Researching a Topic

1. Researching a Topic Goals: Understand the purpose of recording sources Be able to: Correctly record sources for a paper Take notes while researching

2. Is this true? Water makes up about 66 percent of the human body. At every moment, water escapes, so it is very important to drink enough. However, there have been cases of water overdoses. Earlier this year, a 28-year-old California woman died after competing in a radio station's water-drinking contest. After downing some six liters of water in three hours in the "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest, Jennifer Strange vomited, went home with a splitting headache, and died from so-called water intoxication.

3. Is this true? Loud noises can actually put out a fire. The sound waves lower the air temperature, thereby taking away the fire’s heat (Snyder, 2008). "I throw more power into my voice, and now the flame is extinguished (Snyder, 2008, para. 1)," wrote Irish scientist John Tyndall about his experiments with sound and fire in 1857. Firefighters are testing ways to use sound to put out fires; the sound waves could reach fires that hoses can not (Verma, 2008) -Snyder, A. (2008). When fire strikes, stop, drop, and sing? Scientific American. Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com - Verma, S.S. (2008) Firefighting advances. Chemical Business, 22. Retreived from Ebscohost.

4. Steps for researching • Ask questions to guide your research. • Keep records of where the information comes from • Take notes from each source • Find quotations and record the page number/section title

5. Here’s how your notes should look: Smith, J. (Producer/Director). (2008). Gasland[motion picture]. United States: Independent Productions. • Lighting water faucets on fire • Pennsylvania • Cabot and Ames – gas company • Water bubbles and fizzes • People feel sick – stomachs • Jennifer Gray • Cats and horses lose hair • Water tested • “Don’t drink it; don’t shower in it; don’t do laundry with it.” (13:55)

6. The final page of your research paper will be a reference page like this: References Bondy, E., & Ross, D. (2008, September). The teacher as warm demander. Educational leadership. Flynt, E., & Brozo, W. (2009, March). It’s all about the teacher. The reading teacher, 62, 536-538. Freeman, Y., & Freeman, D. (2009). Academic language for English language learners and struggling readers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Kalis, T., Vannest, K., & Parker, R. (2007, Spring). Praise counts: Using self-monitoring to increase effective teaching practices. Preventing school failure, 5. Retrieved from Ebscohost on June 27, 2010. Woolfolk, A. (2007). Educational psychology. (10th Ed). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

7. Rules for recording sources Book: Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Location: Publisher. Online article: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Online Periodical, volume number(issue number). Retrieved from http://www.address.com

8. SIRS Researcher databaseSCHOLASTIC CHOICES Feb. 2002, Volume 10, Issue 3, pg 88Superfood or Double Trouble? Can animal genes be jammed into plants? Would tomatoes with catfish genes taste fishy? Have you ever eaten a genetically modified food? The answers are: yes, no and almost definitely. Stroll down a supermarket aisle and pick up any of your favorite munchies--corn chips, soda, ice cream. How would you feel if you knew these foods contained microscopic bits of fish, or even bacteria? Hard to believe?  Today, nearly 70 percent of processed foods sold in the United States contain ingredients that have been injected with foreign genes. There are environmental concerns about using GMOs. Researchers at Cornell University discovered that Monarch butterfly caterpillars died when they ate plants dusted with the pollen of Bt corn that was growing in nearby fields.

9. Ebscohost databaseKiwi, Volume 11, Issue 3, pg 66-71April 1, 2011The New Food Fightby Marygrace Taylor GMOs are more disease-resistant and produce higher yields compared to traditionally grown crops.Despite these advantages, medical studies have revealed that the pesticide and chemical ingredients in GE foods may cause harm to humans and the environment.Animal studies have linked GMOs to health problems, says the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM), an international association of physicians that focuses on the interaction between humans and the environment. Mice fed genetically modified corn for a period of 30 to 90 days developed intestinal inflammation in a 2008 Italian study, while rats that ate GE corn in a 2004 French study showed changes in their blood cells, livers, and kidneys, which researchers believe could indicate the onset of disease. AAEM urges physicians to recommend MO-free diets to their patients.

10. SIRS DiscovererYAHOO! NEWS June 1, volume 23SCIENTISTS MAKE PLANTS GROW FASTER by Jeff Donn Genetic researchers reported today that they have sped up the growth of a plant by making its cells split faster. The researchers first took a gene promoting cell division from inside the arabidopsis plant. They transplanted that gene into a tobacco plant. Within a month after planting, the altered tobacco grew as much as twice as tall as other tobacco plants. "It's sort of like they've been able to make the plant go full throttle," said plant growth biologist John Schiefelbein at the University of Michigan. The leader of the study, Claire Cockcroft, said it is conceivable that the technique could be transferred to other species. Such plants might allow an extra planting in some climates or the introduction of crops in places where the growing season is too short, researchers said.