US Research Process--Plan, Do, Review: Home

Before any research begins, you need to define the task and identify the requirements of the assignment.

• What are the requirements of the assignment? 
• Is there a rubric?
• What are the components of the project?
• What will the project look like when I am finished? A paper? A presentation? A PowerPoint or slide product?

Next you should make a list of questions about your topic that you will want to answer in your research. Is there one, guiding question that will drive your research? 

In order to do research online (using the internet or specific databases), you will need to plan keywords. What important words or phrases will you need to find information? Are there synonyms that might help? Do some words (like foreign names) have alternate spellings?

The final step in the PLAN stage is to determine the sources you will need for the assignment.

• How many sources are required?
• What kinds of sources are available to me which may be helpful?
• Am I required to use particular kinds of sources? (articles in journals? in newspapers? websites? monographs? books?)
• Does it matter if the publication offers a particular point of view? Are there different viewpoints on my topic?
• How do I know if sources are reliable and authoritative? What is the best way to check?

Once your plan is set, you move on to doing your research and completing your assignment.

Locate sources and find information within them. Where do I look?

• Using the library's Destiny catalog (Destiny Quest app), I can look to see how many sources are available in the library. 
• Is there a resource list created in Destiny of materials for this project? Are the materials set aside on reserve or do I need to locate them on the shelves?
• I can use the Webpath express in Destiny to search for websites on my topic, or I can search the internet, being careful to select sites that are useful, valuable and authoritative.
• I can use the PDS libraries' esubscriptions (databases) to find information on my topic.
• I can ask my teacher and/or the librarian if there are any websites required or recommended for my assignment.
• I need to be careful to collect the citation information from every source to use in my bibliography/works cited section.

Once you have found your information, taken your notes and put the information into your own words you are ready to write your paper or create your presentation.

The last stage of the research process is to review your final product and evaluate the information seeking and gathering method.

• How did my final paper/project compare to the expectations of the assignment?
• Did I follow the research steps for locating sources and finding information in them?
• Did I ask for help if/when I had difficulty with my research?
• Did I manage my time well? 
• Did I take advantage of the time given to use the library? Did I use that time wisely?