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ELA 5: Introduction to Research 220 Views


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Description:

For when the first search just didn't quite cut it...

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:04

[Coop and Dino singing]

00:13

Okay, so research might sound a little boring… [Person falls off chair]

00:16

And, sure, it might even be a tiny bit… boring.

00:17

But it doesn’t have to be! Think of it like an adventure. Like you're Indiana Jones…

00:24

in front of a computer. [Indiana Jones looking at a computer]

00:25

Once you’ve identified the topic you’ll be writing a paper about – and put on your

00:29

fedora - the research process begins.

00:32

Okay, so maybe it's not that triumphant.

00:36

Anyway, chances are, you already know at least little bit about your topic, and can quickly

00:41

come up with some key words to research. [Girl thinking of topics]

00:43

But if you don’t know anything about your topic, what the heck have you been up to?

00:47

Just kidding. You’re not totally out of luck. All you have to do is start by conducting [Person typing on a keyboard]

00:51

a quick search on your topic. And don't worry, we’re not going to ask

00:55

you to avoid using the Internet for your research because, let’s be real, it would be crazy

00:59

not to take advantage of how much easier research is online.

01:02

But we are gonna ask you to be a little bit careful when you do it. [Girl browsing internet]

01:06

Because as easy as it is for you to do research on the internet…

01:09

… it’s just as easy for someone to put up any information they want – whether it’s

01:13

true or not.

01:14

Seriously, check this out…

01:15

What can we say? Not every site is as reliable as Shmoop.

01:20

Uh…moving on.

01:21

Another thing to think about is where you should go to research a topic. You wouldn’t [Boy driving a car]

01:25

ask a car mechanic for advice on a broken computer…

01:28

...so naturally, you'll want to make sure your research comes from a trustworthy source.

01:31

That’s why with any kind of research you do, it’s important to check that the source [Magnifying glass inspecting online resource]

01:35

is reliable. So how do you know a source is reliable? Well,

01:40

one clue to look for is if it's been checked out and approved by another trustworthy group,

01:45

like the government, or a university.

01:47

You can also probably rely on sources that have something to lose if they provide false [Coop discussing trustworthy groups]

01:51

information, like well-known magazines, or respected newspapers.

01:54

Basically, if somebody put their reputation on the line to tell you that all cats are

01:58

purple, you can probably believe that all cats are purple. [Person looking at a purple cat on mobile phone]

02:01

…Okay, that’s a bad example. But you get the point.

02:05

When you're doing research, always be sure to keep track of where you get your information.

02:09

That way, if anyone has questions about what you’ve written, you know where to send them

02:12

to see for themselves.

02:14

The proof is in the pudding, baby. And the pudding is… a piece of paper. Man…that's [Pieces of paper in a bowl]

02:19

some disappointing pudding. When done correctly, citing your research

02:22

sources will also help you avoid plagiarism, which is when you use someone else’s words

02:26

or ideas as if they were your own.

02:28

And we know you’d never actually plagiarize on purpose, because that’s one of the worst [Boy researching online and siren sounds]

02:32

things you can do in school. That, and promising people pudding, then bringing paper instead.

02:37

Seriously, that's really disappointing. And, just in case you wanna get crazy with

02:41

it, you can also do research with actual physical books and magazines. Come to think of it, [Indiana Jones in a library]

02:46

we're pretty sure that's how Indy would do it...

02:48

These sources are usually checked out by an editor before they get published, so you can

02:52

usually trust them. . Another great thing about real, physical sources?

02:56

Unlike some internet sites, books don’t contain viruses. [Boy carrying books]

02:59

Well… hopefully.

03:00

Now if you'd excuse us, we have a hankering for some pudding. [Girl preparing to eat paper pudding]

03:04

Aw, man…not again…

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