is another important step.
5) Cite – Students need to write their paper in their own words, not copy-paste from websites. They can quote from websites but they need to cite the source of their information in their paper. Citing their sources is another important element of responsible researchers.
With these points in mind, go ahead and guide your students into the exciting world of independent research. It is a skill that will come in handy especially in higher education. Lay the foundation for their research skills strongly and they'll be set for university!
There tends to be overestimation on the part of teachers when judging students' research capabilities. Being tech-savvy does not automatically translate into good research skills. Doing research is not as simple as typing in the assignment topic into Google and copying down the results from the first few links. Students should be taught on plagiarism, verification of information, effective keywords, how search engines work and so on.
Here are a few tips and tricks to help teachers teach their students the skill of asking the right questions and properly judge whether their research is valid or not.
Start simple – For students beginning to do research on their own, take baby steps. Provide students with valid websites from which they can prepare a paper. This is a good idea because it keeps them focused on the information they get from these websites and all they need to do is write an informative, precise and articulate paper based on what they are handed. At this stage, you can teach them about plagiarism and how to avoid it.
Using search engines – When they have done around 4 or 5 research papers, you can move on to the next logical step: allowing them to search for their own websites. At this stage, you can teach them how Google and other search engines work. You can do a comparison study by entering the same topic into two different search engines and compare the results.
a) Tell them about search engine optimization and how it works.
b) Talk about the various types of domains such as .com, .gov, .org, .edu and .net. They need to know that “.com” websites are commercial ones that would not have the information they are looking for.
c) Use specific Google commands to narrow the search down. If students want to focus their research on educational sites, they can suffix the 'site:edu' command in Google to their keywords. For instance, enter 'The French Revolution site:edu'. The 'site:' command is a very useful filter that researchers can use to search only in specific sites like governmental, educational, etc.
Use other similar Google research tips and tricks to drastically reduce the 'search' in your research.
The search process itself is a multi-step process. Kathleen Morris, a primary school teacher and blogger puts it in a simple, yet comprehensive manner at her site kathleenamorris.com. She gives 5 basic steps that help school students do effective research.
1) Clarify – What is it exactly that you need to do research on? The words you use in the search box are highly important. Bring in clarity as to what exactly you are searching for and then proceed to search for it. It saves a ton of time!
2) Search – Once you have figured out exactly what words you need to use, do the actual search. If the results are not satisfactory, try rephrasing or check the suggestions that Google offers.
3) Delve – Choosing which sites to use for your research is another skill that needs to be mastered over time. Most of us tend to rely on the first page of links that Google suggests. This is where you can talk about search engine optimization and how there may be more relevant sites further down the line.
4) Evaluate – Teach them the importance of verifying information. There are quotes out there that are attributed to the wrong person. Simple things like this can cost students precious marks. Therefore, taking the time to verify the information they have gathered is another important step.
5) Cite – Students need to write their paper in their own words, not copy-paste from websites. They can quote from websites but they need to cite the source of their information in their paper. Citing their sources is another important element of responsible researchers.
With these points in mind, go ahead and guide your students into the exciting world of independent research. It is a skill that will come in handy especially in higher education. Lay the foundation for their research skills strongly and they'll be set for university!
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