Reading social science texts and strategies for note-taking

1. Reading social science texts and strategies for note-taking

2. Aims • Develop an understanding of academic reading as an interactive process • Apply different approaches to reading material, including quick-overview reading and critical/analytical reading • Consider different approaches to note-taking

3. Think about… • “Avoid an educational process that only provides you with information; rather your brain needs training in how to use information, how to think creatively from that information, how to critique.” (Metcalfe, 2006, p.3) • Strong writers are often avid readers (Redman & Maples, 2011, p.39).

4. Challenges involved in academic reading

5. Passive reading Passive reading, is often: • Casual • Unquestioning • Without a more specific purpose than entertainment, enjoyment or utility • Seeks to follow the author’s narrative or story • May not be sole focus of attention • A one way process

6. Active reading strategies (i)

7. Active reading strategies (ii)

8. Active reading strategies (iii)

9. Reading for different purposes… • Quick overview reading • Critical and analytical (in-depth) reading

10. 1. Quick overview reading – how is it done? • Read the contents page – it’s designed to show you what is covered and how to get there (e.g. page numbers)! • Scan indexes – not all publications have indexes but most academic books will have them. Glance through them to see if any of your search terms (or similar phrases) appear and how thorough the coverage is (e.g. one page? several pages?) • Read introductions to get a quick overview of an individual book chapter, journal article or report • Read chapter conclusions/abstracts/ summaries as these should all summarise the key issues covered.

11. 2. Critical / analytical (in-depth) reading – how? • Focus on the question(s) you need to answer. • In short, by avoiding taking things at ‘face value’, but instead asking questions of, or ‘interrogating’ the text • Evaluating the credibility and appropriateness of the evidence presented, and the arguments constructed • Weighing up strengths/flaws in arguments • Critically examining each stage of the research/investigation process • Assessing whether information is accurate and factually correct • Identifying gaps, omissions or oversights

12. Note-taking exercise • Using your regular, preferred method of taking notes, make notes on the following short video presentation.

13. Linear notes This slide was adapted from materials designed and developed by Skills@Library, University of Leeds 2012. http://library.leeds.ac.uk/skills. Use indentations/subsections Use bullet points or numbering Don’t just make a list Leave good margins

14. Cornell style • Use the right hand side for notes • Use the left hand column for ‘cues’ • Use the lower part to summarise This slide was adapted from materials designed and developed by Skills@Library, University of Leeds 2012. http://library.leeds.ac.uk/skills.

15. http://www.mind-mapping.co.uk/make-mind-map.htm Mind maps This slide was adapted from materials designed and developed by Skills@Library, University of Leeds 2012. http://library.leeds.ac.uk/skills.