How do I do my research?

1. How do I do my research?

2. What are we researching? What do we already know? What questions do we have?

3. QuADs Questions What do I need to know? Answers What are the basic answers? Details Go into more detail? Sources Where did I find this information? Can I find at least 2 sources for each fact I find?

4. Questions. . .

5. Categorising questions. . . How could we sort our questions into categories or groups to make our research more effective?

6. Where can you look to find the details? How many places can you list?

7. The internet Encyclopaedias Text books Newspapers Magazines Leaflets Asking an expert Articles News archives Documentaries ???

8. Internet The Internet is a convenient and relatively simple tool for research. Almost anything you want to find out can be found somewhere on the world wide web. To research a topic, all you need to do is choose your search engine and start searching. Do you know the URL’s of any useful search engines? Once you have pressed search, a page will display possible sites which may be of interest to you. It is then up to you to pick the site which you think will be most relevant to your research.

9. Internet French, milk Search Learn French on Line – the only free line service with real tutors. Learn how to ask for coffee with milk…www.learn… Buy French dairy products today direct from your Internet…www.dairyf… Milk – a healthy source of calcium. French mothers recommend it…www.milkyc… Which site do you think will tell you the French word for milk?

10. Internet Although the Internet is quick and convenient, there are lots of reasons why we should not over-rely on it. Have you ever found yourself searching on the Internet for something and becoming frustrated by your search? Why was this? In pairs, list 5 possible drawbacks of Internet searching? _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________

11. Question your sources! Just because something is on the internet, doesn’t mean you should trust it!

12. What would lead you to trust this?

13. Why does this website look plausible? This word suggests that they print actual publications Official sounding language A Nobel prize gives this authority

14. What is there to suggest the ‘facts’ here are untrue? Tells you to think about it! ‘Improbable’ means unlikely A joke!

15. Cats do not like men with long beards especially long dark beards. What is it about this sentence that sounds believable? This sentence is a statement. Statements always sound factual. Be careful. . . They aren’t always true!

16. Cats do not like men with long beards especially long dark beards. What is it about this sentence that sounds believable? Often writers will express an opinion or idea in a statement to make it sound like a true fact!

17. Fact or fiction? Which of these are actually facts? Which could be misleading? • The Tree Octopus lives in the Pacific Northwest. • Women live longer than men. • Boys are braver than girls. • Chocolate can help you lose weight. • Running is bad for your knees. • A dog can bark louder than a cat can meow.

18. They are all just opinions, but phrased as facts! • The Tree Octopus lives in the Pacific Northwest. • Women live longer than men. • Boys are braver than girls. • Chocolate can help you lose weight. • Running is bad for your knees. • A dog can bark louder than a cat can meow.

19. Who wrote it? • You should always think about who has written the book/article you are reading. • What is their reason for writing this? • Are they biased? For example. . .

20. Why would you question. . . • An article about spiders written by an agoraphobic person (someone who is afraid of spiders)? • An article about meat eating written by a vegetarian? • An article about ghost written by someone who makes their money ‘contacting the dead’?

21. Question it!

22. .ac.uk – universities end in .ac.uk .gov.uk – this means that the website is a government site. .com – means the website is commercial; this means they make money! They may be trying to sell you something, so watch out for bias! .co.uk – means the site is a UK site. They may be commercial too, but not always. .org – this means that the site is anon-profit organisation (a school, a charity etc) A little tip! Look at the web address ending

23. Guess the domain name! 'Play' a dvd/books website The University of Sheffield BBC website Cancer research DirectGov: a public service website .ac.uk .org .co.uk .com

24. .org – organization .com – company .sch – school (used outside of US) .k12 – most US school sites .edu – US higher ed .gov – US government (add country code for outside US) .ac – higher ed outside of US usually used with country code, example, “.ac.uk” .net – network .co – Company (if paired with a country code, example “.co.uk,” the state of Colorado or the country, Columbia)

25. Independent research I’m sure you’ve sometimes been asked to complete a project, or answer a question which you didn’t know very much about. Can you think of any topics you’ve had to research in any subject? • What school subjects might ask you to research the following projects? • Fashion of the 1920s __________________ • How to make chocolate __________________ • Volcanoes __________________ • Conditions on Mars __________________ • Shakespeare __________________ • Buddhism __________________

26. Finding information It doesn’t matter what subject your are researching, there are some simple ways of finding exactly what you need every time. Where could you go to find information on Volcanoes and how they work? _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________

27. Indexes Often you are not just asked to write about a topic but to find specific information on a topic. This is where an index page can come in handy. Do you know where writers normally locate their index pages? If you were asked to find specific information on the Volcano of Pompeii, which letter would you look under? You would probably look under ‘p’ as Pompeii is the specific keyword you are looking for. If you found no information under ‘p’ you might then resort to looking under ‘v’ for volcano.

28. Photography 176 Political Strategies 44 Pollution 79 Pompeii 20 Population increase 110 Pressure 39 Preventative measures 60 Protection from earthquakes 12 Flooding 198 Recovery Operations 135 Once you have decided which letter to look under, you just need to find the relevantpage number. To find information on the volcano of Pompeii you would go to page:

29. Encyclopaedias Encyclopedias are a useful resource because they provide information on a wide variety of topics, from archery to zoology. Often encyclopaedias include pictures to help readers visualize the information they are trying to learn and digest. What are some of the potential problems with relying on encyclopaedias for information and research?

