The Research Process

1. The Research Process A six step research inquiry process

2. The Information Process Defining Locating Six steps to help you do “great research” What do I need to find out? Where will I find the information I need? How will I organise the information? How well did I do? What did I do well? What do I need to improve on? How will I select the information I need? How will I present the information? Selecting Organising Presenting Evaluating

3. Defining the task Know exactly what it is that you are required to do. When you first get your research project, it is worth spending the time getting REALLY CLEAR on what you are expected to do. It will make the other stages of the process much easier. Here are five questions you should answer before you start. am I going to be assessed on? What

4. The question is the answer The questions you create will define how you approach your research. Great questions will lead to great research. Brainstorming / Mindmapping This is a great way to see how your brain EXPANDS ideas about the topic. It shows how you think. Focus Questions • 5W’s • The Question Matrix • Bloom’s Taxonomy • Six Thinking Hats • KWL Chart This charts lets you : • Identify what you already know • Identify what you want to know

5. Mind Mapping A mind map is a graphical way to represent ideas and concepts. It is a visual thinking tool that helps structure information. It also reflects how you think and how your brain makes connections between different ideas. Picture Page Layout Here is a place holder for the text. The coins on this page can be removed. You may delete this text. /File:MindMapGuidlines.JPG

6. What are mind maps good for? They help visual learners remember information. They support spatial learners remember information and make connections between information. One mind map can sum up many pages of written notes. They help you see connections / relationships between different parts of a topic. They link existing and new knowledge. Colour and pattern can help stimulate memory. Because our visual memory is better than our verbal memory, patterns help us to remember information more effectively.

7. What can mind maps be used for? One Two Here are some different things you can use a mind map for. Note taking Brainstorming – to expand your ideas on a topic Planning Stimulating your creativity Studying and memorisation Presenting information Three Four Five Six

8. In the DEFINING stage….. In the DEFINING stage mind maps are especially good to: Document all of the existing knowledge you have a about a topic; Begin to see connections and links between different aspects of the topic; See where there are gaps in your information; Use focus questions to formulate appropriate questions that you want to find the answers to; and Provide a VISUAL MAP of your thinking process You can add to the mind map as you discover more information or make new connections in your thinking.

9. The 5 W’s WHO? WHAT? Here are five basic questions you can start with. This question is about people. This question refers to facts. This question refers to a time (past., present, future or situation). This question is hypothetical – asking you to predict something based on a set of circumstances. This question refers to a location or place. This question asks about a reason, cause, explanation, justification. WHERE? WHEN? WHY? WHAT IF?

10. Fat and skinny questions Sometimes questions are referred to as FAT or SKINNY SKINNY questions usually only require a short answer Yes / No One word A place A time Usually there is no explanation or description. FAT questions usually require a much more detailed answer. Here are some examples: What were the causes of the First World War? What would be the economic effects of rising ocean levels?

11. The Question Matrix The Question Matrix is a grid that allows you to categorise your questions against a number of contexts . It is a great tool to help you develop your focus questions

12. Locating Resources When doing your research you will find that different sources have a different purpose and audience. For example an encyclopedia article is very different to a journal article which is different again to a brochure. Pick the information source that best suits your task.

13. Sources of information Different ways of looking at information There are many different sources of information. Try to utilise all of these when you get the opportunity. Do NOT underestimate the value of primary sources. More and more the internet is taking primary sources and converting them to an electronic form: Virtual Tours Videos of interviews Digital versions of “real” documents”

14. Graphic Organisers Semantic Grid T-Chart Some of the Graphic Organisers you might like to use in this stage of your research project are: This helps you compare similar features across a number of criteria. Lets you compare two things in colums Let’s you sequence steps in a process. Could be set of instructions, recipe, timeline Let’s you look at a topic in six different ways according to a colored hat. Lets you look at something in terms of PLUS, MINUS, INTERESTING Allows you to compare and contrast two things to identify similarities an differences PMI Chart Flow Chart Venn Diagram Six Thinking Hats You can find examples of all these and more in the STUDYVIBE TOOLBOX

15. Organising information When you have located your information and taken your notes you need to answer these questions: You need to go back to your original task and focus questions to see if the information you have collected will satisfy your task. If you don’t have enough information then you need to go back to step two – Locating information.

16. Presenting information The way you present your information will depend upon: • Your research task requirements Is the presentation format set or can you choose how you present your work? • Your audience Who are you presenting the work to? Is your presentation format relevant? • The purpose of the task What was the purpose of the task? To inform? To entertain? To persuade?

17. Presenting information Here are just a few presentation ideas that you might like to try for your final product / presentation Newspaper article Discussion Thread Advertisement Also check out the ‘Creative Output”module n iResearch for some great presentation ideas. Blog Website Podcast Wiki Report Brochure Speech Debate Simulation Video Poster TV News Report Digital Story Model

18. Evaluating This is probably one of the most important stages of the whole research process because it helps you to work out how well you did. Here are some questions you can ask? What did I learn from this task? How is this learning going to help me? Did I answer all of my focus questions? How well did I go at each stage? How well did I present my information? What did I really do well? What needs to be improved next time?

19. Don’t forget to reference!! This really shouldn’t come at the end….. • It is really important that you REFERENCE every source of information you use for your project or assignment. • Check out “Making Referencing Real” in the iResearch Module to learn how to do that. • Here is an example of what it looks like for a book. Canfield, J. & Healy, K. 2008, The success principles for teens, Health Communications, Inc., London.

20. Where to from here? OK, you have done your research project. So now what? Celebrate your success!! Focus on what you want to improve for next time. Think about ways you can build on what you have learnt to make your next project bigger and better. But most of all…have fun with your research!!

21. Where to from here? If you like the template that we used for the presentation you can find similar ones at http://www.presentermedia.com/