Conducting Research for a Project

"You know, Ernie. We need a new project. It's time we started an educational podcast!" "How do we start one?" "Well, we would have to do some research first!" To prepare for their new podcast, Jane and Ernie will be learning about conducting research for a project. Have you ever looked up something you didn't know the answer to? Or even looked up information about a celebrity you follow? This is a form of research! Research is the process of finding and gathering information to answer questions on a topic. Conducting research is important because it helps you to learn new things, teach others new things, and helps you to make well-informed decisions on topics. Research makes sure your information is accurate! So, how do you go about conducting research for a project? Step one is to identify your topic and your purpose. Your topic could be anything from a person, to a place, to an event! Then from here, you need to identify your why, or purpose. What do you want to teach others? What do you hope to learn? You should make a brief list answering these questions as they can help guide your research. Step two is finding relevant and reliable sources. Some good sources are books, newspaper articles, and some websites on the internet. You need to make sure the information you find on your topic is accurate and trustworthy. You should be especially careful with sources from the internet, especially from social media or websites that can be edited by anyone! Always make sure that you take your time to read your sources thoroughly. Step three is to begin taking notes on a graphic organizer. This helps you keep your information organized in easy-to-find categories. Usually, your graphic organizer will contain boxes so you can organize the information, or you can make your own! Make sure you make a note of important facts and information that answer your topic related questions. The final step is to make sure you are writing down your sources. We refer to this as citing your sources. Citing your sources is giving credit to the people or websites where you got the information that you plan to use. You cite sources by listing the author, title, publisher, and date of publication. Now you are officially ready to write your report, create a presentation, or even write a script for an educational podcast like Jane and Ernie! What is one topic you would love to do a podcast on? Share in the comments below! While Jane and Ernie wrap up their research and start their podcast, let's review. Remember, to conduct research for a project, first, identify your topic and purpose. Then, find relevant and reliable sources to use, and make sure to read them thoroughly. Using these resources, take notes on an organizer. Next, cite your sources. Finally, you can begin working on your report, presentation, and even a video or podcast! "What's that?" "Oh my! We have our first subscriber Ernie, we're so popular!" "yay!"