Initiation begins with an information need, whether it be self- or teacher-imposed; students often feel apprehensive or uncertain. (See Humbolt State University's chart for more information)
Benefits:
During this stage, students gain interest and motivation when they are given a topic that needs investigation and that is open. Although they may complain and ask you to just give them a topic, their future success with an extended research project relies on being allowed to have a personal connection. As Kuhlthau, Maniotes, and Caspari (2007) note, our "challenge...is to transform a school task into one that is self-generated by students, one that builds on what they already know" (p. 26). They compare these open ended questions to the essential questions of Understanding by Design by Wiggins and McTighe (Kuhlthau et al., 2007, p. 134).
Giving students time and providing interventions at this stage can allow them to find an angle of personal interest in a topic. For example, a pre-med college student was asked to look at structures. While the rest of the class were choosing bridges and buildings, she asked if she could explore the human skeleton as a structure since it uses the same principles (Kuhlthau, 2004, p.78).
Pitfalls:
One of the biggest pitfalls made by students in this stage is to jump into choosing a topic for the wrong reasons. Students will often choose topics because it seems easy, has a lot of "stuff" on it, or appears to be the one the teacher wishes for them to do. None of these reasons will increase their motivation, and in essence, they will have set themselves up for failure. Kuhlthau et al. (2007) explains that our challenge "is to transform a school task into one that is self-generated by students, one that builds on what they already know" (p. 26).
Another problem at this stage is that once students have their topics, they expect to do one big, comprehensive search. How often do we take students down to the library right after they have their topics and tell them to get all of their resources in the next two days? Unfortunately, students don't even know their topics well enough to find relevant sources yet or to even know what would be relevant.
Important Concepts:
Preliminary Search: Students should be given time to browse during this stage, focusing on getting an overview of a topic and an approximation of how much information is available (Kuhlthau et al., 2007, p. 84). The information they find will be used to select a topic or general area. Students should refrain from taking detailed notes or copying into a PowerPoint or Word; however, they should still keep track of their sources for future reference (see Search Logs below).
Browsing: Students should take time to get to know a source during this time not just the content of it but also how it is structured. The idea of browsing at this stage is to just collect and reflect upon different areas of interest within the curriculum. We can help students to see how their interests connect with our subject area by giving them time to browse.
Initiate a discussion of the learning process: Give students a blank copy of the information search process and have them fill it out their thoughts, actions, and feelings as they progress (see Kuhlthau et al., 2007, p. 121). Be sure to let students know that their feelings are natural and expected.
Journal writing or blogging can be extremely beneficial at this stage in the process. Students can share ideas in small groups in the classroom or comment on other student's blogs. (example)
Preliminary Search/Browsing: Teachers or librarians can model how to do a preliminary search. Allow students to do preliminary searches of their own, and then browse those sources. Use some of the "Hot Topic/Controversial Issues" databases or one that is subject specific. Showing students how to use one database well and giving them the time to really get to know it will help to ensure that they use it again.
Search Logs: Even though students are just browsing, starting a search log now will prevent students from losing sources. It can also serve as an annotated bibliography, a record of how they evaluate sources, and a progression of their source use from initiation to end that shows how their source needs changed throughout the process.
Stage 1: Initiation
How do we usually initiate a research assignment?Description
Initiation begins with an information need, whether it be self- or teacher-imposed; students often feel apprehensive or uncertain. (See Humbolt State University's chart for more information)Benefits:
During this stage, students gain interest and motivation when they are given a topic that needs investigation and that is open. Although they may complain and ask you to just give them a topic, their future success with an extended research project relies on being allowed to have a personal connection. As Kuhlthau, Maniotes, and Caspari (2007) note, our "challenge...is to transform a school task into one that is self-generated by students, one that builds on what they already know" (p. 26). They compare these open ended questions to the essential questions of Understanding by Design by Wiggins and McTighe (Kuhlthau et al., 2007, p. 134).Giving students time and providing interventions at this stage can allow them to find an angle of personal interest in a topic. For example, a pre-med college student was asked to look at structures. While the rest of the class were choosing bridges and buildings, she asked if she could explore the human skeleton as a structure since it uses the same principles (Kuhlthau, 2004, p.78).
Pitfalls:
One of the biggest pitfalls made by students in this stage is to jump into choosing a topic for the wrong reasons. Students will often choose topics because it seems easy, has a lot of "stuff" on it, or appears to be the one the teacher wishes for them to do. None of these reasons will increase their motivation, and in essence, they will have set themselves up for failure. Kuhlthau et al. (2007) explains that our challenge "is to transform a school task into one that is self-generated by students, one that builds on what they already know" (p. 26).Another problem at this stage is that once students have their topics, they expect to do one big, comprehensive search. How often do we take students down to the library right after they have their topics and tell them to get all of their resources in the next two days? Unfortunately, students don't even know their topics well enough to find relevant sources yet or to even know what would be relevant.
Important Concepts:
Preliminary Search: Students should be given time to browse during this stage, focusing on getting an overview of a topic and an approximation of how much information is available (Kuhlthau et al., 2007, p. 84). The information they find will be used to select a topic or general area. Students should refrain from taking detailed notes or copying into a PowerPoint or Word; however, they should still keep track of their sources for future reference (see Search Logs below).Browsing: Students should take time to get to know a source during this time not just the content of it but also how it is structured. The idea of browsing at this stage is to just collect and reflect upon different areas of interest within the curriculum. We can help students to see how their interests connect with our subject area by giving them time to browse.
Activities/Interventions:
Web Tools:
Initiation Examples
Kuhlthau, C. C. (2004). Seeking Meaning: A Process Approach to Library and Information Services, 2nd edition. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
Kuhlthau, C. C., Maniotes, L. K., and Caspari, A. K. (2007). Guided Inquiry: Learning in the 21st Century. Westport, Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited.