Webbing

As I search for information about the historical basis and cultural significance of creeds, I am finding myself overwhelmed by the amount of information that is out there.  I opened an account at delicious.com and started a stack for my inquiry.  As I found and skimmed articles and websites that looked relevant, I added them to my stack so that I can give them a thorough read-through later.  The information I have located so far has come from four sources: the public library, Academic Search Premiere (made available to me through the IUPUI library), Google Scholar, and Google searches.  I was pleasantly surprised to gain access to the entire text of a few eBooks through Google Scholar.  One of them, John Dewey's My Pedagogic Creed, is compelling to me beyond the scope of this inquiry.  The generic Google search was by far the most frustrating due to the sheer volume of results and the number of irrelevant hits I had to weed through.  I tried a few search terms- creeds (too broad), origins of creeds, and creeds of organizations.  I did find a few valid sources through that method.  I made a concept map (bubbl.us) of the sources I've located so far.  Space limitations prevented me from listing the authors and publishing information in this map, but I will include that information when I cite information later on in the process.

I am attempting to utilize Carol Kuhlthau's strategies for the exploring information stage of the Information Search Process, so I'm currently trying to "seek and frame several focus possibilities."  As I look at all of the sources I have gathered, I wonder how I'm going to pull it all together and synthesize my information.  There is a wealth of information about Christian creeds, but I've also collected articles about other creeds as well (of scientists, communists, librarians, atheists, journalists, teachers, and Buddhists).  I also worry about the groups I am leaving out.  Of course, I couldn't possibly gather information about every group with a creed.  I'm still trying to decide whether I will narrow my focus to Christian creeds, or try to display a representative sample of professions, religions, etc.

One of the challenges for students at this stage of the process is identifying appropriate sources. In their REACTS model for thoughtful research, Barbara Stripling and Judy Pitts include a Challenging stage where student must evaluate sources for authority and significance.  I was reminded of the importance of this step in the information gathering process as I viewed several websites that I found through Google searches.  One website in particular caused me to pause and look for the credentials of the author before determining that I could potentially use it as a source in my inquiry.  As a teacher librarian, it will be crucial for me to teach my students how to effectively evaluate sources.  That skill is a key part of information literacy (AASL Information Literacy Standard 2), and it transfers throughout an educational and professional career.

My next post will involve more webbing as I dive into the content of my sources and start to assimilate the new information.  I can already tell that my mind will continue to spin for awhile before I come to conclusions about a narrowed focus.