Research

Say you were assigned a project about the ocean. You will have to focus your topic later, but right now, all you know is that you want to do something about ocean mammals like whales or dolphins.

 

1. Write a sentence about your topic:

• I want to do my project about some kind of ocean mammal such as whales or dolphins.

 

2. Pull out the key words and phrases in the sentences above and list them separately:

• ocean mammal

• whales

• dolphins

 

3. Now start expanding the list with related terms and synonyms:

• ocean --> sea --> marine

• mammals --> warm-blooded animals

• ocean mammal --> marine mammal

• whales --> cetaceans

• dolphins --> porpoises

 

4. Are there any larger categories that might lead you to information?

• ocean mammal --> ocean life, marine life, mammals, animals

 

5. Are there any words or phrases that are more specific?

• whales --> blue whale, killer whale, humpback whale

• dolphins -->  bottle nose dolphin

 

6. Now you have a beginning list of key words and phrases to begin searching for information. You can put them in order like this:

 

Synonyms and Related Terms

ocean

sea

marine

ocean mammal

marine mammal

whales

cetaceans

dolphins

porpoises

 

Larger Categories

ocean life

marine life

mammals

animals

 

Smaller Categories

blue whale

killer whale

humpback whale

bottle nose dolphin

 

7. Leave yourself room on the chart to add more key words and phrases as you discover them in your searching.