The Big Six is a six step process for conducting research projects: 1) Task Definition, 2) Information Seeking Strategies, 3) Location and Access, 4) Use of Information, 5) Synthesis, and 6) Evaluation. It provides guidance on brainstorming topics, keywords, potential sources of information, taking notes, creating bibliographies, and assessing the overall research process. The steps include determining what information is needed, where to find it, evaluating sources critically, collecting and organizing data, compiling findings, and considering lessons learned.

1. The Big Six
Created by
Mike B. Eisenberg
&
Robert E. Berkowitz

2. The Big Six is a tool to help you structure your
research projects

3. Step 1
•Research means
looking for information
for a reason
• Before you can find
the right answers you
need to ask the right
questions
• STOP AND THINK

4. Brainstorming
 What do I already know about the subject? This
is an opportunity to „brainstorm‟
If the whole subject is new to you, this is a
good time to look up an encyclopedia
 What will I have to find out so that I can answer
the question?
 What keywords will I use in my search for
information?

5. Brainstorming
Try a site such as bubbl.us. It‟s free and
lets you work with other team members.

6. Keywords
 Think about your keywords
What alternative keywords can you think for
„United States‟?
What is a wider keyword for „Dubai‟?
What is a narrower keyword for „energy‟?

7. Step 2
More brainstorming!
Where am I going to look
for information?

8. What types of information do I
need?
These are some ideas (using Bubbl.us)

9. What types of information do I
need?
Decide which will be the best sources of information
Divide the work up between the team

10. Step 3
This is when you finally start
to look for your information.
Find that website
Find the book in the library
BUT……

11. Step 3
BE CRITICAL
Evaluate the information you find:
When was the website last updated?
Who produced the website?
Is their information biased?
Is there contact information?
Does the website have the information you need?
Can you understand the language?

12. Step 3
Use an online collaboration site such as:
www.evernote.com
or
www.webnotes.net
Or even Google docs
They all allow you to work with your team and save your
work as you go.
The advantage of Evernote and Webnotes is that they keep
a record of the URLs of the sites you have taken
information from.

13. Google it

14. Print Sources
As with online sources BE CRITICAL
 Does the book have the information you need?
Use your keywords to look up:
THE CONTENTS PAGE
&
INDEX
 When was it published?
 Can you read the book easily?

15. Step 4
Now is the time to start
collecting your information
REMEMBER
Keep a log of everywhere you
search as you will need to
prepare a bibliography to
attach to the end of your
presentation so that your
teacher can see if you have
been using good, reliable
sources of information.

16. Step 4
Basic Information to put in a Bibliography
Website: The URL and the date you last
accessed the site e.g.
www.big6.com (last accessed 12/09/2012)
Book: The author, title, publisher and date
of publication e.g.
Baines, J. Country Fact Files: Japan, Simon & Schuster (1992)

17. Step 4
There are lots of complicated rules about how to write a bibliography.
To make it easier for yourself use a website such as bibme
(www.bibme.org) which does all the hard work for you.

18. Very Brief Guide to Note-Taking
DO skim the passage to get the general idea of what it is
about.
DO scan the passage if you are looking for a particular
keyword.
DON‟T copy great long passages of text (or copy and paste
from a website).
When you find some useful information, read it carefully and
take brief notes just highlighting the main points.

19. Very Brief Guide to Note-Taking
NEVER use somebody else‟s work
without acknowledging it.
If you do, it is called plagiarism and
can land you in serious trouble.

20. Very Brief Guide to Note-Taking
It is not a problem to use somebody else‟s work but you must
give them credit for it.
If you use a quotation from somebody else‟s work, put the
phrase or sentence “in quotation” marks and make a
footnote saying where the information came from. If the
quotation is from a book, remember to take a note of the
page number.
If you are using Microsoft Word to write up your
research, there is a handy tool which enters your footnotes
for you
(You can find it at Insert Reference Footnote)

21. Step 5
Nearly done!
This is where you put all your
information together.
It can be the hardest part of the
whole project – selecting what to
put in and what to reject.
Sometimes it is necessary to go
back to an earlier step – to find
new information or to check your
notes

22. Step 6
Positively the last step
Once your project is finished and ready
to hand in to the teacher, have a last
look over – have you missed anything?
Are the pictures all in place, are there
any spelling mistakes, have you
included your bibliography?
Very last step – think about how well
the project went.
What went really well?
What could have been done better?
How can you make the whole process
easier next time?

23. BIBLIOGRAPHY
 "Ages 12-14 - Information Literacy." Supporting Curriculum for Excellence
(CfE), assessment, community and lifelong learning - Learning and
Teaching Scotland. (last accessed10 Sept. 2012).
<http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/informationliteracy/12to14/index.asp>.
 "BibMe: Fast & Easy Bibliography Maker - MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian -
Free." BibMe: Fast & Easy Bibliography Maker -
MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian - Free. (last accessed10 Sept. 2012)
. <http://bibme.org>.
 "Skillswise printable factsheet." BBC - Homepage. (last accessed 10 Sept.
2012).
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/reading/techniques/skimming/factsh
eet1.shtml>.
 "Big6." Big6 . (last accessed 12. Sept. 2012). <http://big6.com>.
MLA formatting by BibMe.org.