Research: B2+. Anneli Williams

very general words with more specific words.

      4 Rewrite your focus as a question.

       Remember

       Learn how your essay will be marked.

       When you receive your assignment, plan what you are going to do when.

       If you are new to research, aim to spend about 50% of your time gathering information and 50% writing.

       Prepare adequately by thinking carefully about your essay question.

       For set essay questions, notice the limits of the topic and identify the approach you need to take – make sure you know how much you need to describe and how much you need to argue.

       Divide long or complex essay questions into parts – analyse each part separately.

       To write your own essay question, identify a topic and a focus – make sure your focus is not too broad or too narrow.

       Decide how you are going to approach your research topic by rewriting it as a question.

2

Accessing information

       Aims

find information in the library

use databases

search effectively with key words

make the most of the library

make good use of the internet for research

      Quiz

       Self-evaluation

      What do you think is the most useful way to find information for an essay? Rate the activities below from 1 = least useful to 4 = most useful.

1 Go to your university library.	agree | disagree | not sure
2 Surf the internet using a search engine such as Google™.	agree | disagree | not sure
3 Look through your course reading list and handouts.	agree | disagree | not sure
4 Use an academic database.	agree | disagree | not sure

       Starting with what you already have

      Before looking for information of your own, it is useful to think about what you already know about the topic. Make some notes of your ideas and any key information you have learned.

      Then look at what information you already have about the topic from your course. Check your course reading list. If you have been told to read a ‘prescribed’ or ‘recommended’ book for your course, you may find it helpful to read or re-read any sections related to your essay topic. Check the references at the end for other articles or books that might be relevant to your topic. Highlight or make a list of the texts you want to find. Do the same for any photocopied course readings you have been given for your course. Finally, look through your lecture handouts and notes for any references to readings that are related to your topic. Add these to your list. Because these references have been recommended for your course, they are likely to be of good quality and suitably academic.

       For more information on choosing suitably academic material, see Chapter 3.

       Finding information in the library

      You may be able to find some of the items on your list on the internet. However, you are more likely to find them in your library, either in paper or electronic form. When you have been set an essay topic, it is important that you go to the library as soon as possible as you will be competing for paper-based reading materials with other students on your course.

      Most British and American university libraries are ‘open-access’, that is, users can access the shelves directly. Finding your way around the library can take a little time, so it is a good idea to get to know your library as quickly as you can. University libraries differ from place to place, however, most will work in a similar way.

       Library catalogues

      The first step is to familiarize yourself with the library catalogue. A library catalogue is a list of all of the materials in the library. You can access the catalogue online in the library and sometimes outside the library through the internet and/or intranet. The library catalogue will list a wide variety of materials: books, e-books, journals, e-journals, newspapers, doctoral theses and so on. For most essays assignments, you will need to access books and journal articles.

       Glossary

      intranet An intranet is a network of computers, similar to the internet, within a particular company or organization.

      Before searching for the items on your list, make sure you know what sort of texts you are looking for. In reading lists and bibliographies, books will normally be listed under the author’s name and will usually include the date of publication, the title, the place of publication and the name of the publisher.

      A chapter or article within a book will normally be listed under the name of the writer of the chapter and will include the title of chapter as well as the name of the editor of the book and the title of the book, the place of publication and so on.

       Glossary

      editor