Reexamines what it means to conduct research. Emphasizes the importance of collaborative research, and recommends ways to encourage collaboration in students' research projects. (MM)

Described are methods that secondary students can use in social science research projects. They include case studies, interviews, questionnaires, and participant observation. (RM)

Saccharomyces cerevisiae provides an excellent tool for students to enter into inquiry-based science. This very simple organism is used to demonstrate that the principles governing life apply to all organisms. Students learn to design experiments using trypan blue and heat, build upon their findings with new experiments, and refine and repeat…

The focus of this paper is the politics and practicalities of using, training, and paying young people as peer researchers in their schools. It begins by presenting a five-point rationale for involving peer researchers in research about young people. The paper also discusses the ethics and politics of negotiating peer research in four New Zealand…

A file management computer program that allows secondary social studies students to store information on cards on a floppy disk and to retrieve all or parts of the data as needed is described. The program will help students develop information-processing skills in locating, organizing, interpreting, and presenting social data. (RM)

To change the perceptions that research writing is somehow different from other writing, teachers need to place more emphasis on the "search" in student research papers. An intermediate assignment can help bridge the gap between the totally personal search and the more formal and traditional research paper approach. The assignment asks students to…

Designed to assist the teacher in introducing a unit on research and experimentation into his/her industrial arts program, this manual provides information for adoption to both classroom instruction and laboratory activities, and a student workbook. The instructor's section includes (1) What is Research? (2) Importance of Research and…

Proposes a list of goals for a research paper and focuses on implementing these goals through application of political/social theory to historical conflict in U.S. history. Demonstrates methodology through a step by step analysis of a specific paper assignment. Concludes that this type of research exercise provides students with a sense of…

An experiment on children's perception of urban distance is described, focusing on the study's methodology and analyses. Suggests that the methodology/analyses could be used by sixth-formers providing a means by which sixth-formers can develop their own examinations of urban distance perception. (JN)

Describes a schoolwide research improvement initiative that was designed to improve information literacy in a high school setting. Discusses self-study and examination of student work; cognitive issues; school culture; online resources that were developed; improving search strategies; discouraging electronic plagiarism; creating pathfinders;…

The effective use of research assignments with student-centered resources involves three steps: (1) identifying specific student resources, (2) designing an action research assignment, and (3) teaching students to effectively use research skills. Each of these steps is discussed. (RM)

It was once thought that research skills were too cognitively demanding for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students. This paper presents guidelines for teaching the research process to secondary ESL students at both beginning and advanced language proficiency levels. The following steps related to writing and presenting orally a research…

Presented is a student learning guide for high school students working independently on a self-paced research project in an environmental field. Students are introduced to environmental awareness and the environmental crisis, and are presented with a variety of techniques helpful in conducting a research project. Included are: choosing a problem,…

A three-week research project in a high-school behavioral science class is described. The design of the classroom sessions is described in detail to help other teachers use or adapt it to their own situation. Three benefits to the students of such a project are cited: (1) appreciation of methods behind research conclusions and heightened critical…

Current approaches to the research paper rarely emphasize more than secondary research in library collections and data bases. Instructors can help students expand their range of possible information sources by posing three questions: Who is likely to know about this? From where does information on this subject come? and, Who pays for this…