Chapter Four: Problem-Solving & Research Skills

1. Chapter Four:Problem-Solving & Research Skills

2. Chapter Objective, TEKS, & Essential Question • Objective: • Develop problem-solving and decision-making skills to generate summaries, generalizations, and thesis statements supported by evidence. • TEKS: • Social Studies Skills – 22 (B), 22 (D), 23, 23 (A), 23 (C) • Essential Question: • How do geographers approach problems and conduct research on geographic questions?

3. Chapter Vocabulary • Problem-Solving • Options • Brainstorming • Solution • Criteria • Source of Information • Gazetteer • Atlas • Internet • Wikipedia • Outline • Thesis Statement

4. Important Ideas • To solve problems, geographers and other social scientists first identify a problem. Then they gather information, consider options, weight the advantages and disadvantages of each option, try a solution, and evaluate how well it works. • To complete a research project, geographers first identify a well-defined geographic question. Then they find information from a variety of sources; take notes; compare and analyze facts and ideas; make an outline or graphic organizer; and communicate their results in a report or presentation.

5. Steps in Problem-Solving • Identify the Problem • Gather Information • List and Consider Options • Consider Advantages and Disadvantages • Choose and Implement a Solution • Develop Criteria and Judge its Effectiveness

6. Steps in Conducting Research • Select a Geographic Question • Find Information • Analyze the Information • Organize the Information • Write the Report/Presentation • Cite Sources in Bibliography

7. Sources of Information • Research is the process of searching for information about your topic. A source is something that provides information. Sources include the following: • Encyclopedias: • An encyclopedia has entries on a variety of topics. • Almanacs: • An almanac is a book that contains up-to-date information on a wide range of topics.

8. Sources of Information • Books: • A trade book is a book written for a general audience. • Gazetteers: • A gazetteer is a geographical dictionary, or index of political and physical features of the Earth. • Atlases: • An atlas is a book of maps. An atlas presents the geographic features and political boundaries of places.

9. Sources of Information • Periodicals: • A periodical refers to a newspaper, magazine, or journal. • Videotapes/DVDs/Blu-rays: • Videotapes, DVDs, and Blu-rays include newsreels, recorded interviews, and documentaries. • Digital Sources: • The Internet, is a major digital source of information today. Search engines like AOL, Google, or Yahoo! Are used to locate websites with information about a topic.

10. Organizing Information • There are many ways to organize the geographical information you find, such as: • Chronological: • It often helps to organize events in the order in which they occurred. • Cause-and-Effect: • You can also arrange information based on cause-and-effect relationships.

11. Organizing Information • Thematic Approach: • Sometimes you may organize information by various themes relating to your topic. • Problem-Solution Approach: • You can organize your information by describing the problems and then identifying and describing one or more solutions to that problem.