Improving Research Habits of Students

8/9/2019 Improving Research Habits of Students

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How to Improve Students Internet ResearchSkills


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Overview

Dulcinea Media ( http://www.dulcineamedia.com ) provides freecontent and tools that help school librarians and teachersteach students how to use the Internet effectively,responsibly and safely.

This presentation discusses some current research aboutstudents Internet research skills, and provides aframework for improving them.

All text in blue is a hyperlink that, when clicked on whilethe presentation is in Slideshow format, opens a Webpage with substantially more information about the topic.A list of all links is on the last page of this presentation aswell.


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Lesson Plans Available ThisSummer

Dulcinea Media plans to create free lesson plans onteaching Internet research skills for the 2010-11 schoolyear.

To be alerted to the publication of these lesson plans,sign-up for our free email newsletter(http://www.findingdulcinea.com/info/newsletter.html ), which features our bestdaily content, educator interviews, and tips for

incorporating the Web into your curriculum.


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Todays students are digital natives

It is very likely that our students brains have physicallychanged and are different from ours as a result of howthey grew up

- Marc Prensky1

http://www.flickr.com/photos/clintjcl/225598357/


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So are they effective researchers?

The notion that young people are expert searchers "is adangerous myth. Digital literacies and informationliteracies do not go hand in hand.

little time is spent in evaluating information....facedwith a long list of search hits, young people find it difficultto assess the relevanceand often print off pages with nomore than a perfunctory glance...

-UCL: Information Behaviour of the Researcher of the

Future (January 2008)2


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A recent study:

Researchers in the Netherlands studied 5th graderson and off-screen behavior after the students hadcompleted an information literacy program. Most

students continued to use Google only, and studentsnever questioned the reliability of the Websites theyaccessed basing judgment only on relevance for thespecific task. 3


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Students search but dont find...

Students high level of browsing [is] carried on at the expenseof thinking about information need, planning for strategies,

and evaluating obtained information.

4

-- Shu-Hsien L. Chen


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An overwhelming experience...

Electronic media can overwhelm youth with information thatthey may not have the skills or experience to evaluate. 5

-- Harvards Berkman Center for Internet & Society, March2010


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Surveyed 300 Students

Dulcinea Medias 2010 Survey...

https://reader010.{domain}/reader010/html5/0601/5b10bed45b255/5b10bed88e555.jpg


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Survey methods

Online survey included 27 multiple-choice andopen-ended questions delivered through uniquelink.

A link to the high school surveyhttp://www.surveymonkey.com/s/researchhighschool

A link to the middle school surveyhttp://www.surveymonkey.com/s/researchmiddleschool


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Our sample....

95% of students surveyedsaid they used computersat home.

http://www.fabulouslybroke.com/2009/07/you-dont-deserve-house/


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Age at first online searchexperience

http://www.flickr.com/photos/madmack/165933656/


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General search engine use:

71% of high school and middle school

students said they use Google.

9% said Bing

17% skipped the question


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Q: If a search doesnt give yougood results, what do you do next?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sybrenstuvel/2468506922/


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Sample responses:

I try another search engine.

I try different keywords but if I still can't find ananswer, I just think real hard for an answer.

I turn my focus on the encyclopedia.

I click on something else or type in something else.

I play games then use Ask.com.


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Results:

How do you decide if an article you


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How do you decide if an article youfind on the Internet is a goodsource to use for a school report?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66164549@N00/2260970300/


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Sample responses:

If it has the information I need then its good for me.

If it sounds good, I know its right, and it has a good vocab.

I don't know. I just go with it.

If It gives me a lot of information its good.

If it has footnotes.


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Results:


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Q: How often do you check theauthor of an online article?

Most of the time:14.7% & 7.1% (high school / middle school)

Rarely or never:

57.4% & 71.8%

Comment: It doesnt really matter who the

writer is


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when an article was written or lastupdated ?

Most of the time:

19.2% & 8.8% (high school / middle school)

Rarely or never:50.8% & 72.6%

Comment: I cant find it.


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Conclusions of Dulcinea Mediasurvey

A majority of students:

Rely almost entirely on Google;

dont know how to formulate a sound search query;

dont have a valid strategy for when they get poor results;

cant articulate how they know when content is credible;

dont consider the author of an article or his credentials; and

dont check when a work was created or last updated.


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In other words...

