L2/1 PPT

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Introduction
A hot-air balloon without a trained pilot will
drift aimlessly, but a trained pilot can guide it
in a planned direction. Likewise, you can plan
and guide any research project if you understand
the research process.
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Introduction

• In a research project, you investigate and
  present information on a topic. The steps of the
  research process will help you find and use that
  information effectively.

In this presentation, you will

• survey the steps of the research process

• learn about some technology tools that can help
  you create and publish a research project

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The research process

• When you begin a research project, you might have
  a broad subject in mind. Focus your subject down
  to a narrow topic to make it a suitable size for
  your work.

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Tech Tool Bloglines

• The free online service Bloglines enables you to
  subscribe to Web feeds that are constantly
  updated. The result is that, in a single place,
  you can collect interesting content from many Web
  pages and blogs.

You also can search content feeds for research
topics. The search can help you narrow a broad
topic.
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Tech Tool Bloglines

• To narrow a broad subject into a research topic,
  type the broad subjectfor instance, Nobel
  Prizeinto the Bloglines Search for Feeds box and
  get a list of Web feeds about the Nobel Prize.

From there, you can narrow your topicfor
example, first to Nobel Prize winners and then to
Marie Curie.
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The research process

• As you begin the research process, think about
  the purpose, audience, and tone for your project.

The purpose of most research projects is to give
clear, complete information on the research topic.
Your audience is made up of the people who will
receive that information.
The tone you use for your project probably will
be relatively formal, as is appropriate for
serious research.
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The research process

• Understanding your purpose and audience are
  important as you design the research questions
  that will guide your work.

Topic Marie Curie Research questions
What discoveries by other scientists led to Marie
Curies experiments?
How did Marie Curies experiments lead to her
discovery of radium and polonium?
How did the scientific community receive Marie
Curies work?
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The research process

• Choose good sources of information to answer your
  research questions. Good sources have the Four Rs.

They are relevant, including information that
relates directly to your research questions.
They are reliable, using only accurate and
objective information.
They are recent, meaning that sources should be
as up to date as possible.
They are representative, addressing more than one
side of the issue.
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The research process

• There are many types of information sources,
  including books, print and online newspapers and
  magazines, Web pages, online museums, wikis, and
  online databases.

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Tech Tool Keyword Search

• You can locate sources of information for your
  research topic by typing a keyword into search
  engines, online databases, RSS feeds, online
  museums, and other tools.

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The research process

• It is important to keep track of your sources.
  Create a list of the sources you find and assign
  a number to each one.

1 Krull, Kathleen. Marie Curie. Giants of Science
Series 4. New York Viking, 2007.
2 Ham, Denise. Marie Sklodowska Curie The Woman
Who Opened the Nuclear Age. 21st Century Science
and Technology Magazine 15.4 (2002-2003) 30-68.
3 Madame Curie. Dir. Mervyn LeRoy. MGM, 1944.
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The research process

• Once you find good sources, you will take notes
  on the information you find in them, recording
  the information in three ways.

When you make a direct quotation, you use the
exact words in the source and enclose them in
quotation marks.
When you paraphrase, you restate the information
in the source in your own words.
When you summarize, you condense the main idea of
the source into a much shorter version, using
your own words.
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The research process

• When you take notes from a source, make sure that
  you write the sources number next to all the
  information from that source.

2 Marie Curie discovered the radioactive
substances radium and polonium. She coined the
term radioactivity.
6 Marie Curie and her husband, Pierre Curie, were
awarded half of the Nobel Prize for Physics in
1903. They shared the prize with Henri Becquerel.
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Tech Tool Google Notebook

• Google Notebook allows you to take notes online
  and access them from any computer. You also can
  create multiple notebooks and move notes from one
  notebook to another.

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The research process

• After taking notes, you will create a thesis
  statement as the working main idea of your
  projectthe one big idea you want your audience
  to understand. You can revise your thesis later
  as your project develops.

Marie Curie overcame many obstacles to conduct
research that led to her discovery of the
elements radium and polonium.
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The research process

• Next, organize the information from your notes so
  you can plan your finished product. You might
  decide to use a mind map to help you organize
  your notes.

Obstacles Marie Curie faced
Poor laboratory facilities
Exclusion from University of Warsaw because of
gender discrimination
Initial skepticism by other scientists of her
discoveries of radium and polonium
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The research process

• Another way to organize the information from your
  notes is in a formal outline.

Thesis Marie Curie overcame many obstacles to
conduct research that led to her discovery of the
elements radium and polonium. I. Obstacles A.
Exclusion from University of Warsaw because of
gender discrimination B. Poor laboratory
facilities C. Initial skepticism by other
scientists of her discoveries of radium and
polonium
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The research process

• Now you are ready to write a draft of your
  research project. You will use your notes and
  outline or mind map as you write the draft.

In your draft, you should

• present a clear thesis statement that answers
  your research questions

• include well-chosen support for your thesis,
  using information from reliable sources

• effectively use summary, paraphrasing, and direct
  quotations to present your ideas and support

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The research process

• After you write a draft, read it at least twice.

The first time you read it, focus on content and
organization.
The second time you read it, focus on style.
Evaluate your draft and revise it accordingly.
You also might seek feedback from teachers,
classmates, or others.
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The research process

• You can publish your research project in several
  formats. The format you choose should be
  appropriate for your purpose and your audience.

Possible formats include

• a written report
• a multimedia presentation
• a podcast
• a Web page
• a wiki

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Tech Tool Wikis

• A class wiki is one way the members of an entire
  class collaborating on a research project can
  post their work to the Internet. A wiki allows
  readers to collaborate by adding to and revising
  the text.

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Tech Tip Wikis

• When you publish a document on a wiki, you can
  track changes to the text and revert to an
  earlier version of the document if unacceptable
  changes are made to your work.

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The research process

• Once you have published your research project,
  you can receive feedback on it from teachers and
  from peers. Then, reflect on the work you have
  done. Use the feedback and your own reflections
  to help you shape future research projects.

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Conclusion

• Just as a trained pilot steers a hot-air balloon,
  you can steer your research to a successful
  completed project.

The steps of the research process help you find
information about a topic and shape that
information into a research project. Tech tools
such as wikis and Google Notebook can help you in
the process.
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Talk About It

• Discuss these questions with your classmates.

1. Why is it necessary to follow a structured
   process when conducting and publishing research?

2. What technology tools do you usually use for
research? How do you use those tools?
3. Have you ever used any of the tools presented
in this lesson (keyword search, Bloglines, Google
Notebook, wikis)? Why or why not?
4. Are you likely to try any of these tools in
the future? Why or why not?
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Your Turn

1. Do an online keyword search on a subject of your
   choice. Use the search results to help narrow
   your subject to a suitable research topic.

2. Once you have a suitable research topic,
identify an audience that would be interested in
this topic. Then, choose a method for presenting
your research to that audienceas a paper, a
podcast, a wiki, and so on. Explain your choice.
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Your Turn Possible Responses

1. I picked first aid as a subject. I typed it
   into a search engine and browsed through the
   results. The results helped me narrow the topic
   to how CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) was
   developed.

2. People taking a first aid class would be a
good audience for my research project. They
probably would be curious about how CPR was
developed. I think a slide presentation with
images and perhaps video would be a good way to
present my research to this audience.
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The End