Research Strategy

Research Strategy GEN 200 September 19, 2011 Gary Lair Research Strategy When I made the life-changing decision to return to school I knew time management would be just one of many obstacles. Most people think that there are not enough hours in the day to work and have personal time with family and friends let alone return to school. Once I made the leap I, like many students, became overwhelmed with assignments, papers to write, and deadlines. One sure-fire way I have found to assist with time management is “information literacy” (The Chronicle of Higher Education). Information literacy is “a librarian led movement to make students more adept at locating and evaluating electronic data” (The Chronicle of Higher Education). Most students have had the experience of starting an online search to find information for an assignment and in no time find he or she is bogged down with a plethora of information. Being uneducated on how to search for information can lead to poor time management because if the skills to “find, sort analyze, and communicate information” (The Chronicle of Higher Education) effectively are not known there could be numerous wasted hours spent on researching and reading information that in the end did not even apply to the topic at hand. According to the article “Cultivating student research and study skills in Web-based learning” published by the Journal of Geography in Higher Education there are essential skills for web-based learning students not only to learn but master. Those skills include choosing an appropriate starting point for research, use search and query engines, takes notes in digital form, evaluate the quality of online materials, and cite electronic documents (Journal of Geography in Higher Education). Knowing how to achieve effective search results is key when writing a research paper but also when trying to

References: Foster, A. L. (2007). Information navigation 101. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 53(27), A.38-A38-A40. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/214659740?accountid=35812 Goett, J. A., & Foote, K. E. (2000). Cultivating student research and study skills in web-based learning environments. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 24(1), 92-92-99. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/214735435?accountid=35812