Research Checklist—Elementary

Often

Sometimes

Hardly

Ever

Comments/Goals

Defining a Topic:

I thought about what interested me.

I thought about what I already knew.

I thought about what I wanted to know.

I selected a topic to study.

I decided on a question to study about my topic. I made my question clear and important.

I thought about the different ways I could explore my topic.

I brainstormed a list of my ideas.

I clustered my ideas to help organize them for my research.

Gathering Information:

I gathered information from the library.

I gathered information from primary sources.

I gathered information from the Internet.

I gathered information from periodicals.

I gathered information from videos.

I gathered information from experts.

I gathered information from other sources.

Sorting Information:

I selected only the information that answered my question.

I revised my search based on the information I found.

I paid attention to the quality of my information by checking to see if it was from a reliable source.

I thought about the timeliness of the information.

I took into account the difference between fact and opinion. I watched for propaganda or biased information.

I noticed when sources agreed or disagreed.

I decided what the most important information was.

I kept track of my sources (such as copyright date, title, author, publisher, page, or path information).

Organizing Information:

I compared the information I collected from various sources.

I used a graphic organizer (such as a web, chart, timeline, or table) to help me understand or explain how the information goes together.

I decided on the most important points and eliminated information I did not need.

I organized the key ideas in a logical order.

I summarized using my own words.