The Big 6:Research Guide

The Big Six: Steps in the Research Cycle

Task Definition

• What is the question/problem to be solved?
• What types of information are needed to solve the question/problem?

Information-Seeking Strategies

• What are the possible sources of information?
• Which are the best of all the possibilities?

Location and Access

• Where are these sources?
• Where is the information in each source?

Uses of Information

• What information does the source provide?
• How can you extract the information you need?

Synthesis

• How does the information from all the sources fit together?
• How is the information best presented?

Evaluation

• Was the information problem solved?
• If the problem had to be solved again, what would you do differently?