Research is a life skill. We are always seeking information. What car or stereo should I buy? Which college or career program should I choose? Which book should I read next? How can I sell this idea to my boss? How can I convince the school board to act on my proposal? Our ability to use information helps us reach conclusions, make our choices, and communicate more effectively.
Information fluency is the ability to access, evaluate and use information from multiple formats -- books, newspapers, videos, the Web, or any other medium. Information fluency is a set of competencies, skills that will grow with students, even when current operating systems, search engines, or platforms are obsolete. Information problem solving skills are required across all disciplines.
The American Association of School Librarians offers a downloadable copy of its Standards for 21st Century Learners.
The Standards describe how learners use skills, resources, and tools to
The tabs along the top of this Guide will help you in completing a successful research project!
The research process and the writing process are connected. Research is of little value unless you can effectively communicate your new knowledge. The same skills that you use to write an expository paper are used to develop the research paper or a project in any medium. Asking solid questions, developing a clear and focused thesis, sketching an outline, drafting, revising, peer reviewing, and editing all are steps with which you are already familiar. The research process is recursive. Although we list steps, you will find yourself going back and forth among the steps, returning to several as you refine your work.
Try following these steps: