Information Inquiry Model - The Big6


This inquiry research unit uses the Big6 model of information problem-solving, one of the most prevelant models in the world today. The Big6 breaks down the process of solving an information problem into six main steps, each with two sub-steps.

  1. Task Definition
    • Define the information problem
    • Identify information needed
  2. Information Seeking Strategies
    • Determine all possible sources
    • Select the best sources
  3. Location and Access
    • Locate sources (intellectually and physically)
    • Find information within sources
  4. Use of Information
    • Engage (e.g., read, hear, view, touch)
    • Extract relevant information
  5. Synthesis
    • Organize from multiple sources
    • Present the information
  6. Evaluation
    • Judge the product (effectiveness)
    • Judge the process (efficiency)

According to one of the model's creators, Mike Eisenberg, "[p]eople go through these Big6 stages - consciously or not - when they seek or apply information to solve a problem or make a decision." [1]

Using an information processing model such as the Big6 in the elementary classroom provides both advantages and challenges. A step-by-step approach to answering an information question is likely to help students go about their research in an organized way, hopefully avoiding confusion and wasted time. By helping students focus on what they are doing at each stage, the model may make them more aware of strategies they have been using unwittingly, whether positive or negative.

One drawback to implementing such a model would the difficulty for both student and teacher in trying a new approach. Another is the extra time needed for planning. The amount of work involved in teaching students to use a model as well as the content of the unit is an added burden that must be seen as worth the effort.

I believe the benefits gained from explicit use of the model make it worthwhile despite the additional effort required. This model, or others like it, will serve students as they progress through high school and college, helping them to organize and reflect on their research habits and strategies. With continued practice, the model should become second nature.

In this unit, I have chosen to focus on the fourth step in the Big6 model, Use of Information, for my detailed lesson. The Big6 defines the focus of this stage as engaging the information through the senses and extracting the relevant information. This stage of the model provides abundant opportunities for the media specialist to participate in the inquiry process. I have chosen to teach basic skimming and scanning strategies, note taking, and citation skills at this stage, but it would also be a good time to teach evaluation of sources and many other skills associated with interacting with source materials. All of these skills relate directly to the sixth grade Language Arts standards from the state of Indiana and to the Information Literacy standards. As one example, citing sources would relate directly to Language Arts standard 6.5.3, which requires students to write a research report containing a bibliography. Information Literacy standard 8 would be addressed by citation as well, since it deals with the ethical use of information.

All models of information search and use contain a stage equivalent to Big6's Use of Information, though it is sometimes described in different terms or broken down in a different way. Jamie McKenzie, in his Research Cycle model [2], names the information use stage "Sort and Sift" and describes it as a period of "scanning and organizing of data to set aside and organize those nuggets most likely to contribute to insight." Carol Collier Kuhlthau calls this stage in her Information Search Process "Information Collection" and describes it as a time for gathering pertinent information through use of the library and for taking notes with bibliographic citations. [3]

While both of the models mentioned above are exemplary in different ways (McKenzie for his emphasis on the importance of questioning and reiteration of the questioning/search/use cycle and Kuhlthau for her focus on how the affect of the searcher plays an important role in the process), I prefer the way the Big6 breaks down this stage. I like to see the distinction between location or collection of source material and the searchers interaction with it. Both the Research Cycle and the Information Search Process jump over actually reading, viewing, or otherwise experiencing the material. While this may seem trivial, I think that especially with elementary aged children, a very clear progression from one stage of the process to the next is helpful.


Back

[1] Eisenberg, Mike. "The Big6 Skills Overview." http://www.big6.com/showarticle.php?id=16. Accessed November 28, 2005.

[2] McKenzie, Jamie. "The Research Cycle." http://questioning.org/rcycle.html. Accessed Novemeber 28, 2005.

[3] Kuhlthau, Carol C. "Kulthhau's Model of the Stages of the Information Search Process." http://library.humboldt.edu/ic/general_competency/kuhlthau.html"