Thoughtful research:

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Thoughtful research

• Moving beyond the topic!

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So, whats the big deal about research?
Its just another project!
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Research is a real - life skill

• Research projects are training grounds for adult
  problem-solving and decision-making
• Which car should I buy and how much should I pay?
• Which candidate will best represent my interests?
• How can I convince my boss to accept my proposal?
• How should we work together to rebuild Iraq?
• Who do I believe?

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No more reports!

• The . . .
• country
• state
• president
• animal
• report has already been done (very well) by any
  number of encyclopedias.
• Why should we ask you to waste your time?

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Thoughtful research asks you to

• Analyze
• Judge
• Support or reject or critique
• Prioritize
• Evaluate
• Plan

• Debate
• Conclude
• Recommend
• Justify
• Argue
• Propose
• Invent

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We are asking for . . . more meaningful, and
more interesting research!
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What exactly do we expect?
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When you search

• Three tips
• Focuswhat is your mission? your question? Be
  specific!
• Strategizeselect search tools and search terms
  with precision
• Refine--attempt to improve your search results
• Evaluatewhich results to visit, which documents
  to use? Did I do good work?

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Start with good questions

• Which one
• How
• What if
• Should
• Why
• Brainstormer http//mciu.org/spjvweb/questbrain.h
  tml

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What your teachers expect

• All research is inquiry-driven, based on good
  questions
• Perfect bibliographic format
• Defense of your source choices in annotations
• Quality, balanced sources. No research holes!
• Variety of access tools--search engines, subject
  directories, databases, books
• Original work, your own voice. No plagiarism!

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Evaluate your sources!

• Are your sources from a variety of media formats?
• Have you considered the credibility, accuracy,
  currency, appropriateness, and relevance of all
  sources?
• Have you pursued sources energetically?
• Have you followed documentation guidelines?

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Have you used print?

• Non-fiction books are filtered for quality!
• Non-fiction books are written not only by subject
  specialists, they are written by authors who know
  the cognitive and developmental needs of their
  audience.
• It may take a year or two of research and editing
  for an author to publish a book. Many web pages
  are thrown up in a very short time period.
• Probably 90 of this librarys collection is NOT
  on the Web.
• You may need to get up. Its not all on the Web.

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Process for developing the thoughtful thesis
topic
questions
tentative thesis
thesis
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Why, a thesis?

• A thesis statement declares what you intend to
  prove.
• A thesis gives your work focus.
• A good thesis statement makes the difference
  between a thoughtful research project and a
  simple retelling of facts.
• It makes the work worth doing!

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I have a thesis. Where do I put it?

• The thesis statement is typically located at the
  end of your opening paragraph. (The opening
  paragraph serves to set the context for the
  thesis.)

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How do I know if I have a solid tentative thesis?
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What does a thesis look like?
2 Simple equations Specific topic
Attitude/Angle/Argument Thesis (or 3 Ts
Topic Tude Thesis) What you plan to
argue How you plan to argue it
Your thesis
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Attributes of a good thesis

• Contestable--proposes an argument with which
  people could reasonably disagree
• Provocative--takes a stand and justifies the
  discussion you will present.
• Coverable--could be adequately covered in the
  format of the project assigned.
• Specific and focused--proves a point without
  discussing everything in the world about
• Provable-- asserts your own conclusion based on
  solid evidence.

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Dont rush your thesis!

• A good tentative thesis will help you focus your
  search for information.
• You must do a lot of background reading before
  you know enough about a subject to identify the
  key or essential questions.
• You may not know how you stand on an issue until
  you have examined the evidence.
• You will likely begin your research with a
  working, preliminary or tentative thesis which
  you will continue to refine until you are certain
  of where the evidence leads.

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Be flexible!

• The evidence may lead you to a conclusion you
  didn't
• think you'd reach.
• It is perfectly okay to
• change your thesis!

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How will you find a thesis?

• As you read look for
• Interesting contrasts or comparisons or patterns
  emerging in the information
• Something about the topic that surprises you
• Ideas that make you wonder why?
• Priorities you can weigh
• Something an "expert" says make you respond, "no
  way! That can be right!" or "Yes, absolutely. I
  agree!"

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Try these five tests on your own tentative thesis

• Does the thesis  inspire a reasonable reader to
  ask, "How?" or Why?"
• Would a reasonable reader NOT respond with "Duh!"
  or "So what?" or "Gee, no kidding!" or "Who
  cares?"
• Does the thesis avoid general phrasing and/or
  sweeping words such as "all" or "none" or
  "every"?
• Does the thesis lead the reader toward the topic
  sentences (the subtopics needed to prove the
  thesis)?
• Can the thesis be adequately developed in the
  required length of the paper or project?
• If you cannot answer "YES" to these questions,
  what changes must you make in order for your
  thesis to pass these tests?

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Are these are good thesis statements? (Use the
five tests to decide.)

• Terrorism should not happen.
• The causes of the Civil War were economic,
  social, and political.
• The Simpsons represents the greatest animated
  show in the history of television.
• The Simpsons treats the issues of ethnicity,
  family dynamics, and social issues effectively.
• Often dismissed because it is animated, The
  Simpsons treats the issue of ethnicity more
  powerfully than did the critically praised All In
  The Family.

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Now you are ready!Go forth and do powerful,
thoughtful research!

• Remember, you are not alone. Check frequently
  with your teacher-librarian and classroom teacher
  for guidance!