(c) 2012 the university of manchester all rights reserved. realising opportunities national...

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

Realising Opportunities National Conference 2015

Academic Research Workshop


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


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


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


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


Finding information


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


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


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?


Finding Information Academic journals


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


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.


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



• 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



• 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?


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



Note taking


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


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


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)


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


What have you learnt? Q. Where is the best place to start when

starting your research?

A.The topic/ research question.


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)?


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


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.


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


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


Questions?

(c) 2012 the university of manchester all rights reserved. realising opportunities national...

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