Research Tips

Refer To:
    Your Teacher's Guidelines
    Big 6 Information Problem Solving Process
      bookmarks and posters
    Heirarchy of Resources

Follow the Research Process - ex. Big6TM
Evaluate (step 6) and revisit other parts of the process over and over.

Caution! Floppy Disks Go Bad!!!

Always have a copy of your most current saved original in your network folder at school or on your home computer.

If you must use floppys to transport work to school, you might save on 2 disks.

Caution! Magnets damage or erase computer disks. Do NOT carry your disks in bags or pockets with magnetic holders, cell phones, radios or any other devices that may contain magnets

Cite your sources as you find information.
The Navarro English Department requires MLA documentation for your citations.
Links to citation tools and guides are provided on the Citation Page of our library website.

Create a wordprocessing document and save as "citations." Copy/Paste your citations into the document.
Number or code your citations. Mark the code next to the info from the corresponding source in your notes to refer to later.

Save in Rich Text Format (RTF) if you have Microsoft Works or another word processing program at home. This will maintain your formatting, but allow your document to be opened by MS Word at school for printing.

Set our Web Resources page as the Home Page in your browser while doing research. You can always change it back later.

Hierarchy of Resources

This guideline is provided as a strategic tool to help students maximize accuracy and efficiency when performing information searches.

1. Encyclopedias – Brainstorming, Keywords & Cross References for chosen topic
2. Library Resources:
    OPAC – (Catalog)
    Reference Books
    Biographies
    Non-Fiction Books
    Periodicals
3. AV Software – Library use only
4. Teacher selected references and/or websites
5. Databases:
    DKC
      Ebsco – Magazines & Journals
      Newsbank – Newspapers
      Britannica Online
    Gale Databases – Choose the ones best for your topic – read descriptions
    Maps101
6. NetTrekker
7. Navarro School Library Websites - Dewey or Subject Search - (Under Construction)
8. Google – more authoritative searches than other search engines
    – searches .gov., org, .edu sites first
    Dogpile
    Other educator suggested web directories or search engines
       –You should probably have more information than you need from the internet by the time you get this far.

Other Sources to Consider
     Community Resources
     Government Agencies, Museums, etc.
     Interviews of local or professional authorities (people) on a subject / in a field
     Public Library & TexShare Databases
     College/University Libraries