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Conducting Research for Papers or Projects
Students use technologies to do research for term papers, class projects,
and personal exploration. The Internet has opened up new worlds of information
for students about virtually every topic.
Select a question below to learn more about computers. Use the
navigation to the left to learn about other technologies.
- Do teachers require all students to use technologies to complete class assignments?
- How do students use technologies for research?
- What do students need to know to use technologies for research?
- Are there especially good sources for student research?
How do students use technologies for research?
Students are often very creative in their use of technologies for research.
There are a number of basic ways students tend to use available technologies
for research, as follows:
- Surfing or browsing the Internet for information
on a topic. Students may have only a very general idea of the
kind of information they need to complete their assignment, so they
may "surf the Net" looking for any information that may be relevant.
This surfing is usually done by using something called a search engine.
A search engine allows the student to enter a word, or series of words,
and then view Web sites that have something to do with the search words.
There are a number of search engines that students commonly use to find
information on the Internet:
There are also some sites you can go to that provide a directory of
search engines, such as:
- Searching on a specific topic. When
students have a very specific topic in mind, they may go searching for
relevant information. They may use the same general search engines listed
above, or they may use more content-specific search engines. For example:
suppose a student is looking for specific information about President
Dwight Eisenhower.
- Using (http://www.google.com),
the student may click on Advanced Search, and fill in the search form
with very specific information (e.g., Web sites established during the
past six months).
- Using specialized Web site directories such as About
Famous People (http://www.aboutfamouspeople.com/),
and selecting Presidents of the United States, the student can locate
information about Dwight Eisenhower.
- Selecting a general information
Web site that offers content in certain specific areas, such as
What you need to know About (http://www.about.com/),
the student can find a host of information about Dwight Eisenhower.
- Searching a specific area of information,
but not a specific topic within that area. Sometimes a student
knows the broad area in which he or she wants to find information, but
does not have a specific topic within that area. In these cases, the
student may go to the broad topical areas suggested within search engines,
in hopes of finding a more specific topic.
For example, the student might go to (http://www.yahoo.com)
and discover a list of categories of information. He or she decides
his topic is to be in the broad area of Health. Clicking on Health,
the student is presented with a long list of health topics. After looking
at the list, the student decides he or she is interested in Environmental
Health. Selecting that option, the student is taken to a page with 14
subtopics. Environmental toxicology is the area the student chooses;
selecting that option, the student is brought to a page with 82 links
to different sites pertaining to this topic.
- Communicating with experts on a given topic.
Some students use technologies in their classroom to contact experts
in the topic area they are working on. This can be accomplished in several
ways:
- A student might send an e-mail to an organization
or agency, asking a question or requesting some form of information.
Suppose a student is doing a paper on agriculture business, and
wishes to know more about agribusiness in Australia. The student
locates the Web site of the Agribusiness Association of Australia,
and on the site learns that if she wishes more information, she
should e-mail agri@agrifood.info.
She sends an e-mail to that address, and soon is engaged in an exchange
of e-mails with a staff person from the Association.
- A student might send an e-mail to a specific person
who might be able to help the student with his or homework. Suppose
a student is working on a project focused on a new law recently
passed that has to do with immigration to the United States. The
student might send an e-mail to the Senator of his or her state,
asking for help in gathering information about the law. In California,
for example, the student might send an e-mail to Senator Barbara
Boxer. Her e-mail address can be found in a number of places, including
Sen. Boxer's own Web page. This page contains her e-mail information: (http://boxer.senate.gov/contact/webform.cfm).
- Communicating with other interested students.
There are at least three ways students can communicate with other students
to share research ideas, information, or materials:
- Students can send e-mails to other students
to share information. There are some Web sites that help students
connect to other students via e-mail. For example:
- Students can go to chat rooms to share ideas
with other students. There are many chat rooms available through
the World Wide Web. Here is one definition of a chat room:
"A chat room is a Web site, part of a Web site, or part of an
online service such as America Online, that provides a venue for
communities of users with a common interest to communicate in
real time. Forums and discussion groups, in comparison, allow
users to post messages but don't have the capacity for interactive
messaging. Most chat rooms don't require users to have any special
software;"
Here are several examples of chat rooms you may wish to "visit"
to learn what goes on in these rooms:
- Students can join a listserv. A listserv
is a communication tool that offers its members the opportunity
to post suggestions or questions to a large number of people at
the same time. When you submit a question or something that you
want to share to the listserv, your submission is distributed to
all of the other people on that list. Each listserv targets pre-determined
topics and discussions.
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