Teaching the SLICE research method in the classroom

Extended essays, project work and independent research give students an opportunity to develop skills they will need beyond school. But simply finding information is not the same as knowing how to research.

Students need to know where to look, how to judge what they find and how to use information responsibly. They also need to understand how to build an argument from reliable evidence rather than simply collecting facts.

With this in mind, it’s important to consider how to teach research skills in a way that students can apply across different subjects and projects.

The SLICE research method offers a simple framework to get started.

What is the SLICE research method?

SLICE gives students a clear structure for thinking about their research. Each letter represents an important part of the process: Sources, Library, Integrity, Citation and Evaluation.

1. Sources

Students need to look beyond the first few results of a Google search. Different sources serve different purposes, and understanding when to use each one is an important research skill.

Start by introducing students to different types of sources, including primary sources, secondary sources, academic research, books and journalistic articles. Ask them what each type can tell them and when it might be most useful.

For example, a History student researching a past event might use a primary source to understand how people experienced it at the time, alongside secondary sources to understand how historians have interpreted those events.

2. Library

School libraries can give students access to books, journals, databases and other resources that they may not find through a standard web search. Show students what resources are available through your school and give them time to practise using them.

This is also an opportunity to introduce students to responsible use of AI research tools. AI can help students explore a topic or identify useful search terms, but it should not replace the process of finding and checking original sources.

Read more about AI and education and explore our glossary of AI terms for teachers.

3. Integrity

Research only has value when students can show where their ideas and evidence came from.

Teach students what plagiarism looks like and why copying, even unintentionally, can undermine their work. This includes understanding when they need to acknowledge another person’s words, ideas, data or research.

Academic integrity also applies to AI. Students should understand their school’s expectations for using tools such as ChatGPT and know when AI-generated content needs to be checked, acknowledged or avoided altogether.

Discussing AI openly can help students make responsible choices rather than simply telling them not to use it.

Find out more about developing an AI policy for your school.

4. Citation

Good research should be traceable. When students use evidence, their readers should be able to find the original source. Introduce students to the referencing system they will use for their qualification of subject. Common systems include MLA, Chicago and Harvard. Students do not need to become experts in every system, but they should understand the basic principles of citing sources and be consistent in how they reference their work.

Small mistakes in formatting are less important than developing the habit of recording sources as they research. Encourage students to keep their references organised from the beginning rather than trying to reconstruct them at the end.

5. Evaluation

Students need to ask questions about the quality, relevance and purpose of everything they use. Who produced it? When was it published? What evidence does it use? Is the information supported by other reliable sources? Most importantly, does it actually help answer the research question?

These questions encourage students to move from simply collecting information to making informed decisions about what belongs in their work.

Applying SLICE to extended research projects

One of the strengths of SLICE is that students can use the same framework across different qualifications and subjects.

• For an IB Extended Essay, students can use SLICE when developing their research question, finding evidence and building their argument. The framework can also help them keep track of sources and reflect on how they selected and used evidence.

• For the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), SLICE provides a useful structure for the independent research process. Students can use it to plan their research, explore different types of evidence and demonstrate that they have considered the reliability of their sources.

• In International GCSE History, students can apply SLICE when investigating a historical question. They might compare primary and secondary sources, use library databases to find historical research and evaluate the reliability and usefulness of evidence before using it to support an argument.

The same process can also support research in English, Science and other subjects where students need to work independently with evidence.

Practical ways to teach research skills

Build a source-sorting activity

Give students a selection of sources about the same topic. Include a mixture of primary and secondary sources, academic and journalistic material, and sources of varying quality.

Ask students to sort them according to type and discuss when each source might be useful. Then ask them to identify which sources they would trust most for different research questions and explain why.

This gives students practice with both Sources and Evaluation without asking them to complete a full research project.

Create a research checklist

Turn SLICE into a simple checklist that students can use whenever they research.

Before using a source, they could ask:

• S – Sources: What type of source is this?
• L – Library: Where did I find it? What other resources could I check?
• I – Integrity: Am I using this information responsibly?
• C – Citation: Have I recorded where it came from?
• E – Evaluation: Is it reliable, relevant and useful?

Keep the checklist visible while students work. Over time, the aim is for these questions to become part of their normal research habits.

For more ideas about using AI responsibly in the classroom, explore our guidance on using ChatGPT for lesson planning and our evaluation of what is and isn’t working with AI in schools.

Building independent researchers

Research skills develop through practice. Students will not become confident researchers simply by being given a list of databases or shown how to add a reference to a bibliography.

They need regular opportunities to make decisions: which source to use, where to search, what evidence to trust and how to acknowledge it.

SLICE gives teachers a simple structure for making those decisions visible and teachable. Once students understand the five areas, they can start applying the same thinking across subjects and qualifications.

But finding a source alone is only the beginning. The next step is deciding whether the information you have found deserves your trust.

In our next post in this series, we look at two frameworks – SIFT and CRAAP – that can help students evaluate sources more critically.