What is Presearch?

Presented by Ann WestrickContent provided and inspired by Rob Snyder

Funded by a grant from the Jerome LibraryBowling Green State University

Bowling Green, Ohio, USA

Suppose that you have been given this assignment in your college writing class:

Write an 8-10 page argumentative research paper using 8-10 academic sources.

Where do you start? Where do you end? Presearch can help.

What is Presearch?Presearch happens when searchers initiate a research

project or pursue an information need.

Before you start researching, you need to get some perspective--this enables

you to make connections between your topic or question and your prior

knowledge which guides your research. http://www.bookpage.com/the-book-case/2011/06/07/20-most-anticipated-books-for-summer/

For example: the 40 hour work weekI recently read an online article that was talking about how the standard 40 hour work week is outdated. The author of the article said that we should go to a 25 hour work week.

Hmm . . . this might be a good topic for my essay.

Questions I might ask:

Is the 25-hour-work-week work a good option?

Are there other options that might work better?

Is there anything wrong with the 40-hour-a-week standard?

http://www.inc.com/laura-entis/25-hour-work-week-an-argument-for-redistributing-working-hours.html

But where do I go from here? Presearch.

Presearch is like “Activating Background Knowledge” in the reading process

• Activating background knowledge (Pre-Reading) is an accepted part of the reading process which happens when students use what they have “acquired through life experiences and learning in their home communities and at school . . . . . (and) information about reading, genres, and text structures” (Tompkins, 2009, pp. 36-37).

Presearch is like “Pre-Writing” in the writing process

Students work on “generating ideas, organizing ideas, and other strategies before beginning to write” (Tompkins, 2009, p. 52).

http://nhv-prewriting.wikispaces.com/Writing+process

Presearch gives your research context

Information Gathering Context:• Learning what research has

been published about the topic

Big Picture Context:• Seeing how your topic fits

within the broader field.http://llrepsnews.com/?cat=29

Context=Connections

The Presearch stage enables searchers to make connections between their topic or question and their prior knowledge.

For example:

I know a nurse who works 3 days for 12 hours and then has then next 3 days off.

I also have a friend who works at a golf course who works 4 days a week for 10 hours a day.

My dad works 8 hours a day, 5 days a week.

What I found out. Questions I have:

• Traditional American work week is 40 hours—8 hours a day, 5 days a week

• Some European countries utilize a 32 hour work week

• What is the history behind the 40 hour work week?

• What are the pros and cons of the established alternatives?

• Are there other alternatives that should be explored?

Remember: Presearch does NOT take the place of research.

Presearch allows you to:

• begin to understand the issues involved in your research question

• understand multiple sides of an argument

• get an overview of theories related to the topic

• see possible answers to your research question

• decide what issues/information you need to continue researching.

Engage in exploratory searching through general sources to develop a broad overview of your topic and to explore the relationships among

subtopics.

Let’s try using CQ Researcher and Wikipedia.

ReferencesHead, A., & Eisenberg, M. (2010). Project Information Literacy. Available: htttp://www.projectinfolit.org

Pappas, M.L., & Tepe, A.E. (1997). Pathways to knowledge: Follett's Information Skills Model (3rd ed.). McHenry, IL: Follett Software. Available: http://www.pathwaysmodel.com/the-model/text/presearch.cfm

Tompkins, G. (2009). Literacy in the Middle Grades. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Zimmerman, N. P. (2002). Pappas and Tepe's pathways to knowledge model. School Library Monthly, 19(3), 24-27.