Research Skills & Ethical Inquiry
🌿 Whakataukī (Māori Proverb)
"Ko te manu e kai i te miro, nōna te ngahere; ko te manu e kai i te mātauranga, nōna te ao."
Meaning: The bird who eats the miro berry owns the forest; the bird who eats knowledge owns the world.
Today we learn how to gather knowledge with integrity: strong sources, careful notes, and respect for people and place.
🎯 Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Turn a topic into a clear, researchable question
- Build a search plan (keywords, synonyms, where to search)
- Take notes that separate facts, interpretation, and opinion
- Write one annotated bibliography entry (summary + credibility + perspective)
- Apply tikanga to knowledge: attribution, consent, and kaitiakitanga of information
📋 NZ Curriculum Alignment
Social Studies (L5-6): Understand how people seek and use information to make decisions and take social action.
English (L5): Locate, evaluate, and use information to meet a purpose.
Key Competencies: Thinking; Using language, symbols, and texts; Participating and contributing.
🧠 Starter: Question Clinic (10 mins)
In pairs, take a “big topic” and turn it into a question you can research. Your goal is specificity.
Too broad
“Social media is bad.”
Researchable
“How do recommendation algorithms shape what students believe about health and body image?”
Sharper still
“What evidence exists that algorithm-driven content increases misinformation, and what strategies reduce harm?”
Tip: Use Who/What/Where/When/How/Why + make it specific to Aotearoa when you can.
🔎 Explore: Build a Search Plan (15 mins)
Search Plan Template
Complete this before you start clicking links — it saves time and improves quality.
Research question: __________________________________________
Keywords (at least 6): _______________________________________
Synonyms / te reo kupu: ______________________________________
Where will you search? (library, govt, iwi/hapū, trusted media, journals)
Search tricks: quotes “”, minus -, site:, filetype:
Teacher prompt: If this topic touches Māori knowledge, whose guidance or permission is needed? Who holds mana here?
📚 Activity: Source Set Challenge (25 mins)
Your group must collect a balanced source set for your question:
- 1 official / primary source (e.g., Stats NZ, legislation, policy, research report)
- 1 reputable journalism source (good evidence + transparency)
- 1 Indigenous-led perspective (iwi/hapū statement, Indigenous organisation, Indigenous scholar/journalist)
📝 Formative: Annotated Bibliography (1 source)
For one source, write:
- Summary: What does it say?
- Credibility: Why trust it? What are limitations?
- Perspective: Whose voice? Who benefits? Who is missing?
- Usefulness: How does it help answer your question?
Support tool: Evidence Evaluation Framework
📝 Activity: Notes that Don’t Lie (15 mins)
Cornell-style Notes
Separate evidence from interpretation so your argument stays honest.
Fact (evidence): __________________________________________
Meaning (what it suggests): __________________________________
My question / uncertainty: _____________________________________
Source details: author, date, title, link/page ______________________
Key rule: If you copy exact words, use quotation marks immediately. Otherwise paraphrase in your own voice.
🤔 Reflect & Connect (5 mins)
- What makes research ethical as well as accurate?
- How will you avoid taking or misusing Indigenous knowledge?
- What is one change you’ll make to your online research habits?