PRELIMINARY RESEARCH

STRATEGIESGetting off the ground…

Preliminary Research Strategies

Overview-

■ Begin by going to the places you would normally go for information… except for content farms, of course.

■ Look for key words, terms you don’t know, overviews of different perspectives.

■ Start breaking down your “big” LOI into smaller focus questions that explore different aspects of the issue and different types of information.

■ Use what you find to determine if the question you’re asking is answerable, if it needs to be narrowed, or if it needs to be reworded or clarified.

■ If you don’t find anything at first, don’t panic. Switch up your search words/phrases before giving up on an idea.

Why Prepare Smaller questions?Smaller questions set research goals by helping you--

1. Inquire into different aspects of the issue and set smaller goals.

2. Help you get a well-rounded look at the issue.

3. Seek knowledge and information rather than just opinions.

Ex. How does standardized testing impact learning?

Smaller Questions---

1. When did we shift toward standardized testing?

2. Why did the shift take place? What problem was being addressed?

3. Is the use of standardized testing increasing or decreasing?

4. Who develops tests like EOGs and SATs? How do they work? How are they assessed?

5. How are they related to No Child Left Behind?

6. Does it correlate with negative education outcomes?

7. Does it correlate to positive outcomes?

8. Do educators think they are helpful or hurtful? Researchers?

9. In what ways can they be helpful?

10. What are the alternatives for measuring learning?

Now you can pull out key words to help you research this issue.

Using Search Terms--

Standardized Testing Teachers Professors Administrators Reasons Educators Laws

EOGs Development No Child Left Behind Results Learning Outcomes SATs EOGs ADD

Location Sal Kahn Ken Robinson Results Education Study/Studies Interview Higher Education

Controversy Tim Waters Documentary Article News Elementary School History Private School

Public School Montessori Open Education Middle School High School Assessment

The Basics–

1. Search terms can include your most obvious key words as well as other terms you may need to look up.

2. Consider synonyms for the words you are searching, the type of source or information you want, and specific examples or names that are relevant.

3. Don’t start searching with evaluative words– positive, negative, good, bad, effective, ineffective (you get it).

Examples--

What Inquiry Isn’t…

1) Reporting information without adding anything new.

2) Skimming the surface-- doesn’t show engagement or nuanced knowledge to the issue from multiple angles

3) Stopping at the first sign of an acceptable answer– This happens if you’ve gotten some basic info or a perspective that looks good and you think, “I have what I need. I like the answer I have.”

4) Research that doesn’t produce new questions and knowledge- Good inquiry should take you somewhere new.

5) Researching with the goal planning an argument – usually this leads to one-sided research

6) Fact or answer hunting- You should find facts and possible answers along the way, but this isn’t the end goal and causes frustration when you don’t find exactly what you’re looking for.

7) Binary Thinking – Don’t oversimplify by boiling everything down into two sides, solutions, answers...

- Oversimplifies your approach to focus on general opinions rather than looking for the studies, history, terms, dates, laws, expert opinions, news, and examples that will help you learn about the issue

Here are SEVEN ineffective research habits that are easy to fall back on but don’t produce the best results--

Inquiry Needs Wiggle Room

Leave some wiggle room--

– Genuine inquiry happens through our own curiosity about something.

– The path and the focus can shift during the process.

– There’s no way to know what you are going to find before you do the research or how it will go.

– Treat your initial LOI as a springboard.

YOUR LOI CAN SHIFT AS YOU GO.

Remember this?

Inquiry doesn’t follow a straight line. It is guided by questions that come from new information and new ideas.