1. RESEARCH &
LIBRARY SKILLS
Covenant Christian
School

2. SURVEY OF CURRENT RESEARCH SKILLS
1. How would you define research skills?
2. When you are given an assessment task in any subject what is your
usual reaction – ie what goes through your head and what are your
feelings towards the task?

3. SURVEY OF CURRENT RESEARCH SKILLS
3. What do you find is the most difficult step in researching and
finding information for an assessment task or assignment?
4. When you start working on your assessment do you use a
particular research strategy or process to complete your
assessment? Give details.

4. SURVEY OF CURRENT RESEARCH SKILLS
5. What resources do you use to find information and answers
for your assessments/assignments?
• Library books
YES
SOMETIMES
NEVER
• The librarian
YES
SOMETIMES
NEVER
• Your teacher
YES
SOMETIMES
NEVER
• The textbook
YES
SOMETIMES
NEVER
• World Book
YES
SOMETIMES
NEVER
• The internet
YES
SOMETIMES
NEVER

5. SURVEY OF CURRENT RESEARCH SKILLS
6. Do you know how to write a professional bibliography or
reference list?
YES
SOME IDEA
NO IDEA
7. Have you ever lost marks or received a zero for plagiarism
whilst at Covie?
YES
NO
8. Have you „cut-and-pasted‟ directly from the Internet but never
been caught?
YES

6. SURVEY OF CURRENT RESEARCH SKILLS
9. When you use the internet which search engine/s do you use?
GOOGLE
BING
YAHOO
Any others? ________________________________________
10. Do you know what a meta search engine is? YES
NO
If YES, which one/s do you use? ________________________

7. SURVEY OF CURRENT RESEARCH SKILLS
11. Do you use Google Advanced?
YES
NO
12. Do you use Google Scholar?
YES
NO
13 .Do you use Google Books?
YES
NO
YES
NO
14. Do you evaluate whether websites
are suitable for your assignments?
15. How would you rate your current research skills?
EXCELLENT
AVERAGE
POOR
16. Should schools teach research skills to students?
YES - Why? ____________________________________________
NO - Why?_____________________________________________

8. WHAT ARE SOME
ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT
STUDENTS‟ RESEARCH
SKILLS?

9. DIGITAL NATIVES???

10. A digital native is a person for whom
digital technologies already existed
when they were born, and hence has
grown up with digital technology such
as computers, the Internet, mobile
phones and MP3s etc……ie YOU!

11. DIGITAL IMMIGRANTS???

12. A digital immigrant is a person who has
been born before the Internet and other
digital technologies existed. They are said
to have a "thick accent" when operating in
the digital world in distinctly pre-digital
ways, when, for instance, they might "dial"
someone on the telephone to ask if his email was received….ie ME!

13. THE PROBLEM….
Students think differently
about information and
communication than
teachers and parents

14. BUT…..
DO DIGITAL NATIVES KNOW
HOW TO USE THE INTERNET
AND FIND INFORMATION
MORE EFFECTIVELY THAN
DIGITAL IMMIGRANTS?

15. INSTANT GRATIFICATION
microwaves
fast food
job to job
drive through
Internet
This generation (which includes Year 10 students!) is used to
and expects everything to be available instantly, not
necessarily because they have no patience or short attention
spans, it‟s just the way their world is……

16. WHAT IS THE TRUTH?
• Students think that research skills are all about the internet.
• Students are effective web users but not effective web learners.
• Students tend to go straight to a search engine, most likely Google AND
Wikipedia when they need information, and waste much time in fruitless
searching.
• Students exhibit a „snatch-and-grab‟ or „cut-and-paste‟ attitude where
there is little or no reading/interpretation of results.
• Most students fail to plan their research just “wanting to get it over and
done with” - thus they don‟t think about getting the best information from
a variety of sources.
• Students don't ask librarians for help. They don't realize that 30 minutes
with the librarian could open up a whole range of scholarly research
material and databases that aren't available through a quick Google
search.
• In summary, most students are NOT information literate!

