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The 3 R’s: Research, Reading and Referencing Dr. Jillian Schedneck Faculty of Arts Arts Support

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Presentation on theme: "The 3 R’s: Research, Reading and Referencing Dr. Jillian Schedneck Faculty of Arts Arts Support"— Presentation transcript:

1 The 3 R’s: Research, Reading and Referencing Dr. Jillian Schedneck Faculty of Arts Arts Support arts.support@adelaide.edu.au

2 In this presentation:  Your assignments  Gathering data  Reading  Referencing

3 Academic skills Researching, Reading and Referencing are skills that you will learn over time. Don’t panic. You will get this. Always help available: arts.support@adelaide.edu.au Drop in hours: Tuesday 11-1 Thursday 2-4 Hub Central Seminar Room Level 3 Academic Skills Resources course. 3 3

4 Where to begin: with the assignment question In most societies, we allow parents to make most decisions for their children. Does this conflict with our fundamental values particularly regarding freedom of choice? What do you think? Yes, no or sometimes? Yes Parents making decisions for their children does conflict with our fundamental values. No Parents making decisions for their children does not conflict with our fundamental values. Sometimes Only in certain limited circumstances do parents’ decision making conflict with our values of freedom.

5 How to find appropriate and varied readings After you’ve chosen a question, you’ll want to find some sources to learn more. Now imagine this is your question: Identify an example of restriction or censorship of music or art, and use this example to discuss the concept of freedom of expression, either defending or disputing the particular restrictions. What are the key term/s in this question? music AND censorship University of Adelaide

6 The library You don’t even need to leave the comfort of your bedroom. Go to the library homepage: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/ The Search Engine for the library is in the middle of the homepage. Or use Google Scholar through our library page. 6 6

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8 Refining your search The best way to use a search engine is to do a ‘Boolean’ search. There’s a tutorial you can take about Boolean searching (go to http://libguides.adelaide.edu.au/home).http://libguides.adelaide.edu.au/home The main thing to remember is that you have some options to help you get good results: AND OR NOT 8 8

9 Source reliability Rank these sources from the most to the least reliable. 9 9 2nd: BOOKS: ‘Reliability’ determined by age of text and the subject matter of the course (You’d generally find more recent sources than a book written in the early 1990s for an essay on contemporary China, for example) 3 rd : POPULAR MAGAZINES: These can be excellent for facts, especially about recent events, but are not peer reviewed 4 th : WIKIPEDIA: No way to verify information; use mainly as a first step to getting key terms 1st. Up to date, peer- reviewed journal articles

10 Help The library is staffed by a wonderful team of Research Librarians. They create homepages for every discipline you will be studying in.homepages My Uni, Other Courses, Digital Toolkit 10

11 Avoid frustration Your sources don’t have to, and often will not, match your topic directly. You have to think creatively here. It is your job to connect the research you find to your question. Background, theoretical (censorship / freedom), examples

12 How do you read?

13 Skimming and careful reading—is this a highly relevant source? You’ve chosen some sources, now you have to decide: How relevant is each one? Decide quickly which materials you will read in detail and which you can skip. Skim the title and abstract. Try to grasp the focus and argument. This will take practice. If the source is somewhat relevant, skim the article by reading through the section titles, and then the topic sentences, to get the main ideas. If it is very relevant, expend some effort reading through carefully. This doesn’t work for literary texts or primary historical sources, or for philosophy texts. However, you can still skim here to get an initial understanding, and then read more closely. 13

14 Source analysis and critical reading You will need to analyse all of your sources. This means reading actively and critically (asking questions). Ask yourself questions as you read: After reading the abstract and first paragraph, what does the main point of this article / chapter seem to be? After each paragraph or section, ask yourself what the author is saying? How is she saying it? How is she trying to prove her point? Reading Critically, Efficiently and Effectively, a short video in the Academic Skills resources course, will help with this. 14

15 Critical reading basics Filling in these blanks can get you thinking about critical reading: 1) The main purpose or function of this article / chapter is ________________________. 2) The key message the author wants to convey is __________________. They do this by ________________________. 3) The most important and / or interesting information in this article / chapter is ____________. 15

16 Why take notes as you read? They aid memory. They will become the raw material of your essay. Taking notes forces you to be an active reader. You will continually clarify and adjust your perception of your essay topic. Your notes will develop their own format, depending on your purposes and on the nature of the sources. 16

17 How to take notes? Summarise ideas and arguments select points relevant to your purpose understand and interpret the source Clearly identify the source, give the bibliographical details. 17

