(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. Realising Opportunities National Conference 2015 Academic Research Workshop

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. 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

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. 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

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. 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

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. 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

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. 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

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. 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

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. Library Resources o Books: e.g. Gulliver’s Travels o Journals: e.g. Journal of African-American Literature Internet Resources o Search Engines e.g. Google o Online media e.g. Guardian website Offline Media o Newspapers e.g. The Times o Magazines e.g. The Spectator o TV e.g. The Sopranos Other Research o Interviews Data o Case Studies How many did you think of?

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. Finding Information Academic journals

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. 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

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. 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.

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. Choosing your sources

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. 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

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. 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)? Primary Un-interpreted / Raw data Secondary Interpretation / Analysis Both Primary and Secondary

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. 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?

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. 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

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. Note taking

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. 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

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. Note taking Recording 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

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. Note taking What 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)

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. 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.

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. 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)?

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. 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

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. 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.

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. 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

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. Additional Resources Information on EPQ: epq.php efault.aspx Google Scholar: scholar.google.co.uk Online EP resources:

(c) 2012 The University of Manchester all rights reserved. Questions?