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Research: B2+
Anneli Williams

Improve your reading and referencing skills*The Collins Academic Skills Series - winner of the ELTon 2014 Innovation in Learner Resources Award.*Collins Academic Skills Series: Research will give you the skills you need for successful academic reading and referencing.Learn how toвЂў choose the right sourcesвЂў access informationвЂў think critically when reading textsвЂў make concise notesCollins Academic Skills Series: Research will help you to make the most of your time at university.вЂў Clear information and practical exercisesвЂў Information on academic expectations вЂ“ understand the requirements of studying at universityвЂў Helpful tips and summariesвЂў Answer key and glossaryResearch is part of a new six-book series to help international students achieve academic success at college or university. It is designed to support students who are studying, or preparing to study, at an English-speaking institution.Suitable for students whose level of English is Upper Intermediate / CEF level B2 / IELTS 5.5 and higher.Other titles in the Collins Academic Skills SeriesGroup Work вЂў Lectures вЂў Numbers вЂў Presenting вЂў Writing

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Extract вЂњAbout the AuthorвЂќ from The Weather of the Future by Heidi Cullen. Copyright В© 2010 by Heidi Cullen. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers

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Extract from вЂ?Actually, I wanted to Learn:вЂ™ Study-related knowledge exchange on social networking sites by Wodzicki, K., SchwГ¤mmlein, E., & Moskaliuk, J. (2012) from The Internet and Higher Education, 15(1), 9вЂ“14 reproduced by permission of Copyright Clearance Center

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Extracts from Muise, A., Christofides, E., & Desmarais, S. (2009). More Information than You Ever Wanted: Does Facebook Bring Out the Green-Eyed Monster of Jealousy? CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12(4), 441вЂ“444. doi:10.1089/cpb.2008.0263 reproduced by permission of Mary Ann Liebert Inc., Publishers

Extracts from Chou, H. G., & Edge, N. (2012). вЂњThey Are Happier and Having Better Lives than I AmвЂќ: The Impact of Using Facebook on Perceptions of OthersвЂ™ Lives. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking,15(2), 117вЂ“121.) reproduced by permission of Mary Ann Liebert Inc., Publishers

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Source ISBN: 9780007507115

Ebook Edition В© May 2014 ISBN 9780008101800

Version: 01-07-2014

Contents

Title Page (#u757139a3-497a-57e4-b283-b1af3e1af528)

Copyright (#ulink_d7f5933a-f855-50fd-8b81-e8d16e0e3f97)

Introduction (#ulink_bb87e616-2585-5bdc-a3aa-2da6a57c552b)

Chapter 1 Getting started (#ulink_4e74154f-fd62-5928-8f36-5fc81fb9d78b)

understand the purpose of research (#ulink_878789a8-fbff-5ec5-85e3-4d11c25e6772)

learn how your research will be marked (#ulink_2af33dc4-7cbb-5a96-8983-77fa7b109887)

learn about the research process (#ulink_04394817-8ae7-5aee-8f8d-02db60f872cc)

interpret set essay questions (#ulink_2f10ba17-ce81-566b-883a-453a27a81aa9)

write an essay question of your own (#ulink_7f5ca532-1776-5495-9e2c-4c27b6f32df8)

Chapter 2 Accessing information (#ulink_ca1bd2cd-a0fc-5333-bbfd-ef6f323d6291)

find information in the library (#ulink_c771421d-04d0-5f74-a272-6bffb631257f)

use databases (#ulink_e52ea203-ffa5-582f-8875-cb018600d9d0)

search effectively with key words (#ulink_6a40d4b4-2df1-5b15-a9eb-5e8fe9a59c0f)

make the most of the library (#ulink_be54e53b-fcfa-5399-907c-e7f4c408bd92)

make good use of the internet for research (#ulink_09ef5a10-7010-5d30-ab61-fc76945be1a6)

Chapter 3 Choosing the right source material (#ulink_849cd0a9-335c-555b-82da-c5f8e3e99da0)

choose academically credible materials (#ulink_a0a5b64b-c791-58c3-849f-987fa88fb89b)

know who the experts are (#ulink_0a7420f2-7171-5637-82ad-3922d9f69bb1)

recognize what makes a text academic (#ulink_b81d6178-5339-5779-b6e6-8946baa1a637)

choose relevant materials (#ulink_e8210c10-7f5f-5c3f-9c5a-d08ab5c3eea8)

manage your materials (#ulink_2d5ee254-ca02-5cfe-a3ee-5376ea277de7)

