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What is Presearch?
Presented by Ann WestrickContent provided and inspired by Rob Snyder
Funded by a grant from the Jerome LibraryBowling Green State University
Bowling Green, Ohio, USA
Suppose that you have been given this assignment in your college writing class:
Write an 8-10 page argumentative research paper using 8-10 academic sources.
Where do you start? Where do you end? Presearch can help.
What is Presearch?Presearch happens when searchers initiate a research
project or pursue an information need.
Before you start researching, you need to get some perspective--this enables
you to make connections between your topic or question and your prior
knowledge which guides your research. http://www.bookpage.com/the-book-case/2011/06/07/20-most-anticipated-books-for-summer/
For example: the 40 hour work weekI recently read an online article that was talking about how the standard 40 hour work week is outdated. The author of the article said that we should go to a 25 hour work week.
Hmm . . . this might be a good topic for my essay.
Questions I might ask:
Is the 25-hour-work-week work a good option?
Are there other options that might work better?
Is there anything wrong with the 40-hour-a-week standard?
http://www.inc.com/laura-entis/25-hour-work-week-an-argument-for-redistributing-working-hours.html
But where do I go from here? Presearch.
Presearch is like “Activating Background Knowledge” in the reading process
• Activating background knowledge (Pre-Reading) is an accepted part of the reading process which happens when students use what they have “acquired through life experiences and learning in their home communities and at school . . . . . (and) information about reading, genres, and text structures” (Tompkins, 2009, pp. 36-37).
Presearch is like “Pre-Writing” in the writing process
Students work on “generating ideas, organizing ideas, and other strategies before beginning to write” (Tompkins, 2009, p. 52).
http://nhv-prewriting.wikispaces.com/Writing+process
Presearch gives your research context
Information Gathering Context:• Learning what research has
been published about the topic
Big Picture Context:• Seeing how your topic fits
within the broader field.http://llrepsnews.com/?cat=29
Context=Connections
The Presearch stage enables searchers to make connections between their topic or question and their prior knowledge.
For example:
I know a nurse who works 3 days for 12 hours and then has then next 3 days off.
I also have a friend who works at a golf course who works 4 days a week for 10 hours a day.
My dad works 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.
What I found out. Questions I have:
• Traditional American work week is 40 hours—8 hours a day, 5 days a week
• Some European countries utilize a 32 hour work week
• What is the history behind the 40 hour work week?
• What are the pros and cons of the established alternatives?
• Are there other alternatives that should be explored?
Remember: Presearch does NOT take the place of research.
Presearch allows you to:
• begin to understand the issues involved in your research question
• understand multiple sides of an argument
• get an overview of theories related to the topic
• see possible answers to your research question
• decide what issues/information you need to continue researching.
Engage in exploratory searching through general sources to develop a broad overview of your topic and to explore the relationships among
subtopics.
Let’s try using CQ Researcher and Wikipedia.
ReferencesHead, A., & Eisenberg, M. (2010). Project Information Literacy. Available: htttp://www.projectinfolit.org
Pappas, M.L., & Tepe, A.E. (1997). Pathways to knowledge: Follett's Information Skills Model (3rd ed.). McHenry, IL: Follett Software. Available: http://www.pathwaysmodel.com/the-model/text/presearch.cfm
Tompkins, G. (2009). Literacy in the Middle Grades. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Zimmerman, N. P. (2002). Pappas and Tepe's pathways to knowledge model. School Library Monthly, 19(3), 24-27.