Research @ Towers Library Gr 9: Science F air

1. Research @ Towers LibraryGr 9: Science Fair Finding and citing resources

2. Objectives • To know how and where to look for valid reliable information • To be able to cite references properly

3. Science Fair project • You need to: • Ask a question • Do background research • Construct a hypothesis • Test your hypothesis by doing an experiment • Analyze your data and draw your conclusion • Communicate your results • Evaluate the success of your project

4. Why do background research? To: • find out more about your topic • help find ideas about which variables to test • predict what might happen in the investigation when making a hypothesis • enable you to interpret the theory and explain the results to others – especially a science fair judge!

5. First of all: Choose a topic • Think about … • What really interests you? • Browse widely for inspiration: newspapers, science magazines, science on tv, YouTube • Find something different or unique

6. Then … develop a research plan • Determine the keywords for your research question, e.g., Does whole-wheat bread go mouldy faster than white bread? • Ask who, what, why, when, where and how questions about your main key word (variable). • Create a research plan (See Science Buddies website http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_background_research_plan.shtml).

9. Next step: find background info … • Books and periodicals • Reliable websites • Databases via Towers Library or via your local library • Other people: your science teacher, your parents or family, a professor or expert • Your librarian

10. Tips on how to look… • Use keyword searching, e.g., mould • Phrase searching, e.g., “Science Fair” • Truncation, e.g., Scien* • Boolean logic: AND, NOT, OR • Bread AND mould • Mould OR mold • Use synonyms, e.g., • mould, mildew, fungus • Use the tilde symbol before keyword, e.g., ~ mould

11. Where to look …Towers Library online databases • I’ll show you first … • On the Towers Library web page, there are several science databases: • Access Science • Scientific American • Also try searching within Knowledge Ontario: e.g., Gale Power Search

12. Databases really help you save time! • You can find information in the database and links from the database to other articles, images and trustworthy websites. • Get organized: • Make a research folder in the database to save what looks interesting and useful. OR • Make notes – start a OneNote folder for your project. • Use the citation help and save citations. • No luck? Try using different search terms – make sure you note the ones you’ve used.

13. Your turn now … • First, a suggestion: make a notes page and divide it into the sections of your project. • Then, go to Towers Library online. • Start with Britannica or World Book and try a basic search for your topic. • Can you find images? web-sites? What else? • Do you see how you can collect and organize your research? • Don’t forget all those tips: save, cite, links, etc. • No luck? • Try different search terms. • Try different databases. • Try Advanced Search.

14. Next … the Web. Let’s talk about the surface web vs the deep web • Deep Web: Regulated information embedded within databases, e.g., ProQuest – password protected and paid subscription. They will save you time and give you high quality information. • Surface Web: Free unregulated information easily accessible by all search engines

15. Let’s look @ the shallow unregulated web Can you trust the web resource? • Don’t forget – anyone can publish on the web. • What should you look for? • Authority • Objectivity • Accuracy

16. Authority • Ask questions: • What is the purpose of the webpage? • Who is the author? • Is the person or organization an expert? Look closely at the URL: gcgovedu • Is it an official web site or a personal web page?

17. Objectivity • Is the site intended for a particular audience? • Does the site contain advertising or does it have sponsorship? • Again … what's the purpose of the site? • If there is an issue, are both sides presented?

18. Accuracy • Currency - is the work up-to-date? • Are there errors or typos? • Do hyperlinks work? • Is the site easy to navigate?

19. Why not Wikipedia? • Michael Scott on Wikipedia • You are doing scholarly work and need to be sure you’re using high quality resources • Wikipedia … • can be factual but it’s not necessarily reliable • can be out of date • can be wrong: no peer review • Wikipedia has a disclaimer that notes: WIKIPEDIA MAKES NO GUARANTEE OF VALIDITY

20. Science search engines • Instead of Google, try science-focused search engines.  Remember … these still require good website evaluation skills: • Infomine • Intute • Scirus • SciNet

21. Your turn • Keeping in mind all you’ve learned about searching the web, with your partner, find a credible web-based resource for your project. • Share your website with the rest of the group. Why do you think it’s a good source?

22. Other useful web resources • Discovery Education Science Fair guide http://school.discoveryeducation.com/sciencefaircentral/ • Ontario Science Centre http://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/resources/sciencefairlinks.asp • Science Buddies http://www.sciencebuddies.org/index_A.htm • Mad Sci Network http://www.madsci.org/ • Scitablehttp://www.nature.com/scitable

23. Web directories • Directories can be useful: • ipl2 The Internet Public Library (a great resource) • Yahoo! Directory

24. How do I cite sources? • Make sure you write down all your sources as you find them! • The databases in Towers Library can give you the citations for the sources you've used. • Don’t forget you also need to cite images. • Use an online guide, e.g., APA • A simple and useful way of building your references is www.bibme.org or http://www.easybib.com/

25. Reference page: Citing a web page • Discovery Education. (2011).Science Fair Central: Getting Started. USA. Retrieved November 20, 2011, from http://school.discoveryeducation.com/sciencefaircentral/Getting-Started.html.

26. Reference page: Citing an image Science Photo Library. (2011). Bread Mold. Photograph courtesy Dr. Jeremy Burgess. Retrieved November 20, 2011, from http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/14359/view

27. Reference page: citing from an online database Li, X. (2010). Umami taste receptor. InAccessScience. Retrieved from http://www.accessscience.com/content.aspx?id=YB100222

28. Bibliography Discovery Education. (2011).Science Fair Central: Getting Started. USA. Retrieved November 20, 2011, from http://school.discoveryeducation.com/sciencefaircentral/Getting-Started.html. Li, X. (2010). Umami taste receptor. InAccessScience. Retrieved from http://www.accessscience.com/content.aspx?id=YB100222 Science Photo Library. (2011). Bread Mold. Photograph courtesy Dr. Jeremy Burgess. Retrieved November 20, 2011, from http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/14359/view

29. And don’t forget … • You can join the Aurora Public Library if you live in Aurora – including if you live at the School. • Or join your local public library.

30. Finally … • If you need help … come and see us in the library. • Good luck with your project!