Students spend so much time online today that one would think they would be confident, competent, online researchers. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. As educators, it is our job to help them discover how the Internet can be so much more than a social networking tool.
Some teachers assign research topics. This is a mistake. Students are much more likely to become involved in their research if they are able to choose a topic they are interested in. I tell my students they have to come up with a question that cannot easily be answered; something that has no definitive answer. I want them to be able to find articles offering opposing view points.
After students come up with a question, the fun begins. It is important to make your students understand they aren’t going to find the answer to their question after a few moments online. Your school should have an online database available that offers access to EBSCO or a similar database. My students are required to find at least five resources for use in their research: two articles from EBSCO, one book, an interview and a website. I suggest scheduling multiple trips to the computer lab to aid students in their research. If you are monitoring their research, it will be that much more difficult for them to plagiarise. Give separate due dates for each source and repeatedly check their notes along the way.
