Research Project Mini — Question, Sources, Synthesis
Tween chooses a question they're curious about, finds three sources, evaluates their credibility, and synthesizes an answer. Parent facilitates the research process and asks probing questions about source quality. This activity reveals research methodology understanding, source evaluation skills, and the ability to synthesize information from multiple inputs into a coherent answer.
Opens a guided voice session in TogetherTime.
What you'll need
A device with internet access for research. Paper and pencil for notes. The child should choose a question they're genuinely curious about — the activity works poorly with assigned topics. Good questions are specific enough to research but broad enough to have multiple perspectives: 'Why do we dream?', 'Is social media actually bad for teens?', 'Could humans live on Mars?', 'Why did the Roman Empire fall?'
How it works
- 1~45s
First: the question. Ask your child to state the question clearly. Then check: 'Is that a question you can actually RESEARCH, or is it just an opinion question? Can you find evidence to answer it?' A good research question has an answer that depends on evidence, not just preference. Once the question is sharp, let your child find three different sources — articles, videos, or websites. Not three Google results from the same site — three genuinely different sources. Give them 5-7 minutes. Then ask: 'What did you find? Tell me about your three sources — who wrote them, where they're published, and what they say.' Tell me the question and the sources!
Watch for: question_framing_and_source_finding
- 2~45s
Now the critical part: are these sources actually trustworthy? For each of the three sources, ask your child: 'WHO made this? Why did they make it? How do they know what they're claiming? And could they have a reason to be biased?' These are the four pillars of source evaluation. A pharmaceutical company writing about their own drug has a bias. A random blog has no editorial oversight. Wikipedia is a starting point, not an endpoint. Let your child evaluate each source. Then ask: 'Which of your three sources do you trust MOST, and why?' Tell me how they evaluates — does they have a framework or is it gut feeling?
Watch for: critical_evaluation_of_sources
- 3~40s
Final step: synthesis. This is where most people stop — they find an answer and repeat it. Real researchers SYNTHESIZE — they combine what multiple sources say into something richer than any single source. Ask your child: 'Based on all three sources, what's your answer to the original question? But here's the rule: you must include what they AGREE on, what they DISAGREE on, and what's still UNCERTAIN.' Then: 'Can you say your answer in three sentences — one for the consensus, one for the disagreement, and one for what you still don't know?' Tell me the synthesis!
Watch for: multi_source_information_synthesis