Students select a topic to research and learn the value of research in this unit. They identify the different kinds of sources and assess online sources while doing their research. At the end of this lesson, students are going to: 
- describe how primary and secondary sources differ from one another. 
- analyze the legitimacy and dependability of information sources found online. 
- look for evidence to back up a thesis by conducting research.

- How do literary and informational texts become meaningful to strategic readers? 
- What is the true purpose of this text? 
- How can a reader find what they're looking for? 
- How can readers decide which information from what they hear, read, and see to believe? 
- How can a reader determine whether a source is reliable? 
- What effects do language conventions and grammar have on written and spoken communication?

- Primary Source: Text and/or artifacts that tell or show a firsthand account of an event; original works used when researching (e.g., letters, journals). 
- Research: A systematic inquiry into a subject or problem to discover, verify, or revise relevant facts or principles. 
- Secondary Source: Text and/or artifacts that are derived from something original (e.g., biographies, magazine articles, research papers). 
- Thesis Statement: The basic argument advanced by a speaker or writer who then attempts to prove it; the subject or major argument of a speech or composition.

- copies of the Web Site Credibility and Reliability handout (LW-8-3-1_Web Site Credibility) 
http://www.classzone.com/books/research_guide/page_build.cfm?content=web_eval_criteria&state=none 
- http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/02/ 
- access to the Internet

- Assist students in assessing the two sample websites to gauge their understanding of evaluating websites. Help the class comprehend how two students may have different opinions about the same website and how to assess the validity of their arguments. 
- Provide further research time and reteaching or examples as needed.

Explicit instruction, modeling, scaffolding, and active engagement 
W: Students discover how to assess a website's credibility and why reliable online sources are the best sources of information for the majority of writing assignments. 
H: The lesson starts with a journaling exercise where students discuss the value of research in our society. 
E: Students complete exercises for instant practice and application after receiving clear instruction and notes on how and why to evaluate a website. Following their validation of these instruments, students use the assessment tools to look up relevant sources for the creation of their own annotated bibliographies. 
R: It is possible to offer reinforcement in talks and in one-on-one assessments of websites. 
E: Students demonstrate their comprehension of assessing the reliability of a website by filling out the evaluation handout for each site they visit, following practice evaluations and group discussions. 
T: Lessons and exercises can be customized by providing guided notes for students who require extra assistance with taking notes on time; students can work in pairs to examine and assess the sample websites through flexible grouping. The reading assignment, discussion, and use of the website handout facilitate access to the multiple intelligences of interpersonal, verbal/linguistic, and visual. 
O: To establish the foundation from knowledge to application, activities vary from in-class exercises to solitary practice. 

Focus Question: What is the goal of research, and how do you choose a subject and start your investigation?

Part 1

Write the following question for the class before it starts: "What would the world be like if no one conducted research?"

Give students five minutes to write an answer to the above question when class starts. Prompt them to consider which fields—such as engineering, biology, and history—rely on investigations. How would our society be affected by a lack of research? Tell them that they will be able to share some of their ideas after the activity, but that the writing task will not be graded or evaluated. For this journaling exercise, students should feel free to write anything they want.

Permit students to share their imagined worlds without research after the journaling exercise.

"Based on your responses, I believe we can all agree that research is essential to our world. Consider the items you utilize daily. The result of the research is the cell phone. Research has produced both contacts and glasses. It was research and experimentation that produced the pens and pencils you used to write your journal response.

"Research frequently begins with a question. ' How can I make a portable phone? What have other researchers learned about the technology needed for this device?'

"We will examine the research process in this unit. You will discover how to find and choose relevant sources through research today. You will eventually learn how to properly cite your research following Modern Language Association, or MLA, guidelines. An annotated bibliography is a formal document that includes all citations and analyses. It will be the final product that you produce. Citations provide information about the publication history or location of your sources, whereas analyses provide an overview of the sources you have read and assessed while doing research for your topic. A research paper could be written with the assistance of an annotated bibliography, which would serve as a process guide. But first, you must decide on what topic to research."

Part 2

"How do you select a topic? It is quite easy: you formulate a question that research can address. For five minutes, make a list of the questions you want to investigate on a separate piece of paper. The questions may relate to history. For instance, you may look into the history of the establishment of the state border. Nature-related questions could include, 'How did the various forests in North America develop?' Perhaps you're interested in studying movements or trends in culture. One possible research topic would be 'How is modern fashion different from 1920s fashion?' Because the answers to your questions are just waiting for you to find them, research is an exciting activity."

Give the students five minutes to make a list of the questions they want to research and the answers to them. As you move around the classroom, assist students who are struggling with brainstorming by providing advice and encouragement. Discuss and offer a helpful assessment of their queries.

"Select one topic (in the form of a question) that will be the focus of your research after you are satisfied with your list."

Ask students to select a topic to study for the lesson today if they are having trouble deciding, and then give other options some thought before the next class. Eventually, either assign topics to students at the beginning of the unit or gather them as an exit ticket.

Part 3

Have the class in a computer lab if at all possible. Alternatively, have everyone watch the research on a single computer with a screen projector so everyone can see it.

"What do you do after deciding on a subject to research? How do we start a research project? Though information is thrown at us daily, how can we determine whether it is reliable?" If necessary, take a few minutes to have students define credibility. You should also encourage them to define information sources. "You will select a research topic and create an annotated bibliography for it in this unit. However, using the Internet to gather data and proof to back up your claims can be challenging, so we'll look at how to assess the reliability of information."

