The Information Search Process (the ISP) and the research essay

.How one school library supports student learning by using the ISP as the framework for the Extended Essay

Abstract

Queensland Academy for Health Sciences (QAHS) is a senior secondary high school offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP). As part of the Diploma, students are required to complete a referenced research essay of four thousand words. For most, this will be their first experience of such a challenging undertaking. Problematic are the varying levels of student information literacy expertise, especially in the area of research. The challenge is to provide students with the tools to enable them to complete the essay within the guidelines set down by the IB Organisation. Kuhlthau’s ISP (Kuhlthau 2009) has been adapted to provide students with a research structure.