18 Using Sources Now that you’ve read an article or two, start writing: Don’t wait until you’ve read everything to start writing. This will take too long! Jump in and get started. Ask yourself: Where and how will I use this source in my essay? Which of my reasons does this source support (it can be more than one)? Try starting out by writing down the connection between the source and your argument. How does it support your claim? 18

19 Using Sources Using source well is a skill, and will take time to do well. Do not fret. Here are some basic tips: The sources support YOUR argument. They DO NOT replace your argument. They do not speak for you. Only refer to sources within the BODY of your paragraphs. References to sources (in the form of quotes or paraphrases) should not introduce or conclude paragraphs. If you think of your paragraphs like a sandwich, then your sources are the meat and cheese, not the bread.

20 Two ways to use sources in your writing 1.Paraphrase—summarise a part of the source in your own words Even when you are just referring to an idea that you have read about, you still acknowledge the author of the idea. (Do this most of the time) 2.Quote directly from the source (Do this sparingly) Using Sources module in Academic Skills Resources

21 Referencing sources: how does it make you feel? 21

22 Take a calm approach to referencing When referencing, you are doing two simple things: following directions keeping track of your sources (don’t lose them!) Why do it? To acknowledge the ideas of others It is part of your development as a scholar Proves your points are credible

23 23 17 Citation Styles Used in the Faculty There are a range of citation styles. The most popular for this Faculty include: Harvard (Author-Date) – Used by the majority of disciplines in the Faculty. MLA – Used by English and Creative Writing Disciplines. Chicago (Footnote) Style – Used by History. Referencing module in Academic Skills Resources

24 Referencing: In Text and Works Cited A reference comes in two parts: ‘in-text’ and in the ‘Works Cited’ list at the end of the essay. You only usually put the basics (Author and Page No. for MLA, Author, Date and Page Number for Harvard) in the in-text citation in the actual essay the full details of the source go at the end in the Works Cited List. In-Text [using MLA]: (Reed 3) Works Cited [using MLA]: Reed, John. “Dickens and Personification.” Dickens Quarterly 24.1 (2007): 3-17. EBSCOhost. 25 Feb 2013.

25 Examples of in-text referencing In-Text: Harvard (Author-Date) Style Quoting: McKenna (2007, p.17) suggests the Anzac Spirit is “universal.” It has been suggested that the Anzac Spirit is “universal” (McKenna 2007, p.17). Paraphrasing: It could be said that the Anzac Spirit actually appears in many nations (McKenna 2007, p.17). When you are talking about the overall work (such as a book) or research interests of a scholar you can just reference that book. McKenna (2007) is interested in the dark side of patriotism.

26 Assumed Knowledge Some information is assumed knowledge and you do not need to reference it. You wouldn’t cite the date World War II broke out (as scholars agree it was September 1939) or the fact that Sydney is in NSW. ‘Assumed Knowledge’ can be a tricky term. The excellent Purdue Owl resource has a list of ‘Assumed Knowledge’ points (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589 /02/.)Assumed Knowledge

27 Works Cited Some key points to remember about a Works Cited list: List the works you have cited from in Alphabetical Order (by Author Surname) Only list the works you have quoted or paraphrased or for any reason cited in your essay Make sure that everything is listed using the correct style (Harvard, MLA, Chicago and other Referencing Styles all have their own format) Make sure the work is referenced in the correct style for the kind of document it is (there are different ways to reference different types of documents, including books, journals and electronic documents)

28 Referencing help is at hand! For MLA, try the UofA English Guide (http://www.hss.adelaide.edu.au/english/studentinfo/referenc e/)UofA English Guidehttp://www.hss.adelaide.edu.au/english/studentinfo/referenc e/ For Harvard, https://www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/referencing_guide s/harvardStyleGuide.pdf https://www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/referencing_guide s/harvardStyleGuide.pdf For Chicago (Footnote) Style, try the Online Guide: (http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/16/ch14/ch14_sec245. html)Online Guidehttp://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/16/ch14/ch14_sec245. html There are also a range of Style Guides supplied by the Writing Centre: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/referenci ng_guides / http://www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/referenci ng_guides /

29 Final tips Use the modules in Academic Skills Resources as you go: Using Sources Referencing Sources Tips for reading critically, effectively and efficiently Making an Argument Start essays early, and complete them bit by bit. Do your hardest thing first. Be strategic about your free time during the day and how you use that time.


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