WERE

LOST


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Improving Internet skills starts withyou

Teachers must enhance their own informationliteracy skills, and learn better how to teach them.

You cant do it alone; collaborate with schoollibrarian and fellow teachers, and also develop apersonal learning network.


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Models & Resources for Web Research

Review the Big6: excellent information for teachers.8http://www.big6.com/what-is-the-big6/

Share the Ergo model for search with students. 9http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/ergo/research_skills

Review SweetSearch Ten Tips for Better Searches, acontinually evolving repository of research advice.http://www.SweetSearch.com/TenTips


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Step One: Define the task

Explain natural language vs. keywords; nouns vs. verbs.

Students should rewrite assignment in their own words.

Then, brainstorm several keywords and phrases. Theones you think would appear and wouldnt. 6

Use "keyword category concept maps 7


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Define the task (contd)

Students can use Rockwell Schrocks Boolean Machine tovisualize how connectors work.http://kathyschrock.net/rbs3K/boolean/

Encourage use of advanced search options

Allow students to consult Wikipedia only to developkeywords for search; use this article, Top Ten Reasons WhyStudents Cant Cite or Rely on Wikipedia, to explain why

Wikipedia cannot be relied on or cited.http://bit.ly/dlxX6i

Encourage students to dig deeper, finding the right sourcetakes longer but saves time writing a report


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Step Two: Decide Where to Search

Encourage Google Holiday to lessen dependency.

Encourage students to use at least 2 search enginesincluding specialty/meta search engines.

Provide a list of approved sites and encouragestudents to conduct a search on each of them.

SweetSearch is our custom search engine that only

searches 35,000 sites weve evaluated & approved.http://www.sweetsearch.com

Looking for primary sources? Use this article to find thebest places online to locate primary material.

http://blog.findingdulcinea.com/2010/01/discovering-primary-source-material.html


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Step Three: Outline & record searchstrategies

Teach students to document their search strategy sothey dont keep looping and backtracking throughsame sites and searching same keywords.

Students could create free accounts in Diigo tohighlight, annotate and store their research.


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Step Four: Evaluate site credibility

Teach students to be skeptical. Anyone can publishanything on the Web. Focus on finding the bestinformation, rather than the first information that sounds

good.

Confirm information with several sources.

No one thing will tell you if a Web site can be trusted.Every aspect of a Web site must be reviewed to see if the

information is accurate, up to date, objective andauthoritative.


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Evaluation (contd): 3 Simple Questions

Who? Identify the author, and publisher of every site,and evaluate their credentials.

Why? Establish the writers motivations as a lens forevaluating credibility.

When? Determine when an article was published or lastupdated; if you cant, confirm the currency of theinformation elsewhere.

http://bit.ly/9dzELE


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Evaluation (contd): Are you kidding me?

What is the sites editorial policy? Do editors or expertsreview the information? Is the information thorough andcomplete?

Is the article satire or a parody, not meant to be takenseriously?

Is this the original source of the article, or is it takenfrom another site? Cut and paste a sentence into a search

engine to see if it appears on other sites. If it does, figureout which site was the original publisher and evaluate thecredibility of that site.http://bit.ly/9k6a2v


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Dulcinea Medias tools

findingDulcinea (http://www.findingdulcinea.com) helps users locate credible and completeinformation online. Its principal sections:

Beyond the Headlines (http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news.topic__ss_categories_ss_top-stories.html)integrates a range of sources, viewpoints and historical perspectives into a cohesive,

balanced view of a current event.

On This Day (http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news.topic__ss_categories_ss_on-this-day.html )is a daily featurethat chronicles a significant historical event, based on the best Web resources.

Web Guides (http://www.findingdulcinea.com/guides )provide a road map to exploring hundreds oftopics online, with links to the best resources, ordered logically, and woven with narrative,

insights, and research strategies.

EncontrandoDulcinea, (http://www.encontrandodulcinea.com)a Bridge for Spanish Speakers, is ourWeb site for bilingual Spanish-speaking Internet users. Content from findingDulcinea has

been translated into Spanish, providing Spanish language guidance to the best English

and Spanish language Web links by topic.


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SweetSearch (http://www.sweetsearch.com) a Search Engine for Students, searches

only 35,000 Web sites that have been approved by our staff.

SweetSearch allows students to choose the most relevant result from a

list of credible results, without the distraction of unreliable sites.

