Group Research Project

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This web page is to assist you with your research on the Ancient Greek Drama project assigned by your teacher. From this page you will be able to access most of the resources you will need to complete your Ancient Greek newspaper.

Whenever you start a research or classroom project it is important to plan how you want to accomplish your mission. There are many ways to achieve your goal of an A+ project, but there are also a lot of obstacles in your path. Knowing how to find and evaluate information is a valuable skill and is an essential part of the research process. The skill is called Information Literacy.

At Marina High School we recommend the Big 6© and COWS information literacy models for student research. If you make a habit of following these methods, you will successfully navigate reference books, books and non-text material, and not be fooled by false information or overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge available on the Internet.

Let's look at the 6 steps. (Select the back button to return to this page.)

The Big 6

The first model is called the Big 6 Information Literacy Model© and you should become well acquainted with its steps as you wil l be using them to do research all of your life, whether it is to decide what car to buy or writing a research paper.

Let's look at the 6 steps. (Select the back button to return to this page.)

Step #1: Task Definition A good way to get started. What does your teacher want you to do? Make sure you understand the requirements of the assignment. In order to define your task you must form your task around an essential question. Once you have formed your essential question you must decide what information you think you will need to support that question. You do this with supporting questions. To learn more about supporting questions look at "What kinds of questions did you ask today?" Remember there are several types or levels of supporting questions: Memory questions (Level 1), Convergent Thinking questions (Level 2), Divergent Thinking questions (Level 3), and Evaluative questions (Level 4). There is a worksheet you can print out to help you form your questions. Make sure your supporting questions use more that one type or level of question!

Step #2: Information Seeking Strategies This means that you need to make a list of all the possible sources of information that will help you answer the questions you wrote in Task Definition above.

AND:

Step #3: Location & Access Figure out where you will get these sources. Beside each source, write its location. If it is a web site, list its web address. Try to use those that your teacher or librarian have linked or bookmarked. This will save you time. If your source is a person, figure out how you will contact him or her and make a note of this.

For Step #2 and Step #3 you should use the COWS information literacy model. COWS is an acronym to help you remember the ORDER you should look for information.

• Current Reference/Print Material
• Online Resources
• Webliographies (Pre-selected web sites)

And if all else fails:

• Search Engines

Step #4: Use of Information Engage the source (read it, listen to it, view it, touch it!) and take out the relevant information. If you can't understand any of it, be sure to ask your teacher to help you. It's OK not to understand, it's not OK not to ask for help. Make sure that you check out "Ideas About Note Taking and Citing Sources" from the Big 6.

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When you get to step #2 and #3 of the Big 6, you need to use the second Information Literacy Model we have. This is the:

Cows Information Literacy Model

When doing research remember the word "COWS." COWS is an acronym to help you remember the ORDER you should look for information.

• Current Reference/Print Material
• Online Resources
• Webliography (Pre-selected web sites)

And if all else fails:

• Search Engines

C =
When doing research, always start with current reference books, textbooks and non-fiction library books. Learn some basic information about your subject and start a list of "keywords" you can use to gain more information on your topic.

To find the reference/print material in the library you will use the Library's OPAC. Hint! A list of books available for this paper can also be found by typing "MELGOSA/Ancient Greece," and selecting the "Category" icon. 

Before you use OPAC you should make a list of all the keywords you could use in researching your subject.

Remember: When doing research you need to look at the second page of cataloging and review the "notes" section of the page to about the book.  Also use the "subject" section of the page and look at the subject headings listed for the book.  Using these subject headings is an excellent way to narrow or broaden your subject search.  It can also provide you with additional keywords to use in searching for your topic.  Use your bookbag  while doing research using OPAC.  It helps keep your research on track, provides you bibliographic information for your project, and will save you time in locating information in the library. If you have forgotten how to use the library's OPAC check out the How to Use OPAC from the Library Information page of this site. Hint! Be sure to check out the Reference Section of the library first for specialized encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases and almanacs to start your project.

Some of the Reference Books you could use are:
Hints!

• On sets of encyclopedias look in the index for your keywords
• With any reference or non-fiction title always use the index to locate the information you need.
• On sets of reference books that are divided by year look only at the books that cover the years your paper needs.

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   O =

Use these resources every day! Our online resources are:

• The Gale Group,
  Username: hunt45365
  Password: HUNT45365
• Web Feet,
  Borrower's ID: hunt45365
• Encyclopedia Britannica Online,
  Username: hbuhsd
  Password: surfcity

and

• World Geography Online.
  Username: vikings1
  Password: govikings

These are password protected databases that you can access 24/7 from school or home. Get the URLs, usernames, and passwords from your librarian. They work like a search engine but contain information that is not available for free on the World Wide Web. College students use similar databases for their research projects.

The Gale Group resources has five different databases:

• Student Resource Center-Gold (Use this Resource First!!),
• Student Resource Center-Health Module,
• Student Edition,
• Opposing Viewpoints,

and

• Virtual Reference Library. 

Three of our reference ebooks that we have that might help you in your research are:

• Arts and Humanities Through the Eras (also have in print)
• Encyclopedia of World Biography (also have in print)
• Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery

Hint! You can email articles you find in these online resources to yourself to save printing costs. 