Chapter 4 Academic texts (#litres_trial_promo)

recognize the key features of a textbook (#litres_trial_promo)

learn how to use monographs and edited volumes (#litres_trial_promo)

understand how journal articles and reports are organized (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 5 Reading strategies (#litres_trial_promo)

choose the right reading strategy for your purpose (#litres_trial_promo)

read quickly for a general overview (#litres_trial_promo)

read quickly for specific information (#litres_trial_promo)

deal with unfamiliar vocabulary (#litres_trial_promo)

read complex and difficult sentences (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 6 Reading more efficiently (#litres_trial_promo)

improve your concentration when reading (#litres_trial_promo)

guess the meaning of unfamiliar words from context (#litres_trial_promo)

improve your reading speed (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 7 Reading critically (#litres_trial_promo)

define critical thinking in your study context (#litres_trial_promo)

distinguish fact from opinion (#litres_trial_promo)

reflect critically on your own views (#litres_trial_promo)

critically evaluate reading texts (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 8 Making notes (#litres_trial_promo)

use a variety of note-making styles (#litres_trial_promo)

make concise notes (#litres_trial_promo)

organize and store notes for easy retrieval (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 9 Writing an outline (#litres_trial_promo)

write outlines for different types of essay (#litres_trial_promo)

devise an effective argument (#litres_trial_promo)

structure introductions and conclusions (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 10 Using sources (#litres_trial_promo)

learn how to integrate source material into your essay (#litres_trial_promo)

decide whether to quote, paraphrase or summarize (#litres_trial_promo)

learn how to quote correctly (#litres_trial_promo)

learn how to paraphrase and summarize (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 11 Referencing (#litres_trial_promo)

recognize different referencing systems (#litres_trial_promo)

reference using an author-date system (#litres_trial_promo)

reference with footnotes (#litres_trial_promo)

know when a reference is and is not needed (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 12 Finding your voice (#litres_trial_promo)

use sources correctly (#litres_trial_promo)

use sources effectively (#litres_trial_promo)

express your opinion in your essay (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 13 Writing up (#litres_trial_promo)

get started with your first draft (#litres_trial_promo)

stay on topic (#litres_trial_promo)

use assessment criteria to redraft (#litres_trial_promo)

prepare the final draft (#litres_trial_promo)

Reference list (#litres_trial_promo)

Appendices Appendix 1 вЂ“ Critical reading checklist (#litres_trial_promo)

Appendix 2 вЂ“ Instruction words (#litres_trial_promo)

Appendix 3 вЂ“ Prefixes, suffixes and roots (#litres_trial_promo)

Glossary (#litres_trial_promo)

Answer key (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author

Acknowledgements

About the Publisher

Introduction (#ulink_e9dc8435-a40b-5fe3-8ef6-59aab4271b43)

Collins Academic Skills Series: Research will give you the skills you need for to select, read and use academic source material effectively.

Designed to be used on a self-study basis to support English for Academic Purposes or study skills courses, it is intended for students on pre-sessional or Foundation courses as well as for first year undergraduate students. It will also be useful for more experienced students who want to improve their library-based research skills.

The book has thirteen chapters covering the key stages of the research process from start to finish. You will learn how to:

frame a research question

find library and online resources

choose appropriate source materials

read efficiently and critically

cite and reference correctly

plan and write your essay

At the back of the book there is:

a list of the prefixes, suffixes and root words common in academic English, and a checklist to help you read critically

a glossary of key terms

a comprehensive answer key

Chapter structure

Each chapter includes:

Aims вЂ“ These set out the skills covered in the chapter.

A self-evaluation quiz вЂ“ By doing this you are able identify what you already know on the subject of the chapter and what you need to learn.

Information on academic expectations вЂ“ These sections will help you understand university practices and expectations so you understand what is required.

Guidelines on academic skills вЂ“ These help you develop the skills to succeed at university.

Practical exercises вЂ“ These help you to develop the skills to succeed at university. You can check your answers and consult model essays at the back of the book.

Tips вЂ“ Key points are highlighted for easy reference and provide useful revision summaries for the busy student.

Glossary вЂ“ Difficult words are glossed in boxes next to where the text appears in the chapter. There is also a comprehensive glossary at the back of the book.

