Katie Baker's Blog of Inquiry

Saturday, February 12, 2005

Planing a Search Strategy

What I did:

I am still using my questions in list format at this point. I asked myself, “what types of information do I need?” I had forgotten what types of information there was. I referred back to the list in the webbing stage and was like, “duh.” Different types of information might include current, multiple perspectives, fact/opinion, and/or primary/secondary sources. For some reason, this was a difficult task, partially because I felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere. I wrote down the type of information I would need next to the questions. I needed to find more facts and less opinions, current information, multiple perspectives, as well as primary and secondary sources.

I moved onto determining my sources. I immediately wrote down the Internet and magazines (there are always success stories in “Fitness,” and other health magazines). I wanted to try the Read-Watch-Ask-Do method from the I-Search, created by Virginia Rankin. It was wonderful! It was very easy to think of sources because I was thinking in categories (smaller chunks). Below my list of questions I categorized my sources: Read (Internet, Magazines, Journals, Books); Watch (“Supersize Me,” “Losing It!” – a Dateline news story, “Biggest Loser”); Ask (Nutritionist/Dietician, Christina Epperson – she is a part of a weight loss group, Kate Shively – she is doing LA Weight Loss); Do (go to a nutritionist, visit a hospital that has weight management programs).

By categorizing my sources in these categories, I also categorized the resource formats without even thinking about it. For each category, I wrote down what format it would take as well as how I will record that format or what I would have to do: Read (text format; underline and highlight); Watch (Digital; take notes as it is spoken); Ask (Interview; come up with questions). At this point, I really felt like I was getting somewhere and doing something with a purpose. Oh my gosh…was I starting to think ahead!

To identify my key words, I used my questions as the basis. In each question, I underlined the subject to determine exactly what I was looking for. Click here to look at my list of questions and underlined key words (http://portfolio.iu.edu/kaabaker/questions.doc) I organized these around the 5ws and Hs. I felt very organized when I was finished. Because I felt organized, I also felt like this project might be successful after all!

What I learned:

Did I use “type of information?”:
I did not use type of information in any way because I wasn’t forced to and I didn’t really see a need to. It should have been used to persuade me in determining the sources I should use. As I was looking back to other models, the Big6, developed by Eisenberg and Berkowitz, has a step that prioritizes sources. I didn’t do that either. However, I guess if I would have prioritized my sources, I could have based my priority ranking on the types of information I needed. That way I would have gone to the one that might have provided all of the criteria first (current, primary or secondary, factual, and multiple perspectives) and then moved onto the next that might have only had 3 out of the 4 criteria.
Read, Watch, Ask, Do:
A great way to help think of all possible resources. I learned that by breaking sources up into smaller, specific chunks, it was much easier to think of sources. Plus, once I thought of one sources in that category, it seemed like the rest just kept on flowing.
Categorizing Helped Me Think Ahead:
determining what format I was receiving information in actually forced me to think about how I was going to record the information that I gathered.
Organization is key!:
I think I would have been fine without organizing my key words, but then again, I am lucky I didn’t have a gazillion questions. I think that by sorting them into the 5ws and Hs really helped me focus on what I was trying to find out about each of these key words – is it how? Why? Who?. That might really be helpful in determining what research will be beneficial during skimming and scanning.

What I can apply to my teaching:
· Use Read, Watch, Ask, Do, as a way for them to think of and organize their sources. It helps students think in categories.
· In procedure form, have students do Read, Watch, Ask, Do first. Students will list all possible sources that they think will be beneficial to their research. Moving toward prioritizing sources, students will determine the different types of information that they need and analyze each source for what types of information they provide. To prioritize, students will match up sources with the type of information that need. I am even thinking that students should number the sources in order of importance so that they will automatically have a couple of places to start.
· After students select what sources they might use, they will have to determine what format that information will come in, if they will have to prepare for it (like an interview), and how they will have to record what they have learned from it.
· Students will look at their questions, determine the key words, and organize them by the 5ws and Hs.