 
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W = (Pre-selected web sites) 
A webliography is similar to a bibliography only it's on the web. This is the Webliography selected by your teacher or Mrs. Bowen to assist you with your project.

Here is your Webliography:

About.com: Ancient/Classical History:Ancient Greek Maps: http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/maps/a/ancientgreekmap.htm

About.com: Architecture: Architecture History Time Line:
http://architecture.about.com/od/theancientworld/

The Ancient City of Athens: http://www.stoa.org/athens/  

Ancient Greece:  http://www.ancientgreece.com/

Ancient Greek Music : http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Music.htm

Ancient Greek Research Links: http://www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch618/Ancient_Greece/
Ancient_Greece_Websites_PB.html

The Ancient Greek World: http://www.museum.upenn.edu/Greek_World/Index.html

Aristophanes :http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc13.htm

The Asciepion: http://www.indiana.edu/~ancmed/intro.HTM

BBCi : schools : Ancient Greece: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/landmarks/ancientgreece/
main_menu.shtml

Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable, or, Stories of Gods and Heroes : http://www.bulfinch.org/fables/

Classical Myth: The Ancient Sources : http://web.uvic.ca/grs/bowman/myth/

Diotima: Materials for the Study of Women and Gender in the Ancient World: http://www.stoa.org/diotima/

Early Greek Science: Thales to Plato:
http://galileo.phys.virginia.edu/classes/109N/lectures/thales.html

The Euripides Home Page http://facstaff.gpc.edu/~shale/humanities/literature/world_literature
/euripides.html

Gods, Heroes, and Myth: Greek and Roman :
http://www.gods-heros-myth.com/grmain.html

The Glory that was Greece: Ancient Theatre: Greek: http://www.theatrehistory.com/ancient/greek.html

Greek Geography: http://www.crystalinks.com/greekgeography.html

Greek Music and The Greek Gods: http://www.hammerwood.
mistral.co.uk/gmusic.htm

Greek Mythology : http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/europe/greek/
articles.html

Greek Mythology: From the Iliad to the Fall of the Last Tyrant:
http://www.messagenet.com/myths/

The Greek Word: The Geography of Greece: http://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/greek-texts/ancient-greece/history-of-ancient-greece-1-geography.asp

The History of Plumbing:http://www.theplumber.com/H_index.html

Homer's Iliad and Odyssey : http://library.thinkquest.org/19300/data/homer.htm

Images of the Trojan War myth: http://www.temple.edu/classics/troyimages.html

Introduction to Greek mythology :http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/5065/greek1.htm

Music in Ancient Greece:  http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grmu/hd_grmu.htm

Mythweb:  http://www.mythweb.com/

Olympian Gods : http://geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/6542/or%5Fgods.html

Odyssey online : http://carlos.emory.edu/ODYSSEY/

The Real Story of the Ancient Olympic Games: http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/olympics/ olympicintro.shtml

Sophocles: http://www.watson.org/%7Eleigh/philo.html

Hint!
If you don't find what you were looking for in the Webliography check out Web Feet and the Encyclopedia Britannica Online. All web sites from these resources have been evaluated for you.

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and if all else fails --

S =

Once you have learned about your subject by visiting all of the books, online programs, and web sites recommended by Mrs. Bowen and your teacher, and you still need more information it is time to search the web. BEWARE! Search engines are not all created equal and you need to learn what types of information each will provide and how that information is presented. Take a few minutes and check out the links listed below. Hint! You will also need to know about the "invisible web" and how to access its information.

Introduction to Search Tools

Search engines

How to Find a Specialized Search Engine for Your Topic

Invisible web

If you use a search engine to find material you must always evaluate the site you wish to use. To help you in evaluating your site use the Web Site evaluation Guide.

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Organizers (A reminder)
There is an excellent Assignment Organizer© (1999) and Research Paper Organizer© (1999) for the Big 6©. (you can type the information you need in the blanks, but you must save it to a disk or print it out once you have entered your information).  Using these organizers will keep your research steps in order and on track. To help you in coming up with the questions you need to answer to prepare a great project check out "Have you Asked a Good Question Today? "and "Asking Essential Questions." There is a worksheet you can print out to help you form your questions. A Writing Process Organizer can be printed out and used to develop a successful writing project!

Style Guides
To find out how to cite a source go to the MLA Guide and/or> the Help with Citing Sources (Internet) guide. The Landmark Citation Machine is also an excellent resource for all types of citations. Once the citation has been created always check it against the MLA Guide to make sure that it is correct! You can also use the Toolbox of the Gale online database and find a citing online reference works section. Hint! At the bottom of the articles in the Gale Group and in the Encyclopedia Britannica Online you will find the citation for that article.

Copyright Information
Always check your information against copyright laws to make sure you are not violating any rules and are not accused of plagiarism. Copyright Information 

The Big 6 Rubric
This is a rubric (guideline) to help you understand the effort you need to put into the process of doing research. If you do not understand a task ask your teacher or Mrs. Bowen, the librarian. Both will be able to help you. Click Here for the Big 6 Rubric.

Editing Checklist
This is a guideline to use to edit your paper for errors. Print it out to use as you proofread your paper. Click Here for checklist.

Research Project Final Evaluation Form
This is a form that either students or teachers can use to evaluate their research projects. Click Here for the Evaluation Form. Print it out and use it as you evaluate your project.

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Good Luck with your Research!