Pre-search: Preliminary Research

Title

Pre-search: Preliminary Research 
Description This is an activity that asks students to do some preliminary “pre-search” on their topics before their library session. Students can use the web, Wikipedia, or any source of their choosing to identify 3-4 relevant sources on their topic. Students are asked to document the sources they find, their search process, and a rating for the
quality/reputability of these sources.
Steps
  1.  Assign students the worksheet leading up to an in–person library session and ask them to share or bring the completed assignment to their library session
  2. Ask students to share examples of sources they found, how they found these sources, and what they thought of the quality of the sources
  3. Variation: have students pair up and swap their papers with another student to discuss their findings first
  4. Discuss with class what their go–to sources are for presearch & what evaluation criteria they apply when finding sources online
Tags  Refining-topic; In-class
Time 20 minutes (homework); 10-15 minute class discussion
Attachments noun_229116Pre-search Worksheet; noun_204955Pre-search Example