Remember sections вЂ“ This is a summary of key points for revision and easy reference.

Authentic academic reading texts

The book uses authentic examples of academic reading texts and essays in different academic subjects to help you apply what you learn to your own essay, whatever your subject.

Glossary boxes

Where we feel that a word or phrase is difficult to understand, we have glossed this word/phrase. All definitions provided in the glossary boxes have been taken from the COBUILD Advanced Dictionary. At the end of the book there is a full alphabetical list of the most difficult words from the book for your reference.

Using Research

You can either work through the chapters from Chapter 1 (#u5f4cc513-1bc8-506a-a04b-1d7e50aeb727) to Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo) or you can choose the chapters and topics that are most useful to you. The Contents page will help in your selection.

Study tips

Each chapter will take about five hours. Take regular breaks and do not try to study for too long. Thirty to sixty minutes is a sensible study period.

Regular study is better than occasional intensive study.

Read the chapter through first to get an overview without doing any exercises. This will help you see what you want to focus on.

Try the exercises before checking the Answer key. Be an active learner.

After doing the exercises in the book, try them again using your own research topic and reading materials. If possible, ask a more experienced researcher to give you feedback on your work.

All university departments are different. Use the information in the book as a guide to investigating your own university department.

Write questions you can ask to find out how your department expects you to do research.

There is no one correct way of doing research. Use your experience of doing the exercises to learn what works best for you. Adapt the suggestions in this book to suit your learning style and context.

Learning to do research is an on-going process, which means you need to practise the same skills many times. Revise regularly.

Other titles

Also available in the Collins Academic Skills Series: Writing, Lectures, Numbers, Presenting, and Group Work.

1

Getting started (#ulink_00bebd0b-016f-5d67-a0d8-8e1431dfcf33)

Aims

understand the purpose of research (#ulink_7395be66-c288-5a46-87fd-1e99c199d8f0)

learn how your research will be marked (#ulink_a7d3bed5-2fb8-5ebe-ad99-f3ccd93a30b7)

learn about the research process (#ulink_a6be49c2-e9bf-5cd3-8385-3d2ddbddc8f9)

interpret set essay questions (#ulink_472874ab-4294-5796-b567-1f6505a99630)

write an essay question of your own (#ulink_736e38ed-9190-5a7d-b4f1-c89234370fca)

Quiz

Self-evaluation

Read the statements, then circle the word which is true for you.

What is research?

In simple terms, when you do research, you are looking for information in order to answer a question. In academic settings, research can take many different forms depending on the subject discipline and the kind of question you want to answer. If you are studying a scientific subject, your research may take the form of an experiment to answer a question which begins with the phrase: вЂ?What will happen if вЂ¦ ?вЂ™. If you are studying a social science, your research may take the form of a survey of a group of peopleвЂ™s thoughts, feelings or experiences. In any case, no matter what your subject discipline, at some point you will have to do some research which involves investigating what other scholars have said about the topic you are interested in. In other words, you will have to do some library based research.

Glossary

subject discipline In an academic setting, a subject discipline is a particular topic or specific area of study.

Why do you have to do library based research?

When you do library based research, you usually have to work on your own. This gives you the opportunity to become a more independent learner and to show that you can think for yourself. These are qualities that are highly valued in academic settings within the English speaking world.

However, working independently does not mean that your research is not connected to the work of other people. One of the main purposes of universities is to produce knowledge, that is, to create, evaluate and disseminate new information and ideas. Producing knowledge usually involves many scholars working in different times and places. When you do research as part of your course, you are learning skills which will allow you to participate in that wider effort. You have the opportunity to develop the ability to:

Glossary

evaluate If you evaluate something or someone, you consider them in order to make a judgement about them, for example about how good or bad they are.

disseminate To disseminate information or knowledge means to distribute it so that it reaches many people or organizations.

Create a research question and an argument to answer it.

Evaluate the research that has been done by others.

Disseminate your research by writing it up and submitting it for a mark, and, in some cases, by sharing what you have learned with other students on your course.

How do you know if your research is good?

In some parts of the world, students are judged according to how well they retain information given to them. In the English speaking world, when your essay paper is being marked, the marker will normally use other criteria for judging how well you have demonstrated the skills involved.

These are the questions the marker may ask themselves:

1Has the student understood the question?

2How well does the student know what other scholars have written about the topic?

3How skilfully has the student evaluated the work of other scholars?

