CHAPTER FOUR:PROBLEM-SOLVING & RESEARCH SKILLS

Chapter Objective, TEKS, & Essential Question

Objective: Develop problem-solving and decision-

making skills to generate summaries, generalizations, and thesis statements supported by evidence.

TEKS: Social Studies Skills – 22 (B), 22 (D), 23, 23

(A), 23 (C) Essential Question:

How do geographers approach problems and conduct research on geographic questions?

Chapter Vocabulary

Problem-Solving Options Brainstorming Solution Criteria Source of

Information

Gazetteer Atlas Internet Wikipedia Outline Thesis Statement

Important Ideas

To solve problems, geographers and other social scientists first identify a problem. Then they gather information, consider options, weight the advantages and disadvantages of each option, try a solution, and evaluate how well it works.

To complete a research project, geographers first identify a well-defined geographic question. Then they find information from a variety of sources; take notes; compare and analyze facts and ideas; make an outline or graphic organizer; and communicate their results in a report or presentation.

Steps in Problem-Solving

Identify the Problem Gather Information List and Consider Options Consider Advantages and Disadvantages Choose and Implement a Solution Develop Criteria and Judge its

Effectiveness

Steps in Conducting Research Select a Geographic Question Find Information Analyze the Information Organize the Information Write the Report/Presentation Cite Sources in Bibliography

Sources of Information

Research is the process of searching for information about your topic. A source is something that provides information. Sources include the following:

Encyclopedias: An encyclopedia has entries on a variety of topics.

Almanacs: An almanac is a book that contains up-to-date

information on a wide range of topics.

Sources of Information

Books: A trade book is a book written for a general

audience. Gazetteers:

A gazetteer is a geographical dictionary, or index of political and physical features of the Earth.

Atlases: An atlas is a book of maps. An atlas presents the

geographic features and political boundaries of places.

Sources of Information

Periodicals: A periodical refers to a newspaper, magazine, or

journal. Videotapes/DVDs/Blu-rays:

Videotapes, DVDs, and Blu-rays include newsreels, recorded interviews, and documentaries.

Digital Sources: The Internet, is a major digital source of information

today. Search engines like AOL, Google, or Yahoo! Are used to locate websites with information about a topic.

Organizing Information

There are many ways to organize the geographical information you find, such as:

Chronological: It often helps to organize events in the order in which

they occurred. Cause-and-Effect:

You can also arrange information based on cause-and-effect relationships.

Organizing Information

Thematic Approach: Sometimes you may organize information by

various themes relating to your topic. Problem-Solution Approach:

You can organize your information by describing the problems and then identifying and describing one or more solutions to that problem.