Research Tips

• Write down your initial thoughts and personal interests:
• What do you wonder about?
• What are you passionate about?
• What class would you take if you could study anything?
• What have you always wished you could do or make?
• What do you care about and want to share with the world?

• Broaden if you start finding too much information.
• Narrow if you are having difficulty finding any information.

Develop some deep questions that will take time to research. If you can find the answer quickly then it’s not really research! Learn about thick vs. thin questions and depth of knowledge.

Searching online can be tricky if you don’t use the right Example:

Thin: What is 3D printing?

THICK: How can 3D printing benefit students and school?

Think about using:

• Non-fiction books
• Reference sources —dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, almanac, atlas
• Websites, databases, & search engines
• Magazines
• Newspapers
• Primary sources — original documents, eyewitness reports, expert interviews
• Images and videos

• Write down your questions and then pull out the keywords.
• Think of synonyms that could be used to describe the same word (e.g., live / habitat).
• Check your spelling if you are not finding anything relevant.
• Get more specific to narrow the information down by using a combination of keywords.

Think about where the information is coming from.

• Is it reliable, current, and kid-friendly?
• What aboutWikipedia?
• Do you understand what you’re reading?

Remember these note-taking tips:

• A – Abbreviations
• B – Bullet Points
• C – Caveman Language
• L – Lists
• O – One Word for Several
• U – Use Your Own Words

Learn about citing your sources. Use a “works cited” template.