30. Encyclopaedias

31. Newspapers and magazines Newspapers and magazines are a great source of up-to-date information. You can get hold of them at libraries or from newsagents. Atabloid newspaperspecializes in popular news and gossip. Abroadsheet newspaperis generally more serious and will focus more on politics and current affairs. Magazines are very varied in their level of seriousness and usually target a particular group of people with particular interests. What magazines do you read? What sort of people do you think they are targeted at?

32. Your turn! Imagine you are completing a project on healthy eating. Which magazines would help you to find out more information on this topic? You do not need to find out any information about vegetarian food – your only task is to find out which magazines would help you to research the topic if you were asked to complete a project with this title. Where would you go to do this research?

33. Other people Other people can often be a personal and colourful source of information. Different people know different things and often just asking friends and family for ideas can be a great help. Here are some people who may be able to help you with your research: • teachers • grandparents • older and younger friends • parents or guardians • librarians • tourist information guides. Can you think of any more people who could help you with research?

34. Phone a friend! Can you think of anyone you know who might be able to help you with any of the questions below? • How many states are there in America? • What was life like before television? • What is the French word for milk? • How is glass made?

35. Never forget!! The best way to do research is to use a variety of searching tools. You can then be sure you are getting a varied interpretation of the topic. It will also help you to form your own opinions and ideas on the topic so that you can present the information in your own words.

36. Sum it up in 6! Read the article. In your own words, sum up what the article tells you in 6 bullet points.

37. The Dewey Decimal Classification System This system divides up knowledge into ten main areas. Each area is allocated 100 numbers. For example, all the encyclopaedias and reference books are numbered from 001 to 099. All the books about languages have numbers 400–499 written on the spines of the books. Books about literature will be found between 800–899. When you go to the library, you can head for the numbers that deal with the subject you are researching. Libraries usually keep a copy of the system on a wall.

38. The Dewey Decimal Classification System

39. The Dewey Decimal Classification System Within each section, the different areas of the subject are allocated numbers. So, in the language section each language will have a different section of the numbers from 400–499. Sometimes a book will be on a very specialized subject. The Dewey system can give a book a number which has decimal points. So, this way the librarian never runs out of numbers.

40. Finding information Quite often we are looking for specific information. If that’s what you have to do, then a good place to start is the contents page. It’s easy to overlook the contents page of a book and just start working your way through the book looking for information. This is fine if you are reading a book for pleasure and want to know all about a topic. However, sometimes you’ve got a job to do and not much time to spare.

41. Finding information Sheila has to find out about some of the ups and downs of Shakespeare’s life. She is using William Shakespeare: The Extraordinary Life of the Most Successful Writer of All Time by Andrew Gurr. The contents page will tell her if the book can help and if so, how she can go directly to the section she needs.

42. Finding information Which chapter would you recommend Sheila to use? • Introduction • Stratford • The Lost Years • To London • Master of the Revels • A Man of Property • The King’s Men • Success and Disaster • Country Gentleman • Epilogue

43. Finding information Contents pages are very good for finding out general topics. Sometimes, though, you need some very specific information. Let’s imagine that Sheila has been asked to find out about the fire that destroyed The Globe theatre. The contents page tells her there is a chapter entitled Success and Disaster. She can now just read through the chapter until she comes to the section on the fire (if it is there). What’s the disadvantage of this approach?

44. Finding information Yes, it’s slow. She is reading an entire chapter when there may only be a few paragraphs on her subject. She canSKIMthrough the chapter. This is where you read very quickly and don’t try to understand everything you are reading just at the moment. Quicker still isSCANNING. This is where Sheila runs her eyes down the pages just looking for the words connected with her topic. E.g. Fire, Destruction, Furnace etc. She will also look out for any diagrams or pictures which will help her find the pages she needs. Can you think of any other strategies?

45. Finding information Another strategy is to use theIndex.. This is at the back of the book. Let’s look at the index to the book Sheila is reading. Fires 13, 16, 139, 146, At TheGlobe 139–42 Which pages would you recommend Sheila to begin with? The fire at The Globe was such a major event that it has a special section in the index under fire. This isn’t always the case. A tip is to look for where a number of pages in a row are identified. This indicates that the topic you are looking for appears frequently in this section.

46. Finding information If you were researching boy players, where would you begin? Boy players 76–7, 79, 81, 91–2, 116–7, 125, 132, 174, 180, 183 These are good places to begin because they each devote two pages to the topic. The other pages can be followed up afterwards. They may well only contain a brief reference to boy players.

47. Finding information OK, I’ve found the pages. So, now I just copy everything down. • Not so fast… • You don’t want to do it like that! • You need to learn about notemaking.

48. Notemaking Copying everything out will take time and may mean you write things down that you don’t really understand. You need to select the information that you will need for the task you have been set. • There are two main ways you can organize notes: • you can keep them in a linear fashion • or you can keep them in a diagram form. Try keeping notes using both methods to see which suits you best.

49. Notes in a linear fashion Purposes of this presentation: Where and how to find info. Different ways of recording info. Practise synthesizing information. Main section Abbreviations help Sub-divide categories

50. Diagram form Notemaking presentation Aims Synthesizing Where Recording • Internet • Video • Library • Magazine • Teletext • Talk • Books • Linear notes • Use headings • Numbers and Roman numerals • Abbreviations Abbreviations Diagrams Bullet points Use lines Colour