Posted on Thu, Mar. 20, 2003 tech.life@school

Don't let Net usurp parent's job as a guide for child's research

By Joyce Kasman Valenza, Inquirer Columnist

One of the residual effects of the Internet has been the elimination of adults from the process of student research.

Most children I know have a strong feeling of self-efficacy. They may feel they know the turf of the Web so well that adult advice would be quite unnecessary. And that traditional lift to the library? Why bother if they can get all their resources from the Web?

As a regular observer of student work, what I am seeing is a lot of "research holes" - vital information and sources that are missing - while a glut of unworthy sources insidiously make their way into student bibliographies. I see questionable documentation ethics and a growing number of thoughtless cut-and-paste efforts.

As the first generation of teachers to teach in a technology-driven information-rich landscape, those of us who "get it" are adjusting our practice - focusing our students on planning thoughtful projects and information-evaluation strategies, and encouraging ethical documentation.

But how should we respond to the changes as parents? I believe we should intrude.

Ask to help as your student brainstorms potential research questions and thesis statements. Is the question he or she develops likely to challenge and inspire critical thought? Is it "so what" or "topical" research, the type that merely requires your child to reprocess material already beautifully covered in an encyclopedia article?

Ask your student if he or she has used subscription databases in his/her research. If your school subscribes to curricular databases, make sure your student has a password list in order to use these services from home. The Access PA Power Library databases, funded by the State Library (www. powerlibrary.net/) are the best bargain in town. To access the resources of the Power Library from home, go to your public library's Web page and enter the barcode number on your valid library card. Students who rely on the free Web only ignore such wonderful databases as EBSCOHost, GaleNet, AP Photo Archive, SIRS, and Facts.com, with their high-quality book, magazine, newspaper and reference article content.

Ask to check your student's works-cited and works-consulted pages for balance and quality. Has he used the Web exclusively? Has he ignored books? Of the Web sites he has cited, how many appear to have been produced by recognizable organizations or institutions? Do any of them have the suspicious domain names of free hosting services such as Geocities or AOL Members? Look for domains that originate at museums, universities, and public television stations. Good researchers evaluate for credibility, authority, accuracy and relevance. Good searchers are fussy!

Look for "research holes." Quite simply, children do not know what they do not know. Though the Web gives them great independence, they may not recognize the best words to use in a search and they may not recognize the best documents in a result list when they see them. However clever your children are, in your travels as an adult, you are likely to know a few things your 13-year-old does not. Suggest names, events or keywords worth searching that might not necessarily be in your student's realm of knowledge. If you suspect important content has been overlooked, it is likely a teacher will, too.

Is your student in a search engine rut? Is he or she relying on a certain "fictional butler" way too much? All search boxes are not alike. Students have a wider variety of search options than they might realize: a growing number of smarter search engines (Google, Vivismo, Wisenut, Teoma), specialized search engines (such as Scirus, for science), subject directories - for the one-concept search or when they want to get to the good stuff quickly, as well as the high-quality subscription databases.

When you proofread, go beyond spelling and grammar and look at documentation. Did your student document all non-original ideas - quoted, paraphrased or summarized? For further information on how to responsibly borrow the ideas of others, visit our school's guidelines at http:// mciu.org/~spjvweb/sumparquo.html. The school's MLA Style Sheet is available at http://mciu.org/~spjvweb/mla. html.

When you proofread your student's work, can you hear his or her voice - the student's own original thought and analysis - among the quotations?

Finally, does your student need to put the laptop down and get a lift to a library? It is not all on the Web. Do not allow your student to ignore the value of books and other print content. A two-page printout cannot compete with an in-depth biography, carefully crafted nonfiction, or the wealth of contemporaneous reporting produced BED (Before the Era of Digitization).

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Joyce Kasman Valenza is the librarian at Springfield High School in Erdenheim, Montgomery County. Her column appears every other week in tech.life. Her e-mail address is joyce.valenza@phillynews.com.

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