Unit 2: Research Strategy
by Dr. H - February 21st, 2016
During this unit, we’ll do less as a group with content & discussion and more with working (together and individually) on beginning your research in earnest.
My goal is to help you develop and carry out a coherent, mindful and successful research strategy. Use the Storey book as your constant companion; read it more than once and mine it for ideas, and bring it to class each day during this unit. That doesn’t mean content goes entirely away over these three weeks – but by the end of this unit on March 9, you should have a “skeleton draft” ready to turn in. See the new “Project Guidelines” tab above for all the details.
Mon 2/22 – Library Day. Meet in the Library Instruction Area inside the Children’s Literature Area on the main (2nd) floor of the library. Bring laptops and your ideas and/or problems and questions. We’ll be working with one of our reference staff, Shu Qian, who will help us understand what library resources can help get you started. Update: now posted a “Research” tab, above.
Wed 2/24 – Getting Started, meet in our regular classroom. Read Storey Ch 1-2 in preparation, bring laptops, and be ready for a working session about online research and narrowing your topic. Also by this date, make sure you have created a Portfolio page on your WordPress site.
Weekend Homework: listen to Episode 70 of Ben Franklin’s World podcast… what can you learn from Dr. Morgan’s experience? What seems applicable to your own research process right now?
Mon 2/29 – Library Day #2. Location: same as last week = the instructional area inside the Children’s Lit section, main floor of the library. Reading: Storey Ch 3.
Wed 3/2- Your Sources (One Week to Skeleton Draft). Reading: Storey, Ch 3. J5 is due online – this post will be a research log of what you’ve done and consulted since our first library session on 2/22. It does not have to be a polished narrative, it can simply be a list or you can expand with explanation, such as how you are situating your project within existing secondary literature, or how you are making sense of/keeping track of your primary sources, or what your workflow/process has been during your research time blocks. Due/posted by classtime.
Mon 3/7 – Writing Workshop (2 Days to Skeleton Draft). Reading: Storey Ch 4. Bring laptops and one of your key secondary sources, preferably in hard copy, to share and discuss.
Wed 3/9 – Peer Review Day. Due in class: TWO printed copies of your skeleton draft!
Some food for thought (maybe our motto for this unit):
