The first round of discussions in our LIBE 467 class centered on the use and understanding of various terms related to the reference section of the library. I found it extremely helpful to have the terminology identified and defined before we delve deeper into the topic. Having been a TL for 2 years, I'm actually quite familiar with some of the reference services and sources that were listed in the Glossary list. However, I'm not at all surprised that there continues to be more and more of those that I need to know.
Almost immediately after I posted on Vista that I'm not at all familiar with "Gazetteers," I went to our local library to check out what one might look like. What I found was a dictionary of maps - each page bearing specific information about a given geographical location, such as its area, population, climate, mountains, rivers and even tourist places. Then I went to read up on it online, and was surprised to find out that there was even Gazetteers specific to my home country, the Philippines (https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Philippines_Gazetteers). I'm really glad to have researched on it because all this time, I thought of Gazetteers as writers or journalists for mini-newspapers, such as school papers. I would have easily dismissed the fact to my students that is also meant something else.
Another term from the Glossary that intrigued me was "Big6 Information Problem Solving Model." In seeing it laid out in full detail on page 10 of the Reidling (2005) textbook, it right away reminded me of the different steps involved when conducting a science experiment.
1. Task Experiment versus Identification of the Problem
* Both processes involve clearly defining the problem first and foremost. Doing so will help clarify what type of leg work needs to be done - where to go for information, what types of data are needed to help solve the problem, etc.
2. Information Seeking Strategies versus Data Gathering
3. Location and Access versus Forming a Hypothesis
* Both steps #2 & 3 in both processes involve evaluating all available resources and effectively seeking them from all possible sources.
4. Use of Information versus Experimentation
* These two steps refer to the heart of both processes. This is when the researcher (or experimenter) fully engages him/herself in extracting information from both his/her sources (or in testing his/her hypothesis).
5. Synthesis versus Analysis of the Result
6. Evaluation versus Conclusion and Presentation of the Results
* These final two steps in both processes involve examining the results of the research (or experiment) and presenting its findings in an appropriate and reliable format.
Although this is my first time to hear about Big6, it sure looks easy enough to follow that I can see myself using it as a reference model in various research activities in my class. I can also supplement it with an online activity shared by Joanne McLarty in my LIBE 467 class. This web-based activity is interactive, user-friendly and maybe used with my K-12 students.
Whatever you choose to use, the key components to remember are consistency and simplicity.
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