"Once you have learned how to ask relevant and appropriate questions, you have learned how to learnand no one can keep you from learning whatever you want or need to know."-Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner We've adopted an approach to research that builds on our rich history within the English department and adds elements of digital literacy, organization, and publication. To encompass all that we would like you to understand. This is known as The Research Cycle. It consists of the following elements:
Inquiry/Questioning: You will be generating questions at each stage of the Cycle. Questions and inquiry are what drive student research; you must be able to understand the problem you are trying to solve, brainstorm, and think laterally.
Planning: At this stage, prioritize your searching strategies and identify the key words you will use to search for information surrounding your initial questions. You will determine where the best place to find information is and what skills you will need to find that information.
Gathering: Begin pulling information from resources as outlined in the planning stage. Skills associated with this step are those of information storage. Methods for doing this vary from the traditional note card system to the use of electronic means to track information.
Sorting and Sifting: Once information is gathered, deal with how to determine relevance and validity. In this stage, you will be asked to "cull the harvest" from the resources you have gathered and select the most pertinent for the assorted sections of your research.
Synthesizing: At this stage you will show how you converted research from various sources and modalities into a complete product. If you think of the process of research as solving a problem or completing a puzzle, it is at this stage that you should truly begin seeing the pieces form a coherent picture.
Evaluating: What more research is needed at this stage? Think of this as the editing and proofreading stage of research, only you are not only looking at the mechanics of the project, but also at how well you have been able to answer the driving questions behind your research.
Attributing: Proper research requires that you build upon the work of others to enhance your own work. In doing this, you must be able to attribute anything you use from a source to its proper author. At this stage of the process you must recognize what format your instructor requires (MLA, APA, etc.) or, in some cases, choose your own, and format your research project in that style.
Reporting and Publishing: The final product of the research must match either teacher recommendation or set guidelines and be representative of both your learning and sound research. At this stage, you will have internalized new learnings regarding both the topic at hand, and your ability to conduct research efficiently.
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Postman, Neil, & Weingartner, Charles (1969). Teaching as a Subversive Activity. Delacorte Press.
McKenzie, J (1999, December). The Research Cycle 2000. From Now On, 9, Retrieved September 4, 2008, from http://questioning.org/rcycle.html
A General Overview of the Research Cycle
"Once you have learned how to ask relevant and appropriate questions, you have learned how to learn and no one can keep you from learning whatever you want or need to know."-Neil Postman and Charles WeingartnerWe've adopted an approach to research that builds on our rich history within the English department and adds elements of digital literacy, organization, and publication. To encompass all that we would like you to understand. This is known as The Research Cycle. It consists of the following elements:
- Inquiry/Questioning: You will be generating questions at each stage of the Cycle. Questions and inquiry are what drive student research; you must be able to understand the problem you are trying to solve, brainstorm, and think laterally.
- Planning: At this stage, prioritize your searching strategies and identify the key words you will use to search for information surrounding your initial questions. You will determine where the best place to find information is and what skills you will need to find that information.
- Gathering: Begin pulling information from resources as outlined in the planning stage. Skills associated with this step are those of information storage. Methods for doing this vary from the traditional note card system to the use of electronic means to track information.
- Sorting and Sifting: Once information is gathered, deal with how to determine relevance and validity. In this stage, you will be asked to "cull the harvest" from the resources you have gathered and select the most pertinent for the assorted sections of your research.
- Synthesizing: At this stage you will show how you converted research from various sources and modalities into a complete product. If you think of the process of research as solving a problem or completing a puzzle, it is at this stage that you should truly begin seeing the pieces form a coherent picture.
- Evaluating: What more research is needed at this stage? Think of this as the editing and proofreading stage of research, only you are not only looking at the mechanics of the project, but also at how well you have been able to answer the driving questions behind your research.
- Attributing: Proper research requires that you build upon the work of others to enhance your own work. In doing this, you must be able to attribute anything you use from a source to its proper author. At this stage of the process you must recognize what format your instructor requires (MLA, APA, etc.) or, in some cases, choose your own, and format your research project in that style.
- Reporting and Publishing: The final product of the research must match either teacher recommendation or set guidelines and be representative of both your learning and sound research. At this stage, you will have internalized new learnings regarding both the topic at hand, and your ability to conduct research efficiently.
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