Researcher

  • Have you learned to analyze information needs, determining the following:
    • The type of information you need, and whether it needs to be scholarly
    • The scope and depth of the information you need
    • The viewpoints that might be represented on this topic.
  • Have you become proficient in determining appropriate information sources and tools, considering:
    • Who might be writing about  this topic?
    • What organizations might be publishing information, or might serve as resources?
    • What research tools (beyond Google!) may provide valuable sources?
    • Are there individuals to interview who would add value or nuance?
  • Have you become proficient in selecting and using research databases? Do you explore beyond the obvious database choices?
  • Have you honed your ability to assess the value of the information you find?
    • What expertise buttresses the sources you found?
    • Have you specifically considered the values and beliefs contained in the sources, and how your own values and beliefs impact your analysis?
  • Are you adept at presenting the results of your research in appropriate ways for the intended audiences?
  • Do you develop research questions based on your curiosity and what you would like to know more about? Do you adjust those questions based on what you learn and know through the process of inquiry?
  • Do you ask critical questions to challenge your own biases, those of others, and to challenge the biases that may be present in the content you discover?
  • Do you look at a topic or subject from multiple perspectives? Do you integrate different ways of looking at the world to gain new insights about a topic?
  • Do you reflect on the research process and how you think about a particular topic as well as your response to the information you discover?
  • When you start to conduct research do you give yourself the freedom to be surprised by the information you encounter, knowing it may change some of your initial assumptions?

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