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Developing a Research Strategy - Brainstorm Search Terms
Description:
In this lesson students will identify the steps in building creative, interesting, and focused keyword and subject searches.

Submitted with permission of Dr. Megan Oakleaf.
Adapted from Burkhardt, Joanna M., Mary C. MacDonald, and Andree J. Rathemacher. Teaching Information Literacy. Chicago: American Library Association, 2003. Gradowski, Gail, Loanne Snavely, and Paula Dempsey . Designs for Active Learning. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries, 1998.

Goals & Objectives:

Information Literacy Objective

The student will identify the steps in building creative, interesting, and focused keyword and subject searches.

Student Objective

Students will draw a concept map based on their research question.

Students will identify important subtopics in order to create a more focused or interesting research topic.

Students will use their concept map to create well-planned keyword searches.

Materials & Sources:

Materials—Teacher:

Chalkboard/Whiteboard

Colored Chalk/Markers

Colored Pencils

Example of a subject-specific encyclopedia (optional)

           

Materials—Student:

Paper

Preparation

  • Review & Assign students “Brainstorming Search Terms” section in LOBO: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/lobo2/rstrategy/search-terms1.php
  • Read lesson plan.           
Procedures:

Introduction (Time = <5 minutes )

·        Remind students of the concept mapping they used to define their topics and make them narrower.  Explain that students are going to use the same idea to develop effective and interesting search terms. 

Procedure (Time = 35-40 minutes )

Model brainstorming session: (15-20 minutes)

1.      Give students a sample topic, drawn on the board in a circle with at least 3 lines stemming from it.

·        Tell students, “It can sometimes be difficult to find the information you’re interested in within databases. Because databases can’t think, they just process the information that you feed them.” 

·        Discuss your sample topic

§         For example:  My topic is hamburgers and their role in the lives of Americans today. (Although this topic may have nothing to do with the subject matter that students are researching, it can force students to think about their search terms and strategies in different ways.)

·        Ask students to help you come up with various ways to search on this topic.  Have them think about different aspects of this topic.  Ask them how they would approach it. 

·        Write subtopics on the board in circles connected to the three lines.

2.      Create synonyms for each of the students’ subtopics.  Try to come up with at least two for each.  Write on the board. 

  

·        Remind students that different spellings or forms of the words are also important.  Look at word endings to see if the word could be plural, used an adjective, etc. (ex. Child, children, child-like, youth, elementary students, etc.)  Write down synonyms and different forms of each word.

3.      Think about the topic creatively.

·        Ask students how people in different jobs/positions might think about this question.  Ex.  How would a doctor think about this topic as opposed to a McDonald’s store manager.  How would a sociologist think about this topic as opposed to a historian, a mathematician, or a scientist?

·        Ask students what different subject areas this topic could appear in.  Would it be possible to study this topic in Math, English, Biology, History, Psychology, Agriculture?

·        Ask students to think about the importance of time period and how that can affect the types of keywords we use.  Has jargon changed?

4.      Write down additional suggestions for subtopics on the board.  Use different colors for various subtopics, and build off of each subtopic with more synonyms, phrases with similar meaning, and different word endings.

5.      When finished, create example searches from your concept map that you could enter in a database. 

Create Your Own Concept Map (15-20 minutes)

1.      (Optional)  You may collect students’ concept maps for homework to formally assess their comprehension.  Announce whether you plan to collect them.

2.      Have students use their own topic to create their own concept maps.  Pass out colored pencils and allow students to work individually. 

·        Remind students about the section they should have completed in LOBO.  Ask students if they were able to come up with concepts and synonyms on their topic.  Discuss difficulties students encountered.

·        Encourage students to think about their topics again, similarly to how they did in the exercise above.  They should use concepts that they already thought of in LOBO, but also new ideas about their topic based on the previous class example.  Allow students to talk to each other to create synonyms if necessary.

3.      Tell students to use a thesaurus or a subject-specific encyclopedia on their topics to help think of search terms.  (You may want to give examples of subject-specific encyclopedias relevant to the class.)

4.      Tell students that asking the librarians at the reference desk is always an excellent way to brainstorm search terms and build keyword searches.

Closure (Time = 5 minutes)

·        If there is time, ask if any students think that they improved their topic by brainstorming search terms.  Ask, “Were there areas of your topic that you hadn’t thought of before?”  Discuss with the class.

·        Summarize the main ideas in brainstorming.

Wrap Up

·        Ask students to begin testing out their search terms on their own.

·        Remind students to ask a librarian if they need additional help.

·        Assign the next section of LOBO, “Building a Keyword Search.”

 

Lesson Evaluation

  What worked well for you?

 

 

 

  What will you do differently next time?

 

Assessment:
Student Assessment

• Students should be assessed informally based on their participation and ability to brainstorm search terms in the class activity.
• Check student answers in LOBO.
• Students can be assessed formally by collecting their concept maps and search terms (optional). Of course students will ultimately be formally assessed on their final project, but this is a good way to catch problems early on in the process.
Collaborators:
Written by Jillian Robinson, North Carolina State University. See description for full credits
Sources:
Print this Lesson Plan
Presented By: S.O.S. Team
Collaborative: Written by Jillian Robinson, North Carolina State University. See description for full credits
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