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by David Barr

We describe the research process as a cycle involving the questions WHAT, WHERE, and HOW followed by evaluation and ethical use.  The process is not always linear, and may involve movement back and forth among the steps.

Because HOW one searches is determined by WHERE one searches, it should be helpful to teachers and students to provide formative assessments of the WHERE part of the process.  In other words, can students make good initial selections regarding "where to search for information?” 

We might say that assessing HOW students search is like determining whether they can use the three basic strategies for searching in a book:

1. Using the table of contents
2. Using the index
3. Browsing

Assessing the WHERE part of the process involves asking students which book they think would be the best place to start searching.  Efficient and effective use of the Table of Contents, Index and Browsing strategies won't produce the desired effect unless one searches in a book where the information can be found.

What may be assessed

The knowledge, skills and dispositions underlying efficient and effective decisions regarding WHERE to search for electronic information resources include (but are not limited to) the following:

• • Knowing that electronic information is grouped into physical and logical databases that can aid search and retrieval.

• • Knowing, or being able to find, descriptions of these databases.

• • Knowing, or being able to find, the important characteristics (such as subject matter, format, timeliness and the like) of information in databases needed to search a particular topic.

• • Knowing that there are databases related to specific subject matter.

• • Being able to find databases related to specific subject matter, format and the like.

• • Selecting a database based on the likelihood/probability that the info needed will be found there.

Using Performance Assessments

Performance tasks and questions that may be used to assess this knowledge and these abilities could be made into Search Challenges that require use of research databases in the school library.

If you want students to learn the specific databases available in the library, then select knowledge based questions in those areas as well as skill based questions related to those specific databases.  For example:

• Have students find a database that contains:

• • Information about a recent news story (the last 10 days)

• • A scholarly journal article

• • Information about government documents

• • Conflicting opinions

• • Have students explain their reasons for selecting particular databases.

Assessing more generic search skills

If you are more interested in generic skills that will be transferable to other settings, select skills like the ability to select a database on the basis of clues about its content, or the ability to find descriptions of content for different databases, or the ability to find lists of databases on a site, or lists of lists of databases. For example,

• • Have students identify all the databases on the library’s web site that are likely to contain information about a particular subject matter. (If that is too challenging, provide students with a limited list of databases from which to choose.)

• • Have students explain their reasons for selecting particular databases.

• • Have students find a description of a particular database.

• • Have students find a list of databases in the library related to history (or another subject matter).

• • Have students find a list of all the online databases in the library.

For ideas on using Rollyo instead of library databases, click here.

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