What does good research look like?

Hello Everyone!

Thank you for your great work today on Stop Motion videos and the Solar Cookers! Our classroom looks clean at the end of the day, so thank you for your work cleaning up after our fun, messy projects.

Tonight, in preparation for our final project for the unit, we are doing some research on a human rights issue of choice. You only have to look at one website or article tonight and take some notes. Here is a short description of what we are looking for:

  • Choose one issue around human rights (everyone has done this already)
  • Narrow it down by looking at a specific country where the human rights issue is happening (you can use Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International websites to get started like we did today)
  • Look for ways someone is taking ACTION to solve the human rights problem. (Invention, Innovation, Campaign like we talked about in class)
  • Take notes for research
  • Create a stop motion video to share what you learned

What makes good research? We went over these things today in class and will keep learning about them all year to improve our research. 

  • Write down your name and date on your notes
  • When you search, focus on websites that end in .org (organization, usually non-profit), .edu (education site), .gov (government site), or a reputable source.
  • Avoid wikipedia for research projects. It is better for quick answers.
  • Avoid .com sites, as they are usually trying to sell you something.
  • Use websites that from 2011 or later (no more than five years old)
  • Avoid websites where you have to look up meanings of words every five seconds. If you don’t understand the article, get a different website!
  • Search for issues with key words:  “child labour issues Zimbabwe kids” — the kids part will help tell Google to look for kid-friendly sources.
  • If the website looks too mature for you, then it probably IS! Don’t use it.
  • Record the website name where you found the information
  • Try to find the date the article/website was published AND who wrote the article you are reading. Sometimes you can find this information under the menu title ABOUT US, or CONTACT INFO. Sometimes it is right under the article title. Other times it is at the bottom of the article, so scroll down.
  • Use point form to take notes
  • Write down key ideas so you will remember them for your project.
  • If you are using an online tool to do notes, like EverNote or Google Docs, know that cutting and pasting is NOT taking notes. You can still cut and paste, but notes are in your own words.

Stuck? Ask Ms. D tomorrow when we continue our research! 

Have a good night!