Distribute a copy of LW-8-3-1_Web Site Credibility, the handout on Web site credibility and reliability, to your students. Discuss each column as a class after reading the instructions. Whenever feasible, present the material as a series of queries. Ask students what the distinction is between a Web domain that ends in ".gov" and one that ends in ".com," for instance. Make it clear to the students that these characteristics should be taken into account when they read, examine, and assess the sources they come across for their research. Use the following general guidelines for evaluating Web sites to supplement what students don't know: http://www.classzone.com/books/research_guide/page_build.cfmcontent=web_eval_criteria&state=none:

In general, websites with.gov, .us, or .edu extensions are reliable and impartial.

URLs ending in a tilde (~) denote the creation of the website by an individual and their lack of affiliation with any company or group. This suggests that the objective reporting of facts may be compromised in favor of a personal agenda. Refrain from visiting these kinds of websites, as they typically have bias.

You can usually get in touch with the host, author, or business through honest, uncomplicated websites.

The writer's point of view can reveal the writer's position and purpose. The content will almost certainly be subjective if first-person pronouns like "I" or "me" are used. The third-person point of view, however, has the potential to conceal personal beliefs behind a neutral format.

Wikipedia, Answerbag, Ask.com, About.com, Askpedia, and Ask.com may offer quick information, but they are not always trustworthy or verified sources and are typically not in-depth. These websites are not reliable sources of information, but they can be useful starting points for research questions.

Seek out original documents for your research. If they offer clear connections to primary sources, secondary documents may be useful. 

To address a research question, data from studies, statistics, testimonies, and real-world experiences can be gathered. 

Librarians are incredibly knowledgeable and can assist students by providing a second opinion when necessary. On the other hand, make sure that students put in a lot of work independently and don't hog the time of librarians.

"This handout is intended to assist you in assessing sources that contain information relevant to your subject."

Part 4

"When utilizing online information sources, people frequently just type their general topic into a search engine and start clicking links at random. It may take a very long time to find pertinent and helpful information if you search using this method. Nevertheless, there are two easy methods to focus your search and save time:

1) Enclose a topic you wish to search in quotation marks. This will extract data with just the phrase in the precise sequence you designate.  To avoid making your search too limited, you might want to try different approaches or paraphrases of the subject. For instance, we could type "North American forest development."

2) Type the word between two topics or words to perform a boolean search. This makes you search more. For illustration, we could type "North America and forest development."

If you're using a projected screen or are in a computer lab, show how the results of the searches narrow down and become fewer options.

"You need to swiftly determine which websites are helpful without having to visit each one after a list of websites has been generated. You can quickly eliminate certain entries from a search list by looking at their Web address, title, or description wording. Recall to utilize different versions of your query.

"Establishing credibility is crucial for writers to gain the reader's belief, respect, and confidence in their work. To be more precise, let us take a few minutes to assess the reliability of websites that discuss research. You can rapidly assess the reliability of each of your search results by looking through the content on these websites. An essential component of your assignment is locating reliable sources."

You can teach students how to evaluate sources with the aid of a variety of resources. Many websites can be of assistance; these two are just two of them. Look up the phrase "using research and evidence" as a class. You should see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/02/, the Purdue Online Writing Lab's (OWL) website, close to the top of the results page. It could be helpful to try out different search engines before class so that the outcomes are consistent. This Web site is listed on the Web Site Credibility and Reliability handout. As a class, use the criteria on the handout to evaluate the site and discuss them as a class. In general, resources from OWL are credible, so you can use the site’s contents to help students better understand how to find credible sources.

A quick reference article about primary and secondary sources that students can read and evaluate can be found on the second website listed in the Web Site Credibility and Reliability handout. It is located at http://www.princeton.edu/~refdesk/primary2.html. Despite the tilde in this Web address, take note that Princeton University is associated with it. This should support the idea that we should exercise caution when applying the credibility criteria to evaluate sources because of the abundance of information available on the Internet.

Once the students have assessed the first two websites, draw the following conclusion: "The purpose of research is to learn as much as you can about your subject and, ultimately, to provide an answer to your question. You will need to go back to these sources later for additional details and information to properly credit the authors of the articles you read. As you conduct your research, jot down interesting facts and maintain a record of the websites you visit. You will utilize these notes as a reference when writing an annotated bibliography at the end of the unit."

Give students between 30 and 60 minutes to research topics before assigning them. Throughout this process, keep an eye on the students and offer more assistance as needed.  

"Once your research is complete, use the information you have learned and the findings to create a thesis statement that you are confident you can defend. Writing a thesis statement helps you save time by focusing your attention on the abundance of resources available. It is also necessary for you to write a thesis and include citations and summaries of multiple articles in the annotated bibliography you will create after this unit. A thesis statement summarizes the points that your research either confirms or attempts to confirm. It is your writing's purpose and the agenda for your paper."

Let students who have already decided on their thesis start taking more formal notes on the topic, as long as they are keeping track of their sources. It is critical to emphasize the importance of citing the source of information to be perceived as a credible writer.

Gather their theses and offer comments before moving on to the next section.

Extension:

Use advanced databases to look up journal and newspaper articles, as well as legal and historical documents, for students who may be surpassing the standards. To access electronic libraries, ask the librarian for assistance.

Students who need more practice can research a list of pre-selected Web sites to investigate a specific topic. To save students time typing in different search terms, you can preload the web addresses into a document or on a webpage.