Research Tools

Choosing the Best Tools for Your Research

Narrow Your Research Topic• If your topic is too big, you will have a

difficult time doing your research because there will be too much information to sort through.

• Narrow down your topic so it will be easy to handle.

• Which topic would be good for research? Why?– Baseball or Left Handed Pitchers– Animals that Live in the Ocean or How

Killer Whales Communicate– The History of War or The Battle of

Gettysburg– The Middle Ages or Torture and

Punishment during the Middle Ages

Click here and let’s see how many websites we can find on these topics!

What makes a source reliable?• It comes from a

trustworthy source• It can be proven

What to look for….

• It is important to know what research tool to choose in order to find your information

• As you look at these research tools, take notes on what information you would find in each book

Dictionary

• A book that lists words alphabetically and explains the meanings, spellings, uses, and pronunciations of words

• If you needed to know the meaning of the word ambidextrous - you can find it in the dictionary!

Thesaurus

• A type of dictionary that lists words alphabetically along with their synonyms and other related words, such as antonyms

• Example:• This is a good place to

find other words besides the dead word good -like amazing, fantastic.

Atlas

• A book of maps

• Example:• If you want to know where

the country Bhutan is, this is where you would look!

Encyclopedia

• A book or set of books that lists subjects alphabetically and provides significant information about each subject

• If you want to know information about Thomas Edison or the flying squirrel, the encyclopedia is your place!

Almanac• An annually published

resource that contains information about particular subjects: lots of facts and data!

• Examples:– Country populations,

language– Number of people attending

college– Top TV Shows of the year

Internet Websites

• Current• Fact based• Reliable source• .edu and .gov - usually

reliable sources • .com, .net, .org – can be

reliable, but you need to be careful…they could have false information or be biased (show favoritism)

Other types of Reliable Sources• Non-fiction books that

have been edited and published

• Informational newspapers and magazines

• Educational journals

Examples of Unreliable Sources• Tabloid or gossip

magazines• Personal blogs, personal

websites• Wikipedia• Some TV shows

Complete the Charts

• With a partner, complete the PROS and CONS charts on Encyclopedias and the Internet.

• Be prepared to share your ideas.