Primary Level Research

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Research
page.

There are a number of basic elements for research, no matter what topic or type of research is to be done.
A simple outline is provided below which should help you achieve the best you can.
Remember :

do you Understand what is required of you ? If not :
ask your teacher to Explain it again, so you do know;
if necessary, Write Notes, so you don’t forget while you are doing the work;
if there is a guide [or a Rubric], make sure you read and understand what it means. If you know what to do to gain a mark, you will know why you did Or did not get that mark;
make A List of things you have to do and the order they have to be done. If you are not sure, look at the following steps;

This may sound strange before you start, But :
while information might remain the same, the Materials you use will not;
the materials you will need depend on whether e.g. you make a model, write an essay or do a computer presentation;
you need to look at what Presentation you will make. Some choices are :

exactly what information you need to make the presentation you chose;
what materials you need - craft things, computer program, pictures … . Most important of all :
you will be able to make up a Plan listing these.

There are many places to collect information or materials, no matter the topic. These include :

Remember, there are still books full of information [e.g. fact books, atlases, encyclopaedias];
‘Not everything is on the internet !’
People in your family, or who you know, who can give you information to let you complete the activity;
the Internet - if capable and with parental support, you may wish to use the internet for information and images. Make sure you know where to look or, use a good search engine to help locate what you want [see General Search Engines and also the Specialist Search Engines for help with this];
Magazines and Newspapers - both information and images;
Videos/DVDs and Television - you might have, or be able to get, a video/DVD on the topic, or a television program, that helps e.g. ‘The Planets’;
Archives [collections of things]. They could be archives of photographs, records, letters, toys … .

As you collect the material [information, pictures, artwork, photographs, models, etc.] put it in One Safe Place so you do not lose it.
Then go to the next step.

This does not mean other people cannot help you, but means they Cannot do it for you;
If you use Other People’s Work, you must tell people this;
You Must Not claim you did someone else’s work;
You must not copy other people’s work and hand this in. This is Cheating. It is also easy to recognise !
If you use a Bibliography [sources of information], include things other people have done there;
A Bibliography lists all books, videos, internet sites, etc. you used for information. There are different ways to set out these, but the important thing is to have one and list all sources;
This way, the final result will be yours and Yours Alone.

Set a Timetable and stick to it. You can make small changes but don’t go without one;

you do not want to be doing it at the last minute. No one does their best work then;
if you leave it till the last minute, something usually happens to make it harder to do;
get into a habit of working to your own timetable. This allows you to have fun, do other things and still get work done in time;
This is a good way to Develop Skills to use in the future.

Finally, make sure you hand it in On Time. It would be silly to finish and not do this.