4To what extent has the student synthesized the information and ideas available to produce a convincing argument?

5How clearly has that argument been conveyed?

6Has the student learned what they were supposed to learn from the course?

Glossary

synthesize If you synthesize different ideas, you combine these ideas.

Some of these criteria may be more important than others, depending on the task you have been set. However, in most cases, students who are good at 3 and 4 tend to receive higher marks. That is because they demonstrate good critical thinking skills.

Generally speaking critical thinking involves viewing issues from multiple perspectives and weighing up the strengths and weaknesses of arguments. When you do this you demonstrate that you can make fair judgements and take an independent stance.

For more information on critical thinking skills, see Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo).

Tips

Find out what criteria will be used to mark your paper.

Make sure you know what you need to do to get a higher mark.

As you do your research, check that what you are doing meets the criteria.

The research process

Doing research is a complex process, so it can be helpful to divide it into tasks. How you break down the process depends on your assignment, your preferred ways of working, and your strengths and weaknesses as a researcher.

Remember, in practice, doing research can be a вЂ?messyвЂ™ process. You may do some tasks, such as making an outline plan, more than once. Or, you may do some tasks at the same time, for example, you will probably continue reading while writing your first draft. However, in general, if you are new to research, you should probably aim to spend about 50% of the time available preparing and gathering information, and 50% writing up. As you gain experience, you can adjust the length of time you spend on each stage. However, students who spend more time preparing tend to score higher marks.

Exercise 1

Imagine you have 30 days to write a 3,000 word essay on a topic related to your course. The tasks you might do are listed in the table below. Tick the tasks that you think are important. For each task you have ticked, write approximately how much time you think it would be reasonable to spend on that task.

When your essay has been marked and returned, set aside time to carefully consider the feedback given. This will give you useful information about how to approach your next essay. If you do not understand the feedback given, it is important to seek clarification and advice. Although lecturers cannot always provide one-to-one meetings, your university is likely to have study advisors who can help.

Tips

Think carefully about your essay question and why it is worth asking. This will help you choose a worthwhile focus for your paper.

Do some initial background reading. If you discover that there is not enough information to support your chosen essay focus, you can choose another essay title.

Write a rough outline plan before you start reading and taking notes. This will help you read efficiently and with a clear purpose.

Understanding the essay question

Sometimes set essay questions can be difficult to interpret. You may not know exactly what you are expected to do. However, if you break the question down into parts, you will find it easier to answer.

Essay questions can generally be divided into two parts:

Glossary

trait A trait is a particular characteristic, quality, or tendency that someone or something has.

1The topic вЂ“ this tells you the general area of your research.

2The focus вЂ“ this tells you what you need to find out about the topic.

It is important to pay careful attention to the focus of the essay question because this indicates the boundaries of your research. The question вЂ?Is generosity an innate human trait?вЂ™ limits your discussion to the issue of whether human beings are generous by nature. You should not be tempted to discuss at length other issues such as whether generosity is morally good or bad.

Glossary

boundaries The boundaries of something such as a subject or activity are the limits that people think that it has.

Notice also that the question requires you to focus on generosity in humans. You may find it useful to make comparisons, for example to behaviour in animals. However, you should keep your focus on human beings.

Once you understand the topic and focus, you need to think about how you are expected to approach the question, that is, what you need to do to answer it.

Exercise 2

Choose the option a, b or c which best describes how you should approach the question.

Is generosity an innate human trait?

a You should answer вЂ?yes, it isвЂ™ or вЂ?no, it isnвЂ™tвЂ™ and give your reasons.

b You should evaluate the arguments for and against the notion that generosity is an innate hum an trait and come to a conclusion expressing your opinion.

c You should write everything that you have been able to find out about generosity in human beings.

Instruction words in essay questions

Sometimes essay questions contain an instruction word or expression which indicates the approach you should take.

In this case, you are instructed to make judgements about the media coverage. You might ask yourself: How good or bad was it? Or: To what extent was it fair, accurate, or thorough?

Notice how changing the instruction word changes the approach.

For example:Analysemedia coverage of the 2008 banking crisis.

This question requires you to study media coverage in order to come to an understanding of why it was the way it was. This might involve looking for patterns or dividing it into categories in such a way that allows you to understand it more deeply. You might ask yourself questions such as: How frequently was the banking crisis mentioned in the news? Which aspects of the crisis were given most attention? What sort of language was used to describe the crisis?

