Research Skills Workshop

RSW 2012

Learning Outcomes

• Develop the research skills you already have

• Increase your understanding of where you can find information

• Be able to assess the quality of the information you find

• Reference what you find

RSW 2012

To…

What are Research Skills?

Being able to find information and use it effectively

RSW 2012

How do you plan an assignment?

RSW 2012

a) Think about what you have

been asked to dob) Set yourself a timetable of

work

c) List key words

d) Browse the LC catalogue & the

Internet

g) Write up an outline

f) Look through everything you

have found

e) Keep a record of what

you have found

Where can you find the information for an assignment?

The Internet is not the only way to research!!!!!

RSW 2012

Where can you find the information for an assignment? (Continued)

RSW 2012

Books & e-books Newspapers Lesson Handouts

Magazines/ Journals

Your Tutor

Learning Centre Staff

Existing Essays & Reports

City Bit

Atlases

Travel Guides

TV Programmes

Where can you find the information for an assignment? (Continued)

RSW 2012

Click here

for the

Information Station

Where can you find the information for an assignment? (Continued)

RSW 2012 Information Station link.

RSW 2012

Country Specific.

You can limit your search to the UK by searching your subject like this

e.g. Building Regulations: UK

You can also search for your topic and a country

e.g. Colleges: Japan

How can I make the most of search

engines?

General Searches

Type in exactly what it is you are looking for

e.g. Southampton City College If that doesn’t bring up what you want, try to think of different ways to find the same thing

e.g. Colleges in Southampton

How can I make the most of search engines?

RSW 2012

Quotation Marks, Question Marks & Dates

If you still can’t find what you want try using “ “, ? or a specific date

e.g. “Southampton City College” / Where is Southampton City College? / Southampton City College in 1992

These narrow you search down

What websites can I use?The Big Thr3e

RSW 2012

http://en.wikipedia.org http://www.google.co.uk

GoogleWikipedia Bing

http://www.bing.com

What websites can I use?

But did you know about…

RSW 2012

Google Scholarhttp://scholar.google.com

Kartoohttp://www.kartoo.com/

Exaleadhttp://www.exalead.com/search/

Others include: uk.ask.com uk.altavista.com uk.search.yahoo.com

What do you do with the information once you’ve got it?

RSW 2012

Is the information:

Reliable?Who wrote it? - Are they an expert in the subject? Is the author well known? Has the information been published by an individual or a company?

Objective?Is it biased from a certain point of view? What motive does the author have for writing the information? Valid?Is it fact or opinion? Is it backed up by research or references? From this Country?This is particularly important in relation to law and regulations or health and safety.

What details will tell me if it’s reliable, valid, objective and relevant?

Books & Journals

RSW 2012

Assess the quality of your book or journal

• How old is the information?

• Is there newer information you should be looking at?

• Has the book/journal been published by an individual or a company?

• Is the author well-known?

Websites

RSW 2012

What details will tell me if it’s reliable, valid, objective and relevant?

• Assess the quality of the website

• How old is the information?

• When was it last updated?

• Who designed the website & why?

• Check the ‘URL’ address

• Check the ‘About Us’ section

• Check the ‘Contact Us’ section

Activity

• Given what you’ve just been told, can you evaluate whether this information is reliable, objective and valid?

Research Skills Activity

RSW 2012

8. What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism happens when you pass off someone else’s work, ideas and words as your own.

For example, if you copy and paste information from a website without referencing it you are committing plagiarism. The next section will explain how you

can still use other people’s work without plagiarising.

RSW 2012

9. Why should I reference my work?

“Credit where credit’s due”

Referencing = Giving credit to the person who originally came up with the idea.

To do this…

Mention the name of the person that you are quoting as you go through your assignment

At the end of your assignment, list all the books/websites etc you have used. This is called a ‘Bibliography’.

RSW 2012

10. How do I reference?

a) Referencing Within Your Writing

If a quote fits naturally in your sentence, place the date of publication and page number of the book in brackets. Follow this with your quote in quotation marks. For example:

According to Smith (2008, p18) you must “put things that you haven’t said in quotation marks”

If the author’s name doesn’t fit into your sentence, put the author’s name in brackets before the date and page number. For example:

“It would be better to use an author that is an expert on a subject.” (Jones 2006, p6)

RSW 2012

Books

 

 

How Do I Reference?

b)The BibliographyThe author’s surname, followed by their initial(The year of publication in brackets)The title of the book in italicsThe book’s editionThe place of publication: followed by the publisher’s name

It should look like this…

Martin, A. (2011) The Research Skills Workshop, 2nd Edition, Southampton: SCC Publishers.

The author’s surname, followed by their initial(The year of publication in brackets)“The title of the article in quotation marks”The title of the journal or magazine in italics(The volume number/issue number in brackets)The pages on which the article is found.

It should look like this… 

Barnett, M. (2010) ‘Enhancing the customer experience’, Management Today, 37(2), pp.35-39.

Magazines and Journals

 

 

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How Do I Reference?

b)The BibliographyWebsites

 

 

The author’s surname, followed by their initialDate of publicationThe title of the website in italicsThe full web address(The date that you accessed the website in brackets)

It should look like this…

Ireland, J. (2011) The Research Skills Workshop. Available at www.southampton-city.ac.uk (Accessed: 6 January 2011).

Title of programme in italics(Year of transmission in brackets)Name of channelDate of transmission

It should look like this…

Torchwood (2011) BBC 1 Television, 16 September.

Television

 

 

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11. Where do I find the information for referencing?

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Books

Journals/Magazines

Websites

Look at…• The Second Page In• The Contents Page• The Index Look at…

• The Front Cover• The Very First or Last

Page• The Contents Page

Look at…• The Site Map• The ‘About Us’

Section• The Very Top or

Bottom of the Page

Remember…• Plan your assignment

• Keep a record of the things you look at

• Quote directly or paraphrase

• Information for reference can be found on the second page of most books & the inside page of journals

And…

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Most importantly

Not everything on the

Internet is valid!!!!

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Referencing Activity

• Use your referencing guides to reference the following correctly:

• Book• Journal article• Website

RSW 2009/10

Any Questions?

RSW 2012