Research Models

Activity 3: Discussion - Research Models

Link to my Delicious Account: http://delicious.com/ccutshall

http://big6.com/

This model is The Big 6 by Eisenberg and Berkowitz. It is useful for kindergarten through college age students. Their key principle is that we need to teach students to work smarter, not faster. The Big6 can help students develop the skills and understandings they need to find, process, and use information effectively. The Big6 addresses topic development, finding sources, search strategies, gathering information, synthesizing and evaluating information, and presenting information through their Big6 steps:

1.    Task Definition: Define the information problem and Identify information needed

2.    Information Seeking Strategies: Determine all possible sources and Select the best sources

3.    Location and Access: Locate sources and Find information within sources

4.    Use of Information: Engage and Extract relevant information

5.    Synthesis: Organize from multiple sources and Present the information

6.    Evaluation: Judge the product and Judge the process

http://www.wcboe.k12.md.us/departments/secondaryreadingela/HS%20Documents/18.Research.Skills.Handbook/Isearch.guidelines.pdf

This model is I-Search by Macrorie. Their key principle is that process and product are together, so that the reader understands both how and what the writer found. There are three major aspects of an I-Search:  identifying the question or problem to be studied, searching for information, and writing the report.  The model addresses many different research topics. It permits students to pursue special interests. It provides students with an opportunity to delve into an authentic search for information. Students work in peer response groups to form action plans of how they will find their research. They use many different forms of organizational note taking. Note taking forces students to synthesize what they read. When they finish, it is an opportunity for students to speak in front of an audience.

http://comminfo.rutgers.edu/~kuhlthau/information_search_process.htm

This model is The Information Search Process (or ISP) by Kuhlthau. This process has six stages: task initiation, selection, exploration, focus formulation, collection, and presentation.  The six stage model of the ISP incorporates three realms of experience: the affective (feelings) the cognitive (thoughts) and the physical (actions.) Topic development comes from a gap in a students’ knowledge. Students struggle with their own uncertainty about the topic for the first four steps. Information on the specific topic is not gathered until the fifth step: Collection. Feelings of relief come with the sixth stage: Presentation.

http://virtualinquiry.com/inquiry/irving.htm

This model is Irving's Study of Information Skills by Ann Irving. Her process is for students of all ages. She is all about cross-curricular research, and how research is tied to everything we do in every day life. The nine steps in her process are formulating, identifying, tracing, examining, using, recording, interpreting, shaping, and evaluating. Many other models have taken shape after Irving’s Study. They can be read about in more detail in her book: Study and Information Skills Across the Curriculum.

http://10-11mcsresearchplu.wikispaces.com/Stripling+%26+Pitts+Research+Model

This model is the REACTS Taxonomy by Barbara Stripling and Judy Pitts. REACTS stands for Recalling, Explaining, Analyzing, Challenging, Transforming, and Synthesizing. The goal of this ten step process is focusing on higher level thinking skills in research. Here are the ten steps:

1.     Choose a vague topic

2.     Get an overview of that topic

3.     Narrow the topic

4.     Develop a thesis

5.     Formulate guiding questions

6.     Plan your research

7.     Find, analyze, evaluate sources

8.     Take notes and complete bibliography

9.     Establish conclusions

10. Create and present final product

http://10-11mcsresearchplu.wikispaces.com/FLIP+it

This research model is Flip-It by Alice H. Yucht. It stands for Focus, Locations, Information Implementation, and Product. When being created, the goal of this model was to generate a self-sustaining information problem-solving strategy for students to use no matter what content they were researching. It was developed for a 7^th grade class initially. It can be applied to any form of information problem-solving, whether it is a simple reference question, a more complex research project, a lab report, a math problem, or even a personal quest. The repeated question guiding the research is, “OK, IF we know this, THEN what do we need to do/figure out next?"

http://www.floridamedia.org/?page=Prof_FINDS_Research

This Model is FINDS, and it is the Florida Research Process Model. It was created to address the needs in The Florida Curriculum Framework for Language Arts having to do with research. They believe that integrating information literacy skills into the curriculum is accomplished not through a separate course of study, but by incorporating these skills into all curriculum areas. Here are the steps to their process: focus on the information need, investigate resources to look for an answer, note and evaluate facts, develop information into knowledge for presentation, score presentation and search.