Reflection

I found this to be a very useful exercise in my inquiry process, if only because it offers a set structure.  That structure offers a logical place to look when I might get stumped, instead of searching blindly about for an answer that is unlikely to satisfy fully.  For smaller areas of inquiry, it would be cumbersome to write out the search process in its entirety each time; however, for large searches, keeping track of the process is an important part of success.  It reminds me of the extensive journal that I kept while writing my undergraduate thesis; each time a new source or idea occurred to me, I wrote it down.  That way, I could pursue the current avenue of searching while still remaining confident that I wouldn't miss anything else in the future.  Anytime that I exhausted the current source material that I was working with, I could find a new direction to pursue, and over time, those directions became more and more tailored to my specific topic for research.

I believe this would be a very useful exercise for any student that is learning how to best seek out information.  Development of information literacy skills often appears to be a secondary educational goal, rather than one that is valued by all educators.  Keeping track of the process through a blog format would also be accessible to most students today, as technology has an increasingly important part of the everyday lives of students and people in general.  The format of the blog also allows an easy way to share experiences among one another.  This peer learning experience will be much richer than a solo experience could be.  

I've often found that being asked to articulate my thought process helps me to clarify it and create a better process the next time.  Without being asked to reflect on why certain decisions were made, a student can make the same errors again and again, without knowing where it is that they go awry.  If, for instance, the student is required to list out a selection of possible sources before beginning the actual search process, they are more likely to think of a wide range of possibilities, and an educator has the opportunity to intervene and suggest new and different routes of inquiry that the student may not have considered.  The same can be said for peers; often peers have valuable insights to share, and this kind of exercise lends itself well to a collaborative learning environment.  

Articulating the process also helps to decrease the amount of uncertainty in the research process, as was pointed out by Sandy Guild.  It allows for backtracking a bit, rather than following a strictly linear model, which is far more comfortable for most students.  By talking about how you arrived at a particular choice, you can more easily find alternate avenues and make different research choices.  

Sources: 

Guild, Sandy (2003). Modeling Recursion in Research Process Instruction. In Curriculum Connections through the Library, edited by Barbara Stripling and Sandra Hughes-Hassell. Libraries Unlimited, 141-155.