LHS Library Research Guide

Whether you have been assigned a short report or a major term paper, consider the following guidelines and questions as you go about finding information. This research guide is based upon The Big6 Information Problem Solving Skills by Michael Eisenberg and Robert Berkowitz.

1. DEFINE THE TASK

• What is your research topic? Is it too broad or narrow?
• See suggestions for topics at CQ Researcher, Issues & Controversies and Idea Generator.
• What is the format? (written report, oral presentation AV or media component)
• How long or extensive must your final product be?
• What type of information will you try to locate? (current news, historical background, statistics, opinion, interviews, graphs, maps, images, etc.)

• What sources are suitable for your topic? Consider books, reference materials, magazines, vertical file, AV materials, Internet and online databases.
  • LHS online card catalog lets you search for print and audiovisual items at Lakeview HS Library and locate ebooks available from netLibrary.
  • Infotrac/General Reference Center Gold contains articles from newspapers, reference books, and periodicals, many with full-text and images.
  • FirstSearch/Wilson Select Plus offers full text articles from over 400 periodicals.
  • CQ Researcher is a weekly publication of current and controversial issues.
  • Facts.com provides the last 20 years of news stories from Facts on File, historical events of the 20th century, Issues and Controversies, Today's Science, World Almanac, Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia.
  • CIA World Fact Book gives country profiles, statistical information, maps and flags for principal nations of the world.
  • American Memory from the Library of Congress is a gateway to primary source materials relating to the history and culture of the United States. The site offers more than 7 million digital items in over 100 historical collections.
• The growth of the World Wide Web has been phenomenal but without quality control. The evaluation of Internet sites becomes an essential part of the research process. You may not always be able to use a detailed Web site evaluation checklist, but you should at least screen Internet material using a few basic criteria. The acronym ACT reminds you to consider:
  • Authority: What are the credentials of the author or organization responsible for the Web site?
  • Content: Does the site provide accurate, relevant, unbiased material?
  • Timeliness: Is information current with site updates undertaken regularly?

• Where can you actually find your sources? (LHS Library, Willard Public Library, interlibrary loan, Internet from school or home)
• What keywords and phrases can you list to describe your topic?
• Read an overview of Boolean searching.
• View a demonstration on concept mapping.
• Find information within your sources.
  • Use indexes and table of contents for print material.
  • Use subject list or keyword searching within electronic databases.
  • See our LHS page of Search Directories & Engines for searching help.
  • Keep track of search attempts and strategies by using the LHS Library Search Record form.
• For each resource identified as useful, create an MLA correct bibliography card. Use the Writers Inc. handbook for a source specific model. Use a 3x5 card and indent the second and succeeding lines.
  

• Read, view, and listen to the information.
• Extract information from sources. Take notes, photocopy, print out, download, and email.

• Organize information from multiple sources into the required product.
• Use subject slugs in upper left of note cards to group cards into topic piles. Organize piles into a logical order so that piles become your paragraphs. As you type your paper, make sure that you insert the citation (from the upper right of the notecard) after each idea used from a note card.
• See our LHS Library page on How to prepare the works cited page.
• Present the information.

• Judge the final product. (Effectiveness)
• Judge the information-solving process. (Efficiency)
• See English 4 rubric for evaluation guidelines.

Return to Research page.