Pathfinders

Introduction to Pathfinders
toc Pathfinders have been used in libraries for many years to save researchers time and give them quick access to solid resources on a given topic. In today's online environment, many pathfinders are web-based however a hard copy will still provide an excellent resource. Creating a pathfinder demonstrates your searching skills and your ability to discern quality information sources. Your annotations should explain why you are including a particular resource in your pathfinder.

Tips for making Pathfinders
[|Tips for making a good pathfinder]

[|Good Information about making Pathfinders] (with some examples)

[|Information and template for making Pathfinders]

[|Using Primary Sources on the web]

[|What is the difference between a bibliography and a pathfinder?]

Examples of Pathfinders
[|pathfinder about Religion and Law]

Student-made online pathfinders

[|Dozens of student-made pathfinders K-12]

[|Pathfinder about health]

what could you include in a good pathfinder?
**Title, Introduction, and Scope**: Introduce the topic/thesis/question/hypothesis and discuss the scope you will cover. For whom is this guide designed? Will it be focused on a particular time period? Region? How comprehensive is this tool?

**General Advice for Researchers**: Are there truly important specific starting places any researcher must see before doing further research?

**Essential and Supplementary Questions:** What are the big issues or questions people in the area are pondering? What supplementary questions will help researchers understand the bigger questions?

**Operational Definitions / New Vocabulary:** Describe any variables or critical terms in your research process. How will you be using these terms in your paper? Are there words and terms associated with your research that are unfamiliar to the general public? ([|Glossarist] collects subject specific glossaries and topical dictionaries.)

**Dewey/Library of Congress Numbers:** List these numbers and the subtopics with which they are associated.

**Books**: Annotate any titles that are critically important. If a work is truly not-to-be-missed, you might consider linking to reviews from the //New York Times//, Amazon, or other online sources.

**Print Indexes:** Does the library offer any print indexes that lead to journals or other media on the topic? (Examples might be //Readers’ Guide//, especially for events prior to 1990, //Book Review Digest//, //American Heritage Index//)


 * Subscription ** **Databases**: Which subscription services would be best for this research? (For instance, specific //Galenet// or EBSCOhost databases, //elibrary, Congressional Quarterly Researcher, etc.//)

**Gateway or Portal Sites on the Internet:** Are there any major guide sites (Web subject directories) about your subject on the Web? If so, annotate the best so users will know why they should be visited first. You might find these gateway sites by searching directories of specialized search engines. Try [|LII.org] and look for directories in your results.

**Specific Web Sites**: List any specific Web sites that may be important. Annotate the very best. If you are dealing with a controversial topics select a balanced group of sites. If you have a good number of sites to suggest, consider arranging them into categories. Include reference and glossary-type Web sites. (Use [|http://glossarist.com] )

**Primary Sources**: Are there key documents--letters, speeches, legislation, etc--that are important or lead to a better understanding of the topic?

**Image Resources**: Are there particular sites that will provide researchers subject-specific images? For instance, you might recommend one of NASA's image databases for researchers in aeronautics.

**Online Journals**: List any accessible, full-text journals that would be helpful to researchers. For instance, for a pathfinder on "training", might link to //Runner's World Online//.

**Organizations, Associations**: When appropriate, list the official sites and phone numbers of any major organizations, support groups, etc. involved in the topic. If you have chosen a controversial topic, attempt balance by including representative groups on all sides of the issue.

**Experts/Scholars:** Are there noted individuals whose names just keep popping up in your best resources? Who are they and why should people researching this topic refer to them?

**Blogs:** Who is talking about this issue? Are there well-established blogs that offer reliable voices behind an issue or question? (For instance, a soldier's blog might give in-the-field perspective relating to the war in Iraq.) Some of [|these sites] will help you search the blogosphere.

**Mailing Lists:** Communities of practice or interest may have online threaded discussions offering clues relating to trends and identifying key players.

**Video/Streaming Video Resources**: Does the library have any films or film series that will add understanding of the topic? Have you discovered any videos that should be rented or purchased and viewed? Are there relevant Web-based videos available from reliable, stable archives?

**Keywords/Phrases/Subject Headings:** Suggest particular keywords or related terms that would be helpful to use in searching. Consider synonyms, names of noted experts, organizations, etc. When appropriate demonstrate use of searching syntax, for instance, include phrases in quotation marks. Did you discover any surprising subject headings as you browsed through database results?

**Reflection / Additional Advice to Researchers**: Here you may evaluate and summarize. Remind students of strategies and offer your best advice.

**Additional Categories**: What else is important to know for the topic of study? For instance, for a topic relating to travel, you might add categories like currency converters, airfare, hotel directories, or translating services.


 * D ** **ate your pathfinder.**

this page adapted from Joyce Valneza's materials on creating and using Pathfinders

Several weeks before research papers are due, analyze and evaluate a minimum of ten sources appropriate to their paper topics. This gives students an opportunity to organize their search for information and to analyze carefully how each source can be used in writing their papers.

Pathfinders []

IPL Pathfinders []

Why learn how to make pathfinders? []

Analyzing, accessing, managing, integrating, evaluating and creating information in a variety of forms and media.” These skills are integral to developing a pathfinder. Depending upon the instructional goals of the pathfinder assignment, you may assign a simple list of resource citations or require a variety of media formats and annotations. The pathfinder may be the final product or just a step in the research process, either way the students are locating, evaluating, and managing the information to meet a specific need.

Springfield HS Pathfinder website (Joyce Velanza) []

Class Assignment Pathfinders (note that some are defunct) []

More elementary school pathfinders from different schools []

Supreme Court Pathfinders []