Proposal Phase
2. Do preliminary researchBefore moving ahead with your project, it is important that you complete five to ten hours of preliminary research to ensure you can find high quality academic sources of information for your project. At this point in the project, you are gathering sources and examining them to ensure they will be helpful to your learning. You do not need to thoroughly read and take notes on your sources at this point.
Start by reading at least one general overview of your topic to gain broad-scale understanding. Try an encyclopedia. Remember that Wikipedia is freely editable by anyone and therefore is an unreliable source. Use a variety of print and online sources. Remember, as a PKS student, you are able to check out materials at both the WDPSD libraries and the St. Norbert College library. When searching online sources, use the Student Research Center on BadgerLink rather than Google. Here is a video tutorial: A great way to narrow searches is with the Boolean search feature. Check out this video tutorial on how to use it:
If, after you have collected sources from the Student Research Center, you decide to see what you can find on Google, use the tips on the "Get More Out of Google" graphic on the right side of this page. You will need to evaluate whether site found on Google are credible using the form on the back of the PKS note taking guide for websites.
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