SweetSearch Biographies (http://www.sweetsearch.com/biographies) is a database of

profiles of notable people, historic & contemporary, from all regions and

walks of life. Searchable by profession, gender and race/origin.

SweetSearch Social Studies (http://www.sweetsearch.com/socialstudies) features all of

findingDulcinea's content for social studies on one, easily accessiblepage.


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On This Day Challenge (http://findingeducation.com/on-this-day-challenge/ ) asks students to

choose a significant event from history and use the Web to research and

gather information on the chosen event. Using critical thinking and

analysis skills, a student then writes an article on the event, citing the

Web sources. Outstanding entries will be published with a byline onfindingDulcinea, and prizes are awarded by drawing of all participants.

findingEducation,(http://www.findingeducation.com) a Community Tool for Educators,

is a free tool that helps educators find the best online education

resources, to manage, organize and share links with students and other

educators, and to create Web-based assignments.


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Conclusion

Students cant effectively research on Internet.

The change must start with teachers.

There are many Web tutorials and tools to help teach these skills.

Dulcinea Media offers free content and tools to help teach students how to use the Web effectively.

For more information contact us:

[email protected]

[email protected]


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Works Cited:1.Prensky, Marc. Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants : On the Horizon. NCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001

2. UCL. Information behavior of the researcher of the future: 11 January 2008.

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/reppres/gg_final_keynote_11012008.pdf

3. Els Kuiper, Monique Volman and Jan Terwel. Students' use of Web literacy skills and strategies: searching, reading and

evaluating Web information. Information Research: Vol. 13, No.3, (September, 2008.)

http://www.informationr.net/ir/13-3/paper351.html

4. Shu-Hsien L. Chen. Searching the Online Catalog and the World Wide Web. Journal of Educational Media & Library

Sciences, 41 1 (September 2003) 29-43

5. On Empowering Parents and Protecting Children in an Evolving Media landscape Berkman Center for Internet &

Society. February 24, 2010.

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/node/5951

6. Kasman Valenza, Joyce. PowerSearching 501: Springfield Township High School Virtual Library

http://www.sdst.org/shs/library/jvles.html

7. Eagleton, Maya, Kathleen Guinee, and Karen Langlais. Teaching Internet Literacy Strategies: The Hero Inquiry Project

Voices From the Middle, Vol. 10, No 3, March 2003.

http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/class/edlf/345/humanities/readings/VM0103Teaching.pdf

8. Eisenberg, Mike. What is the Big 6. The Big 6: Information & Technology Skills for Student Achievement, (1997)

http://www.big6.com/what-is-the-big6/

9. Research Skills. State Library of Victoria. Ergo. (2010)http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/ergo/research_skills
http://www.sweetsearch.com/http://www.sweetsearch.com/socialstudieshttp://www.sweetsearch.com/socialstudieshttp://www.sweetsearch.com/socialstudieshttp://www.sweetsearch.com/socialstudieshttp://www.sweetsearch.com/


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Other Links:

Dulcinea Media: http://dulcineamedia.com/

Newsletter: http://www.findingdulcinea.com/info/newsletter.html

Survey (High School): http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/researchhighschool

Survey (Middle School): http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/researchmiddleschool

SweetSearch 10 Tips: http://www.SweetSearch.com/TenTips

Schrock Boolean Machine:http://kathyschrock.net/rbs3K/boolean/

Cant Cite Wikipedia: http://bit.ly/dlxX6i

SweetSearch: http://www.SweetSearch.comPrimary Sources: http://blog.findingdulcinea.com/2010/01/discovering-primary-source-material.html

Who? Why? When? http://bit.ly/9dzELE

Original Source? http://bit.ly/9k6a2v

findingDulcinea http://www.findingdulcinea.com/

Beyond the Headlines http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news.topic__ss_categories_ss_top-stories.html

On This Day http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news.topic__ss_categories_ss_on-this-day.html

Happy Birthday http://www.findingdulcinea.com/features.topic__ss_categories_ss_Happy-Birthday.html

Web Guides http://www.findingdulcinea.com/guides

encontrandoDulcinea http://www.encontrandodulcinea.com/inicio.htmlSwtSrch Biographies http://www.sweetsearch.com/biographies

SwtSrch Social Studies: http://www.sweetsearch.com/socialstudies

On This Day Challenge http://findingeducation.com/on-this-day-challenge/

findingEducation http://findingeducation.com/

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Improving Research Habits of Students