الأسبوع 14 · المحور الثاني، الدرسان ٧ و٨ «عمليات البحث المتقدمة» و«توثيق المعلومات بطريقة صحيحة» · 3 دروس
1
Specific topics and research questions
ICT P5 Term 1, Theme 2: pp. 70–77
GoalTurn a broad topic into a specific topic and a research question, and pull out key words.
New words
specific · clear and about one particular thingresearch question · a question that your research will answerexact phrase · words that must appear together in this ordersynonym · a word with almost the same meaning
Explanation
‘Bridges’ is a broad topic: there are millions of pages about bridges. ‘How is a bridge over a river built?’ is specific, and it is a research question, a question your research will answer. Good research questions start with how, why, what or who. Next, pull the key words out of your question: bridge, river, built. Think of synonyms for words that may not work: ‘built’ could be ‘constructed’. When you need words to appear together in the same order, put them in quotation marks, like “suspension bridge”. Then the search tool looks for that exact phrase. As in Week 7, search with a teacher or a family member beside you.
Broad topic
Specific topic
Research question
bridges
building a bridge over a river
How is a bridge over a river built?
animals
how camels survive in the desert
How do camels live without much water?
sports
swimming for beginners
What should a beginner learn first in swimming?
Worked examples
Mariam’s broad topic is ‘food’. She makes it specific: ‘flatbread in Egyptian villages’. Her research question: How is flatbread baked in a village oven? Key words: flatbread, village, oven, baked.
Karim’s search for ‘built bridge’ finds little. He tries the synonym ‘constructed’ and finds better pages. He keeps both words in his notes.
Seif wants pages about a famous kind of bridge, so he types “suspension bridge” in quotation marks. The search tool looks for those two words together, in that order.
Class activity
From broad to specific. Choose a broad topic (animals, sports, food, transport). On paper, narrow it in three steps, write one research question, underline the key words and add one synonym. Then write the same search with an exact phrase in quotation marks. Compare it with your partner’s.
Practice
1
Is ‘transport’ a broad or specific topic?
Broad.
2
Make a research question from the specific topic ‘kites in Egypt’.
For example: How do children in Egypt make and fly kites?
3
Pull the key words from: ‘Why do camels have humps?’
