Lesson 4: SIRS Discoverer and SIRS Issues Researcher

SIRS Discoverer 

First, this is my go-to research resource for middle school students: I love it! But based on this exercise, I wouldn’t use SIRS Discoverer with lower elementary students, especially not low-readers. I found no articles on the solar system or on planets with Lexile levels below 330, which is the bottom level for a 3^rd grader. Educators are told that a child doing research should be working towards the bottom of their leisure reading range. I was able to sort articles on the results page, but Advanced Search did not return any results in less than 3 minutes from my home computer, and then the results were only for the key search term; there was nothing “Advanced” about the search.  

When I sorted by Lexile Level on the results page, it trumped the Relevancy search. One of the first hits was for an article on lungs that contained a “what if” reference to the “Planet Sklunk.” Fortunately I don’t see these problems in my library classes. We love SIRS because of the accuracy on the topics we need, the descriptors, the summaries, and the pre-made MLA citations at the bottom of each article.

I would use World Book Kids with lower readers. The page layout at SIRS Discoverer has too many links; too much information; too many options for a young researcher to sort through on their own. A grown-up sitting behind the keyboard could find what the student needs, but I don’t think an elementary student would stick with it long enough to get decent results.

I was disappointed to find 10- and even 20-year-old results on a topic like the solar system. SIRS needs to clean out inaccurate and outdated material. Both of these articles had information that has changed since they were published. Students don’t know inaccurate information when they stumble on it. It’s another reason I would go with World Book Kids in this situation.

I the end, I found no articles I would consider worthwhile for this student. They were too specific, or too high a reading level, or no longer accurate.

 

2.  I tried Advanced Search for Volcanoes AND maps but got nothing that made sense.

Because Advanced Search still wasn’t performing well, I searched Volcanoes as a keyword and got 141 graphics hits. Clicking on the Graphics tab brought up only the graphic images, and I could see several maps on each of the 25 pages. I like that feature for helping students quickly find a usable image for their assignment. I tried a variety of other things, but never did find a way to only look for maps.

 

SIRS Issues Researcher

Let me  start by saying I was surprised at your introductory remarks about this resource. I question the description of SIRS Issues Researcher as being the middle- to high-school version of Discoverer. It really does an entirely different thing, and if students want a single-topic-oriented search experience like they get at Discoverer, they are going to be frustrated with Issues Researcher. You can get to the articles, but this site is really about pro/con, compare-and-contrast research. I send students to the Discovering Collection from Gale to continue single-topic-oriented research. I really think it is a more accurate example of the next-step-higher research site from SIRS Discoverer.

To answer question 1., I simply searched Suicide Prevention in the homepage search box of Issues Researcher and got hundreds of articles including both general information on teen suicide, but also things on specific prevention programs and strategies. Because the articles are vetted, it is a far faster way of searching for reliable information than is Google. I have used a similar “race” when I introduce research for classes but I don’t really need to do it anymore after the middle of 7^th grade. They pretty much know if they’re in the library they have to use reliable sites and Google is too slow.

 

2. I searched Water Use to start, and got a variety of hits about issues around the globe. I especially liked the Subject links at the bottom of each article for ideas about more specific search terms. Here is the list from an article about water use in Colorado:

Subjects:  Arid regions, Conservation of natural resources, Environmental impact analysis, Environmentalism, Irrigation, Irrigation farming, Natural resources, Reservoirs, Water conservation, Water use, Water-supply, West (U.S.), Colorado River Watershed (Colo.-Mexico), Irrigation water

There were many articles about towns all around the planet which were facing water conservation needs, and the solutions they were coming up with. I think these positive perspectives on water use might be very helpful at a town meeting where tempers can become heated. To be able to say, “Lots of people around the world are facing similar problems. Here’s what they’re trying” and give some accurate examples could move the discussion in a productive way.