Types of Information Sources

Help students understand the difference between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources. After reviewing the information on the page, provide students with the following list of sources and ask them to identify the type of source for each one. (Add sources as necessary.) This activity can be done individually, in small groups, or as a class.

• A biography about J.K. Rowling (Secondary)
• An interview with J.K. Rowling (Primary)
• A Wikipedia entry about J.K. Rowling (Tertiary)
• The Treaty of Versailles (Primary)
• A bibliography of sources about The Treaty of Versailles (Tertiary)
• An entry about The Treaty of Versailles from The Reader’s Companion to Military History. (Tertiary)
• Analysis of The Treaty of Versailles from a scholarly journal (Secondary)
• A diary entry from a French soldier on the day The Treaty of Versailles was signed (Primary)
• An experiment about the influence of social interaction on people's conception of "truth" (Primary)
• An article from Scientific American that cites the above experiment as evidence (Secondary)

Quantitative Methods

Lead students through the steps for creating surveys. Point out how each step is reflected in the sample survey on page 262.

If students need more information about different types of survey questions, point them to "Asking Survey Questions" from Inquire High School or "How to Choose the Right Survey Questions" from SurveyMonkey.

Conducting Experiments

Review the steps of the scientific method, comparing the process to the research process as a whole. Then lead a discussion about how the method can be applied beyond pure "science." Statisticians use the process to study Web search patterns, for instance. Psychologists use it to study human behavior. Survey makers use it to draft and revise survey questions. Ask students if they can come up with any other applications.

Multimedia (Web Sites, Blogs, and Videos)

Lead students through the tips for evaluating multimedia sources. Ask them about their own processes for judging the reliability or usefulness of the information they find online. Then present the infographic at the bottom of the page and ask the following discussion questions:

• How is the infographic beneficial for research projects?
• What part of it surprised you?
• What parts do you agree with? What parts do you disagree with?
• Should any of the specific mediums be moved to different quadrants? Why or why not? 

Conducting Online Research

Introduce online research by leading a classroom discussion about your students' search habits: What process do they follow to search for information online? What actions do they take when a search does not yield intended results? Do they typically follow the tips highlighted on this page? Which ones? Are there other strategies not covered here that they find useful?

Conducting Library Research

Because of the Internet, the library has lost some of its luster as a resource for information, but that shouldn’t be the case. Libraries . . .

• contain reliable and reputable materials,
• catalog and organize materials for easy access,
• subscribe to academic databases with thousands of research sources, and
• offer information specialists to help students find what they need.

Use this page and those that follow to help your students discover how to locate resources in your school and local libraries. Most crucially, schedule class time to visit one or more libraries at various points of the year so that your students can become comfortable using them.

Library Resource Collections (Cont.)

Review the tips for "Finding the Right Book" and "Using Academic Databases." Ask students to pick out relevant print books from your school library and to identify the publication information, table of contents, major headings, index, appendix, glossary, and bibliography. (Note: Not all books will include this full list of features.) Then have an information specialist demonstrate how to access and use the academic databases that your library subscribes to.

Enrichment: At different points during the school year, provide students with a topic (question) to research in the library. Ask students to develop a working bibliography of resources that they could use to learn about the topic. The bibliography should be organized from general to specific sources of information, including a mix of print sources from the library and digital sources (via academic databases).

Taking and Organizing Notes

As a class, review the common types of note-taking systems used by researchers. Follow the cross references to detailed explanations of the different systems. Then carefully review the "What to Include" section. Stress the importance of recording the source documentation information (author, title, URL, etc.) whenever noting ideas. Doing so helps students avoid plagiarism and accurately cite sources.

Detecting Bias and Identifying Missing Perspectives

Students should also check sources for bias and missing perspectives. Bias, of course, seeps into many media messages in today's hyper-partisan society. To demonstrate a biased source, search for articles about a hot-button current news topic. Pick one source that addresses the topic in a fair and balanced manner, with an objective tone and multiple sides of the issue discussed. Pick a second source that takes a biased stance on the topic, characterized by emotional language or a clearly slanted point of view. Have students read through the two accounts and decide which is biased. Then have them find specific evidence to show the bias. Discuss why this biased source is not a good place to get information.

Afterward, lead students through the material at the bottom of the page, which focuses on the perspective of the sender. Help students see that a sender with a narrow perspective that excludes many other viewpoints is not as reliable as one with a broader perspective that takes in more ideas.

Consider assigning the related minilessons for additional practice.