Research? How can the library

help?

Locating the best knowledge for my project

What is my need? Brainstorm first

Define specific topics, subtopics

What do I already know? Helps to define your need

further

What do I still need? Identify specific questions

Keywords/ searchterms

What is my search strategy? Places (virtual, physical) &

people

Targets/timelimits

Preliminary Reading/ Literature search

General Reading – the forgotten step!• Become familiar with key authors, issues, controversies,

challenges• Make links between different accounts and idea

Start with an encyclopaedia or general book/website• Solely look for background info – dip your toes in!

Look at chapter heading, index etc• Keywords, key ideas• List possible search termsMake a list of authors referred to in citations, notes, bibliographies • Use contents, indices, bibliographies as search tools!

Keeping the Research Log

• Any reflections on your topic?• Did your ideas change?• Have you discovered new issues,

controversies?• Do you need to rethink your original plan?• Keep new information in mind – you could

change your plan! You are able to refine your thinking and show evidence of how your ideas have changed.

who wrote it? At what level is it written? Why did they write it?

Where did they How can I use it? When did they write it?

write it? w w w w w

WWW - Evaluating Sources

Taken from an idea by Anne-Marie Tarter

Where to start looking..

• Library subject Index

• Library Searchstar :

School intranet Link http://wallace/MLS.NET/enethosted.aspx?hosted=0

• Public Libraries – at http://www.librarieswest.org.uk/

http://www.bristol.gov.uk/page/24-hour-library

Life beyond Google!

www.google.co.uk www.dogpile.co.uk http://uk.altavista.com/ Don’t forget their

ADVANCED SEARCHES

• – tutorials for researching your own subjecthttp://www.vtstutorials.co.uk/

• - Search, assess, record, create bibliographyhttp://noodletools.com/

• - Collect, highlight, rememberhttp://www.diigo.com/

Reading for research

Move from making copies to making connections

• Think: does this make sense? How does it fit in with my existing knowledge? Is it significant?

• Compare: information from different sources. Are there links, contraditions?

• Assess: is it useful?• Construct: your own argument. Where does this fit in? Don’t

be afraid to disagree.

Create ideas of your own.

Recording your readingDon’t wait until you are finishing your report to track down the sources you used…create your bibliography as you go!

Details of source TOPIC

Where does this fit in with your project?

RECORD

Major ideas/where do they fit in with your

project

RELATE

Connect new information to what

you know already

REFLECT

Add in your own ideas and questions etc

Author, title, place of pubn, date, publisher, pages

Influences

Painting GuernicaWas not the painting he had in mind at the start(could be c & p)

By this time Picasso was……….

Painting shows a change in direction – suddenly political Who commissioned it and why?

From an example given by Anne Marie Tarter

Referencing & Bibliography

For a brief outline for referencing specific texts and ideas, follow Lucy Smith’s Prezi:

http://tiny.cc/kq16bw

Reference generator

www.neilstoolbox.com

Make sure you understand the basics, before launching into Neil’s toolbox, which will help you generate references.