Introduction

1. 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.

2. 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 thesteps of the research process • learn about sometechnology toolsthat can help you create and publish a research project

3. Nobel Prize winners Nobel Prize Marie Curie 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.

4. 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.

5. Tech Tool: Bloglines • To narrow a broad subject into a research topic, type the broad subject—for instance, Nobel Prize—into the Bloglines Search for Feeds box and get a list of Web feeds about the Nobel Prize. From there, you can narrow your topic—for example, first to Nobel Prize winners and then to Marie Curie.

6. 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.

7. The research process • Understanding your purpose and audience are important as you design the research questionsthat will guide your work. Topic: Marie Curie Research questions What discoveries by other scientists led to Marie Curie’s experiments? How did Marie Curie’s experiments lead to her discovery of radium and polonium? How did the scientific community receive Marie Curie’s work?

8. The research process • Choose good sources of information to answer your research questions. Good sources have the Four Rs. They arerelevant, including information that relates directly to your research questions. They arereliable, using only accurate and objective information. They arerecent,meaning that sources should be as up to date as possible. They arerepresentative, addressing more than one side of the issue.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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. 3Madame Curie. Dir. Mervyn LeRoy. MGM, 1944.

12. The research process • Once you find good sources, you will take notes on the information you find in them, recordingthe 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 youparaphrase, you restate the information in the source in your own words. When yousummarize, you condense the main idea of the source into a much shorter version, using your own words.

13. The research process • When you take notes from a source, make sure that you write the source’s 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.

14. 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.

15. The research process • After taking notes, you will create a thesis statement as the working main idea of yourproject—the 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.

16. 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

17. 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 scientistsof her discoveries of radium and polonium

18. 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 directquotations to present your ideas and support

19. 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.

20. 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

21. 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.

22. 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.

23. 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.

24. Talk About It • Why is it necessary to follow a structured process when conducting and publishing research? • Discuss these questions with your classmates. 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?

25. Your Turn • 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 audience—as a paper, a podcast, a wiki, and so on. Explain your choice.

26. The End