Research Hack Handout

Often when I was assigned research papers in middle and high school, there were a few steps involved, such as:

1) Research your topic
2) Form an opinion and write a thesis
3) Make an outline
4) First draft
5) Edit and revise
6) Final draft

I don't know what my other classmates felt when they read the handout for this assignment, but I felt overwhelmed by Step #1. I had no idea where to start to get information.

They told us to go to the library and pick some books, NOT Wikipedia - well, which books? They also told us to pick credible sources, so I knew that not all of the books were good, but I had no idea how to discern between credible and non-credible.

What I want to do for my future ELA and/or social studies students is help them develop literacy regarding research, starting with a simple handout, maybe titled, "Research hack." Here's a rough idea for my future self:

RESEARCH HACK

1. Find overview of your topic on Wikipedia (i.e. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_war)
2. Check out the "talk" tab on your page and take note of "grade," current and past mistakes of article (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Civil_war) (This step should be fleshed out in handout or in class)
3. Form opinion and write potential thesis statement
4. Look at sources linked at bottom and pick ones that look most promising for your specific thesis
1. Now that you know your thesis, you can also go to another public database of peer-reviewed articles (defined in handout or in class) like Proquest or ERIC and search with specific terms. (Link to school's library if it has access to public database like this. For example, Whitworth's access to ProQuest: https://librarysftp.whitworth.edu:2443/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/pqrl?accountid=1149) This is especially helpful if you do not have time to read a book. (Though if you find a good book you don't necessarily have to read the whole thing!)
5. Take note of data supporting your argument and opposing your argument as you browse articles and other sources
6. Re-evaluate thesis, consider tweaking or even changing sides altogether
7. Choose top 3-5 sources (this number can change depending on assignment) informing your argument (whether supportive or in opposition)
8. Make outline
1. Topic
2. Thesis
3. Supporting Claim #1
1. Evidence (this is specific data from top 5 sources you chose)
2. Evidence
3. Evidence
4. Supporting Claim #2
1. Evidence
2. Evidence
3. Evidence
5. Supporting Claim #3
1. Evidence
2. Evidence
3. Evidence
6. Counterargument
1. Rebuttal
7. More counterarguments as necessary
8. Conclusion (restate thesis and leave with more to think about)
9. First Draft
10. Revise/Edit
11. Final Draft