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Research Skills for Your Essay

Research Skills for Your Essay. Where to begin…. Starting the search task for real. Finding and selecting the best resources are the key to any project Use a variety of different resources

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Research Skills for Your Essay

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  1. Research Skills for Your Essay Where to begin…

  2. Starting the search task for real • Finding and selecting the best resources are the key to any project • Use a variety of different resources • This will show the reader that you have researched fully and increase the chances of using credible resources

  3. Where do you look first? • Google • NO • Wikipedia • NO • Ask your mate • NO • The Library • OF COURSE

  4. Why the Library • It’s the gateway to all knowledge • Books • Academic journals • Electronic resources • ….and more

  5. Print Resources • Books • Generally reliable • Authors credentials can be checked • Bibliography provides list of other useful resources • Currency, check the publication date. Remember that the publication process can take a long time

  6. Book Resources • Reviews and Abstracts • Both can be used to decide whether an item is likely to be of use. • A review is another’s opinion of the text • An abstract is a summary of the contents.

  7. Search Tip

  8. Search Tip • Often an abstract will provide all the information you need about the contents of a book, and provide another item for your bibliography

  9. Search Tip

  10. Search tip • Use the bibliography to find the titles of other resources that might be of use

  11. Journals • Magazines written for an academic audience • Up to date • Peer reviewed

  12. World Wide Web • There are billons of pages of information on the Internet • Books • Newspapers • Audio video • Websites

  13. Search Tip

  14. Search Tip • To find the right resources you need to select the right tools. Using the best search tool can save a lot of time and retrieve higher quality more relevant resources

  15. Search Tip

  16. Search Tools • Search engines

  17. Search Tip

  18. Search Process • Focus • Strategize • Refine • Evaluate

  19. Search Tip

  20. Search tip • A good online search starts off-line. Read about your subject. Think about what you already know and what you need to know • Think about keywords and phrases and where best to search • Adjust your search by widening or narrowing the range. Improve it by adding new words that you come across • Decide how credible the document is

  21. Search Tip

  22. Search Strategy • Dream senario: Getting the best results and in the first few pages • Beware of sponsored links

  23. Search Tip

  24. Search tip • There is always more than one way to describe what you’re looking for • Brainstorm synonyms • Nouns are better than verbs as verbs tend to be vague • Put the most important words first • Incorrect spellings can be a problem – use the spelling help if there is one

  25. Search Tip

  26. Search Tips • Use the end of the web address to assess what type of site the info comes from • .com • .edu or .ac or .sch • .gov • .org

  27. Search Tip

  28. Ask an Expert • Use an “ask the expert site” • Contact the author or editor via the website link

  29. Evaluating • Credible : check credentials of site and authors, print vs online, web addresses • Accurate : compare sources • Reliable : what is the aim of the site, does it have bias, check web addresses • Relevant : Quality not quantity. Does it answer the question. Check the date of publication. Does it match the above criteria?

  30. Academic Fraud • What is it? • Stealing others work or ideas • Copying from a friend • Buying from the Internet • Help from others • Cut and paste without attribution

  31. I didn’t mean to do it • The information came from a book but I can’t remember which one. • Can’t express it any better than the website has but I changed a few words. • My mom wrote the summary because I was running short of time. • I reused an essay from last year – well it was my own work.

  32. How to avoid it • Credit facts and ideas • Be organised by keeping a record of all the resources you use. • Ensure all citations are in “quotation marks” • Paraphrase • Summerise • Clearly identify source - make a bibliography

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