18. WHAT ABOUT WIKIPEDIA?
IS THIS IMAGE CORRECT?

19. OR IS THIS IMAGE CORRECT?

20. WHAT ABOUT GOOGLE?

21. THE „GOOGALISATION‟ OF EVERYTHING
We may see Google as a „saviour‟ but it rules like Caesar!

22. SO WHAT ARE „RESEARCH SKILLS‟?

23. RESEARCH SKILLS ARE MUCH MORE THAN THE
WEB, GOOGLE & WIKIPEDIA!
• Google and Wikipedia both have their place in the
research process but they are not an end in
themselves! Wikipedia is good for providing an
overview or background information on a topic whilst
Google works best when it is used effectively eg. Using
key search terms to find relevant websites rather than
typing in the assessment question and expecting
Google to magically give you the answer!
• Guess what? Sometimes it is more effective to bypass
the Internet and try finding information in other
places…this is what Research Skills are all about!

24. DO EFFECTIVE RESEARCH SKILLS
IMPROVE YOUR RESULTS?
• Absolutely!
• The research is overwhelmingly positive – when students
develop and practice effective research skills their
confidence improves and consequently their results
improve!
• However, students need guidance on thinking about what
they are searching for and why they are searching.
• Developing effective research skills doesn‟t happen
overnight. But making small changes will start to make a
difference.
• You must be motivated and willing to give up established
and ingrained habits when it comes to researching!

25. • Students who are web LEARNERS as well as web
USERS will most succeed in school and beyond school.
• A web LEARNER will:
• develop effective search strategies
• critically evaluate what they find on the web
• select information that is relevant to their purpose
• use information and ideas found on the web
ethically and effectively
• learn from each use of the web, by reflecting on
what they found, and how they found it

26. INFORMATION LITERACY
• Information Literacy (IL) is one of the key abilities
which students need for the 21 st century.
• IL is a process where students are empowered to
become independent learners who can access, make
sense of and use information, transforming what they
find into deep knowledge and understanding that they
can fluently apply in personal, work and educational
learning situations.
• It is about students being critical, active and creative
thinkers and becoming life-long learners.

27. DIGITAL LITERACY
• It is much more than having access to or being able to
use a computer.
• Digital literacy is the skills, knowledge and
understanding that enables critical, creative, discerning
and safe practices when engaging with digital
technologies in all areas of life.
• Being digitally literate is about knowing when and why
digital technologies are appropriate and helpful to the
task at hand and when they are not.

28. DIGITAL LITERARY
• It‟s about thinking critically about all the opportunities
and challenges digital technologies present, whether
these are, for example, Web 2.0 tools such as social
networking sites and Wikis or digital cameras.
• Digital literacy involves critically engaging with
technology and developing a social awareness of how a
number of factors including commercial agendas and
cultural understandings can shape the ways in which
technology is used to convey information and meaning.

29. INFOWHELM & INFORMATION FLUENCY

31. WHAT ELSE IS
THERE BESIDES
THE INTERNET??

32. COVENANT LIBRARY

34. OTHER LIBRARIES
• Local Library
• State Library
• National Library
BENEFITS
• Join for free!
• Gain access to fantastic resources such as
Databases, Journal Articles, HSC Resources etc…
• Borrow books that may not be at Covie.

35. OTHER SEARCH ENGINES
• School Library – WEBLINKS (accessed via the Wiki
on Edumate)
• Sweetsearch = a Search Engine for Students. It
searches only credible Web sites approved by Internet
research experts
• InstaGrok = presents each topic as an interactive
visual interface, allowing the user to quickly grasp
important concepts, key facts and relationships

36. META-SEARCH ENGINES
• Google is classified as a single search engine as it
searches its own database for information in relation to
a user’s query.
• Meta-search engines can be useful because they
search across other search engines and present what
they view as the most relevant hits from these search
engines. Examples include
Dogpile, Info.com, Clusty.com

37. GUIDED INQUIRY
• Guided Inquiry is a process that will help develop your
information literacy skills.
• It is fairly new in Australia but is proving to be a very
effective model for students to use both in the
classroom and at home.
• There are 7 stages in Guided Inquiry:
• Initiation – Selection – Exploration – Formulation –
Collection – Presentation – Assessment
(we will look at Guided Inquiry in the Referencing
Skills Seminar).

