Students will determine a focus for their research based on the information they interpreted in the exploration stage. As Kuhlthau (2004) states, "Different people can pursue the same general topic or problem and each come up with quite different perspectives and solutions. ... A certainty approach to information seeking, which promotes a single right answer to a specific question, obscures the central task of formulation for moving from uncertainty to understanding in complex issues." In this stage, students will consider how their perspectives and new information they find "fits within existing constructs and confront the uncertainty that comes with re-shaping old ideas to accommodate new perspectives." (See Humbolt State University's chart for more information)
Benefits:
During this stage, students can focus their topic to meet their personal interests and/or the needs and scope of the assignment. This is also a very personal stage for students, as they get to formulate their own unique understandings of the topic. Students who engage with their topics deeply and meaningfully will gain more confidence and have better understanding of the material they are learning. Students are also finding sources of greater depth than breadth.
Pitfalls:
This is a critical stage of the research process. If students do not formulate a focus, they may experience frustration during the rest of the research process, as their topic may be too broad/narrow, or their information too inconsistent, to complete the assignment to task. A focus can take time to emerge, or it can happen in a serendipitous moment. Time must be given to students who are formulating a focus, as their levels of uncertainty will lessen (and levels of confidence increase) when focusing; however, not all students engage in this process the same way and at the same pace. Sometimes a focus is "tentative" and "fluid," as Kuhlthau explains, as students engage with challenging information.
Important Concepts:
Interpretive Task: Psychologist Jerome Brunner (1986) states, "If we are to understand [new information], it will not be by means of a positivist archaelogy in which everything particular about it and everything leading up to it are finally dug up, labeled, and collated. However much we dig and delve, there is still an interpretive task" (pg. 53).
Activities/Interventions:
Students can return to the four criteria for selecting a topic to focus their topic:
Task--What am I trying to accomplish?
Time--How much time do I have?
Interest--What do I find personally interesting?
Availability--What information is available to me?
Reflection Task: Create your own survey, continue with another blog/journal post, or use a tool like SLIM - Student Learning through Inquiry Measure (Handbook / Questionnaire) created by Ross Todd, Carol Kuhlthau, and Jannica Heinstrom.
Read and analyze notes for themes. Use mind mapping software to organize thoughts and discover themes.
Engage in conversation with teachers, librarians, classmates, parents, etc. to formulate ideas and reflect on learning.
Peer Questioning: Students can write their topic on a piece of paper, and classmates can respond to the topic with clarifying questions. These questions may prompt the researcher to focus his/her topic.
Stage 4: Formulation
Description
Students will determine a focus for their research based on the information they interpreted in the exploration stage. As Kuhlthau (2004) states, "Different people can pursue the same general topic or problem and each come up with quite different perspectives and solutions. ... A certainty approach to information seeking, which promotes a single right answer to a specific question, obscures the central task of formulation for moving from uncertainty to understanding in complex issues." In this stage, students will consider how their perspectives and new information they find "fits within existing constructs and confront the uncertainty that comes with re-shaping old ideas to accommodate new perspectives." (See Humbolt State University's chart for more information)Benefits:
During this stage, students can focus their topic to meet their personal interests and/or the needs and scope of the assignment. This is also a very personal stage for students, as they get to formulate their own unique understandings of the topic. Students who engage with their topics deeply and meaningfully will gain more confidence and have better understanding of the material they are learning. Students are also finding sources of greater depth than breadth.Pitfalls:
This is a critical stage of the research process. If students do not formulate a focus, they may experience frustration during the rest of the research process, as their topic may be too broad/narrow, or their information too inconsistent, to complete the assignment to task. A focus can take time to emerge, or it can happen in a serendipitous moment. Time must be given to students who are formulating a focus, as their levels of uncertainty will lessen (and levels of confidence increase) when focusing; however, not all students engage in this process the same way and at the same pace. Sometimes a focus is "tentative" and "fluid," as Kuhlthau explains, as students engage with challenging information.Important Concepts:
Interpretive Task: Psychologist Jerome Brunner (1986) states, "If we are to understand [new information], it will not be by means of a positivist archaelogy in which everything particular about it and everything leading up to it are finally dug up, labeled, and collated. However much we dig and delve, there is still an interpretive task" (pg. 53).Activities/Interventions:
Web 2.0 Tools:
Bruner, J. (1986) Actual Minds, Possible Worlds, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Kuhlthau, C. C. (2004). Seeking Meaning: A Process Approach to Library and Information Services, 2nd edition. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.