RESEARCHREADINESS!Mrs. Farrell’s tips to keep you organized and help you get the most out of your research.

NOTE TAKING—BE SQUARE!

Scan—skim the chapter or book first.  Note the layout.  Look at the headings, captions, sidebars, etc.Question—Think about the questions you need to answer while you’re reading.  What information do you need to find?Urgent Reading—quickly read through without taking any notes.Active Reading—take a little more time, and look for the main points of the writing.  You may want to start jotting things down.Recall—Write down the main points and really important facts.  Also, record your bibliographic information.Evaluate—Make sure you haven’t forgotten anything.  Have you answered all your questions?  You may want to repeat the first three steps!

NOTE TAKING—STAY ORGANIZED!HERE’S A GRAPHIC ORGANIZER TO USE FOR YOUR NOTES.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO READ THE WHOLE BOOK!Use key parts of the book to help you narrow down your research.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PICTURE CAPTIONS AND SIDEBARS

TIMELINE

GLOSSARY

INDEX

KEYWORD SEARCHINGREFINE YOUR SEARCH

• Identify a phrase using quotation marks:

“home run” records• Add a descriptive word or phrase:

“home run” records baseball• Capitalize when appropriate:

Wired; Digital; Bill Gates• Use the Boolean Operators “And, OR, and

Not”World War II and Holocaust (Narrows

Search)World War II or Holocaust (Broadens

Search)World War II not Holocaust (Narrows

Search)

GOOD ONLINE SOURCES!

History• The History Channel• History Net.com• America in WWII

Biographies• Biogryaphy.com

Animals• National Zoo• Animal Bytes—San Diego Zoo

Government• The White House for Kids• Deparatment of State

A Little Bit of Everything• Smithsonian Kids• National Geographic for Kids

CITATIONSGIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE!

Citations Made Easy!• EasyBib• Citation Maker

Details you need to include in your citations:• Name of publication• Title of Article• Author’s Name• Date of Publication• Place of Publication• Website Address or URL