38. EVALUATING WEBSITE RESOURCES

39. WHY EVALUATE WHAT YOU FIND ON THE WEB?
• Anyone can put up a web page
• Many pages are not updated
• No quality control
• Most sites are not „peer-reviewed‟
• Most sites are less trustworthy than
scholarly publications and books!

43. EDUCATIONAL CRITERIA
Y
N
ANY COMMENTS
Y
N
ANY COMMENTS
Y
N
ANY COMMENTS
Is this site suitable for my purpose?
Is the content wide enough to suit my purpose?
Is the content specific enough to suit my purpose?
Is the language used suitable for my reading level?
Can I engage in activities on this site?
Will this site motivate me?
Is the visual material important for me?
Does this site allow for differentiation?
Will this site extend my learning?
RELIABILITY CRITERIA
Is it clear who the author or organisation is?
Can this author or organisation be trusted?
Can the author or organisation be contacted?
Has this site been recently updated?
Is the site up to date?
Is the site reasonably free of bias?
Is the site not trying to mislead the user?
Does the site link to other reliable sites?
TECHNICAL CRITERIA
Does the web page load in a reasonable time?
Is it easy to navigate around this site?
Is there a good balance of text on the page?
Are all the graphics, photos, videos, tables necessary?
Do all the links work?
Is it easy to find relevant information?
OVERALL EVALUATION OF WEBSITE
USE
/
DO NOT USE

44. HANDS ON PRACTICE!
• Researching about a particular person –
Martin Luther King Jr

45. USUAL STRATEGY
• What would be your approach to finding
information about this person?
•
just Google it!
•
Wikipedia the first point of call!
•
probably the first couple of sites on Google
………is that all there is to it?

46. TIP 1: SEARCH THE LIBRARY
1. Library Catalogue – OPAC, Reading Lists, Pathfinders
2. Worldbook online – via Edumate
* Login = covie Password = school
* Put shortcut on computer
3. Weblinks = directory of educational websites –
accessed via Edumate

47. TIP 2: SEARCH OTHER LIBRARIES
1. Local libraries
- Warringah Library Service http://www.wls.nsw.gov.au/
- Pittwater Library http://www.pittwater.nsw.gov.au/library
- Kuring-gai Library
http://www.kmc.nsw.gov.au/www/html/64-library.asp
2. State Library of NSW http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/
3. TROVE (National Library of Australia)
http://trove.nla.gov.au/

48. TIP 3: SEARCH THE INTERNET
• Meta-search engines & other search engines
•
Dogpile
Clusty
Sweetsearch
InstaGrok

49. TIP 4:USING GOOGLE EFFECTIVELY
•
Type Martin Luther King into search box. How many results? _____________
•
Type Martin Luther King Jr into search box. How many results? _____________
•
Type “Martin Luther King Jr” into search box. Results?
•
Can all these sites be trusted? – evaluate!
•
Scroll down and look at related searches
•
Refine your search by using Google Advanced
•
Refine by domain eg .edu, .org, .gov,
•
Refine by file type eg. pdf, PPT
•
These will reduce your results considerably
•
Try using Google Scholar and Google Books and see what you find
________________

50. CHRISTIANS AND THE INTERNET
• Recognise and rejoice – in the goodness of God and the
technologies he has blessed us with.
• Discern and resist –the distortions and disobedience as
we begin to idolise technology as a saviour-substitute.
• Confront and renew - confront web 2.0 and its distortions
of the true messiah and do this with redemptive courage.
Chris Parker NICE

51. REFLECTION & EVALUATION
• What are at least two new things you have learnt
about research skills that you didn‟t know before?
• What two things have you learnt that you want to
apply when doing research for an assessment or
assignment?
• Any other comments?

52. THANKS FOR LISTENING