This document provides guidance on how to conduct research for a school project. It discusses choosing a manageable topic, gathering credible sources from libraries and databases, developing a preliminary outline, taking detailed notes on index cards, writing a draft using a structured model, citing sources properly, and potentially including illustrations. The overall message is that research requires systematically gathering high-quality information from multiple sources, organizing it effectively, and presenting it while giving proper credit.

1. Research Revealed
Challenge I
Physical Science
1/16/2013 Research Revealed by Chelly Barnard

2. Agenda
• Prayer
• Devotion
• Choosing a topic
• Gathering resources
• Developing a thesis/preliminary outline
• Taking notes
• Writing process
• Citations
• Illustrations
Research Revealed by Chelly Barnard1/16/2013

3. Prayer and devotion
• Proverbs 25:2
– It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; it is the
glory of kings to search it out.
Research Revealed by Chelly Barnard1/16/2013

4. Choosing a topic
• Not too broad
– better to write in more depth about fewer ideas
• Not too obscure
– Not too difficult to find information
• Not too challenging
– Can student find information that is
comprehensible?
• Can use Google for brainstorming
Research Revealed by Chelly Barnard1/16/2013

5. Research Revealed by Chelly Barnard1/16/2013

6. Gathering Resources
• Research process is the key skill
• More than a Google search
• I ask for:
– Minimum 5 resources total
– Minimum 3 print resources (digital copies ok)
– Minimum 1 library data base
• Available through public library
• Digital copies of articles and encyclopedias
• Credible
Research Revealed by Chelly Barnard1/16/2013

7. Google
• Good place to start, but student must exercise
caution
• Some sites are sponsored, so not necessarily credible
• Most popular comes to top, not necessarily best
resource
• Avoid only shallow research
• Scholarly journals
– More (at top of page)>even more>specialized
search>scholar
Research Revealed by Chelly Barnard1/16/2013

8. Wikkipedia
• Not a credible resource
• A great place to start
• Resources listed at the bottom
Research Revealed by Chelly Barnard1/16/2013

9. Preliminary Outline
• Develop a thesis
• Divide topic into 3 sub-topics
• Each sub-topic substantial enough to support
a regular 2 – 3 page report
• Thesis statement
– States what student plans to cover
– Can be 3 separate sentences
Research Revealed by Chelly Barnard1/16/2013

10. Research
• Note cards, preferably 2 colors
• Resource cards
– Colored cards
– Citation information
– Guide is outdated
– Purdue Owl
– http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/
01/
Research Revealed by Chelly Barnard1/16/2013

11. Research
• Resource cards
• Model cards in class
• Last name, First name. Title of Book. City of Publication:
Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.
• Last name, First name. Title of Article. Title of website. URL
(Not required by MLA)
• Number each resource card
Research Revealed by Chelly Barnard1/16/2013

12. Research cont’d …
• Information Cards
• Model cards in class
– Resource number at bottom right
– Page number bottom left
– Topic in top margin
– Key word notes
– ONE IDEA PER CARD!!!!!
• Very important
• Allows more flexibility later
• Helps prevent plagiarism
Research Revealed by Chelly Barnard1/16/2013

13. Writing process
• Sort cards by topic
• I use IEW Super Essay Model
– From Student Resource Notebook
– Free download to those who have purchased
curriculum
– Many students have access because of earlier
classes
Research Revealed by Chelly Barnard1/16/2013

14. Research Revealed by Chelly Barnard1/16/2013

15. Citations
• 3 types of citations
– Parenthetical references
– In text references
– Works Cited page
Research Revealed by Chelly Barnard1/16/2013

16. Citations cont’d …
• Parenthetical references
(<http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/>
• In MLA, placing relevant source information in
parentheses after a quote or a paraphrase
Research Revealed by Chelly Barnard1/16/2013

17. • For paraphrases, the paraphrased information
is written, and is followed by a space, and
then the author's last name in parenthesis,
and then the period (Myers 58).
• For quotes, "The quotation goes inside
quotation marks and is followed by a space,
and then the [reference information] in
parentheses, and then the period" (Myers
58).
1/16/2013 Research Revealed by Chelly Barnard

18. Citations cont’d …
• In text citation
– For example:
• According to John Brown, editor of The Beekeeper’s
Journal, …
• Or --- Brown further states that …
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19. Citations cont’d
• Must have Works Cited page or Bibliography
at the end
• I ask for Works Cited
– only sources actually used
• Bibliography includes everything the writer
looked at
1/16/2013 Research Revealed by Chelly Barnard

20. Embellishments
• Graphs, tables, illustrations
• Must be referred to in the body of the text
• Should be placed in the body of the text, near
where it is discussed.
• See purdueowl.edu for details
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21. CC Library Helps
• Help for choosing topics
• Schedule for completion step by step
• Checklist for help with grading
– Give to parents
• Grading rubric
– Give to parents and students ahead of time
– Maybe use as a guideline for comments
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22. THANK YOU!
Please send feedback to
Challengei@ClassicalConversations.com
Research Revealed by Chelly Barnard1/16/2013