Post on 19-Dec-2015
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Realising Opportunities National Conference 2015
Academic Research Workshop
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Aims of Workshop
• Prepare you to undertake your Realising Opportunities assignment or EPQ
• Equip you with the skills needed to be an effective researcher
• Provide you with tips on how to use your time and energy wisely
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Outline of Workshop
• Where to start with your research
• Finding information
• Choosing sources
• Note taking
Lots of group activities to give you a chance to practice these skills
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Ideas for research topics• Who has an idea about what they would
like to research for the project/ assignment?
• Share your ideas/ interested with the rest of your table
• Feedback
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REFLECT
Choose topic or Pose a
question
Apply what you have
learnt
Do individual
or joint research
Identify how to extend
knowledge
Identify what you already know
Collate research
(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved.
Finding information
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Finding Information
• Why bother finding information?• Gathering facts and evidence• Having a ‘conversation’ with academic
community
• Lots of potential sources of information out there• Need breadth and depth of information
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This is the start of the research phase.
Information sources are everywhere. How many can you think of?
In your groups, list as many as you can in 5 minutes.
Finding Appropriate Information Sources
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Library Resourceso Books: e.g. Gulliver’s Travelso Journals: e.g. Journal of African-American Literature
Internet Resourceso Search Engines e.g. Googleo Online media e.g. Guardian website
Offline Mediao Newspapers e.g. The Timeso Magazines e.g. The Spectatoro TV e.g. The Sopranos
Other Researcho Interviews Datao Case Studies
How many did you think of?
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Finding Information Academic journals
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Finding information
Tips on using the internet
• Search terms: Be specific and try different combinations of terms to get the best results
• Search engines: Try Google Scholar - more credible results
• Websites: Check URL (Universal Resource Locator) - provides information about the organisation hosting the site
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Internet Sources
How would you be able to tell if an Internet source is reliable or not?
•Who published the information?• Why did they publish it?• When was the information published?• Where was the information published?
• Remember! Use a recognised search engine e.g. Google.
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Choosing your sources
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Choosing your sources
• Even with specific search terms you will come across lots of information
• You need to decide which sources are relevant and which are not
• Limited time/energy• Be selective
• How can you decide which sources to use• Primary versus secondary sources• Asking questions about sources
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Choosing your sources
• Definitions of primary and secondary sources
Activity:• Which of the sources you identified are primary and which are secondary (and which are both)?
PrimaryUn-interpreted
/ Raw data
SecondaryInterpretation
/ Analysis
Both Primary and Secondary
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Choosing your sources
• Knowing whether a source is primary or secondary is important but this alone will not help you to determine what sources to include • Lots of the information you use will be
secondary
Activity:What questions should you ask in order to determine whether to spend your time studying any given source?
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Possible questions to ask of your sources…• Relevance to topic• What are the main ideas?• Author – what are their credentials? • Date – is it recent enough?• Reliability of information • Intended audience• Balanced view?• Is the argument valid (do conclusions follow from
evidence)?
Write down the 5 most important questions that your group has come up
Choosing your sources
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Note taking
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Note taking
• Good note taking is essential when conducting research• Recording key ideas/content for your argument• Noting source details for referencing
• Don’t rely on your memory • You WILL forget things• Your assignment is about the process of research
as much as the final product – note-taking is one way of evidencing this process
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Note takingRecording key ideas
• Do not copy out large sections - paraphrase sentences (put into your own words)
• Short phrases are easier to remember and use later
• But, make sure you include enough detail that your notes make sense later
• Keep the question in mind• Only make a note of information that is relevant to
your question
• Time spent reading/taking notes should be proportional to the importance of your source
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Note takingWhat is plagiarism?
Avoiding Plagiarism
Noting source details:• You need acknowledge (in your assignment) where you
got your information → Referencing• In order to reference effectively you need to record the
details of all the sources that you have used • Author• Title (Book)• Date• Publisher• Website• (Make a note of page numbers for quotes)
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REFLECT
Choose topic or Pose a
question
Apply what you have
learnt
Do individual
or joint research
Identify how to extend
knowledge
Identify what you already know
Collate research
(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved.
What have you learnt? Q. Where is the best place to start when
starting your research?
A.The topic/ research question.
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What have you learnt? Q. What things should you consider when
deciding the reliability of a source?
A.• A. Relevance to topic• What are the main ideas?• Author – what are their credentials? • Date – is it recent enough?• Reliability of information • Intended audience• Balanced view?• Is the argument valid (do conclusions follow from evidence)?
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What have you learnt? Q. What is the difference between primary
and secondary sources of information?
A.
• Primary: raw data, experiments, case studies, personal observations.
• Secondary: textbooks, academic journals
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What have you learnt? Q. Why is referencing the source of
information you have used so important?
A. To avoid plagiarism. All books, journals, websites and any other sources of information used, must be referenced appropriately.
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Summary• Think carefully about what kinds of information
you need and where you can find this (save time by looking in the right places from the beginning!)
• Be critical and ask questions of your sources when deciding whether to include them (and whether to even read them in full)
• Take notes when reading sources (source details and key points)
• Keep your question in mind at all times
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Additional Resources
• Information on EPQ: http://web.aqa.org.uk/qual/projects/extended-project-epq.php
• http://www.edexcel.com/quals/project/level3/Pages/default.aspx
• Google Scholar: scholar.google.co.uk
• Online EP resources: www.manchester.ac.uk/extendedproject
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Questions?