Student Inquiry and Big6™ Steps to follow for a research project
1. TASK DEFINITION – What needs to be done?
Brainstorm—What have I already learned? What do I already know?
Pre-Search—Practice research tasks and skills that improve basic research skills.
Skim & Scan—Learn to quickly locate information in a resource.
2. INFORMATION SEEKING STRATEGIES – What resources can I use?
Categories—Narrow the curriculum topic to find a smaller, researchable topic.
Questioning—What makes me curious about this topic? What questions do I have?
Why did I choose my topic for research?
Burning Question—What are researchable questions that I need answered?
Critical Questions--What are the most important and critical of the burning questions for my topic?
Keywords—What words should I look for when using a resource.
3. LOCATION & ACCESS – Where can I find these resources?
Source—What sources would be best for finding information to answer the critical question?
Citation—How do I give credit to the source?
Reading for Understanding—How do I know if this source has accurate information?
4. USE OF INFORMATION – What can I use from these resources?
Source Notes—Take notes on key facts that help answer critical questions.
Taking Notes—How do I take notes from what I read?
Is This Source Useful—How do I know if this source will help me?
5. SYNTHESIS – What can I make to finish the job?
Dissemination—Share what I’ve learned with others through a final product.
Organizing Notes—Gather my Source Notes as I create the Storyboard for my final product.
Storyboard—How will I share what I’ve learned? What information will I include?
Peer Conference—What can I improve based on my peer’s advice? What can I suggest to help my peer’s research & product improve?
Peer Evaluation—What do my peers think are the strengths & weaknesses of my final product and research?
6. EVALUATION – How will I know I did my job well?
Research Journal—Turn in all my papers to show my efforts as I worked through the research process.
Bibliography—List the sources used to create my final product.
Annotation—Describe each source I used and included in the Bibliography.
Rubric or Checklist—How well did I present my research findings in my final product?
Self Evaluation—What did I learn? What did I do well? What can I do better next time?
“Student Inquiry in the Research Process”
Copyright 2003-6 Permission to Duplicate for Educational Use Only Created by Leslie B. Preddy
The "Big6™" is copyright © (1987) Michael B. Eisenberg and Robert E. Berkowitz. For more information, visit: