When a student finds over 6,800 entries for a research topic, what approach should the teacher take to help her use this resource more effectively?

Helping a student navigate a large number of entries for a research topic involves teaching them effective search strategies rather than simply modifying their topic or limiting their results. Clarifying and demonstrating the procedures for composing search strings empowers the student to refine their search criteria, enabling them to filter through the overwhelming number of results more effectively.

By understanding how to construct effective search strings, the student learns to incorporate keywords, Boolean operators, and other search techniques that can yield more targeted results. This skill is crucial for research proficiency, as it enables students to find the most relevant information efficiently, adapting their search parameters as needed throughout their research process.

This approach fosters critical thinking and research skills that can be applied not only in this instance but in future endeavors, preparing the student to handle diverse research challenges independently. In contrast, simply suggesting a different topic or limiting the number of entries does not equip the student with the skills needed to tackle complex research tasks.