Exercise 3

Instruction words often appear in the introductions to essays and reports. Complete the essay extracts below by underlining the most appropriate word in italics.

1 Section 1 will discuss/justify racial stereotyping with regard to the вЂ?big fiveвЂ™ personality traits. Section 2 assesses/examines the interplay between cultural stereotypes and media representations of minority ethnic communities.

2 This essay compares and contrasts/outlines the main components of the governmentвЂ™s poverty reduction strategyвЂ¦ A final evaluation will trace/assess the extent to which government measures to reduce child poverty have met targets set in 2000.

3 This study will trace/justify the one-thousand-year history of the Catalan language. It will then outline/compare and contrast Spanish policy on minority language protection with that of the Scottish government in relation to Gaelic.

4 This essay will argue that there is little evidence to justify/outline arguments in favour of state intervention.

Exercise 4

Eight common instruction words and expressions along with examples are given in the table below. Match each expression with the correct definition aвЂ“h.

Exercise 5

Write definitions for the instruction words in bold below.

1Comment on the key components of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.

2Illustrate the impact of management style on teamwork in organizations.

3Relate the principal factors that are commonly thought to influence a personвЂ™s choice of life partner to Abraham MaslowвЂ™s hierarchy of needs.

Describing versus presenting an argument

Some essay questions require you to describe, that is, to display knowledge without necessarily giving your opinion about it.

For example:Which regions of the world are most seriously affected by conflict over access to water resources?

This question asks you to list and describe the parts of the world where there are the most serious conflicts over lack of water.

Other questions require you to present an argument, that is, to give your opinion backed by supporting evidence.

Glossary

supporting evidence Supporting evidence is information that is used to prove something.

notable Someone or something that is notable is important or interesting.

For example:How can conflicts over Nile River water resources best be resolved?

To answer this question you need to give your opinion about the best way or ways to deal with conflicts over access to Nile River water. You need to give reasons for your opinion and supporting evidence, that is, examples and data to prove your point. You also need to show that other ways of dealing with the problem are or have been less effective.

Often essay questions ask you to both describe and argue.

For example:What have been the most notableconflicts over water resources over the last ten years and what are the most effective approaches to resolving these types of disputes?

To answer this question you have to list and describe and present an argument based on your evaluation of the evidence. Be careful! It is often easier to describe than to evaluate. Less experienced students often focus too much on displaying information and not enough on developing an argument. Instruction words can also be categorized in terms of whether they require mainly description or mainly argument in the response.

Tip

Remember that to achieve higher marks it is usually necessary to critically evaluate information and present a strong argument.

Exercise 6

Look again at the instruction words aвЂ“l below and answer questions 1вЂ“3.

1 Which require mainly description?

2 Which definitely require you to give your opinion?

3 Which instruction word is most common?

Note that the answers given in the answer key are suggestions only. In practice, you should interpret each assignment task in the context in which it has been set. Remember that certain instruction words, for example, вЂ?compare and contrastвЂ™, sometimes require a more descriptive response and sometimes a more evaluative response.

For example:Compare and contrast horizontal axis design wind turbines and vertical axis design wind turbines.

This instruction requires a straightforward description of the similarities and differences between two types of wind turbine.

For example:Compare and contrast electricity generation from wind power versus electricity generation from hydropower in terms of efficiency, value for money and environmental impact.

Here you have to describe the similarities and differences between two forms of electricity generation in order to make judgements about them.

Understanding long and complex essay assignments

Sometimes essay assignments can be wordy and complex. However, these too can be broken down into parts:

Glossary

preamble A preamble is an introduction that comes before something you say or write.

1 The preamble: background information about the context of the question.

2 The question (or questions): what you need to find out.

The preamble gives you important information about the topic and its limitations. Notice that you need to focus your discussion on secondary school pupils (not primary school pupils or university students) and their performance in three subjects: language, mathematics and science.

Note that there are several questions that need to be answered.

Question 1 requires you to describe similarities and differences and to analyse the two sets of figures in order to identify the most significant trends.

Question 2 requires you to evaluate the evidence that the trends you have identified were caused by changes to national educational policy. Here you need to present an argument.

Question 3 requires you to consider at least one other possible explanation for the trends you have identified. Here too you need to present an argument.

Tips

Divide long assignment instructions into parts: the preamble and the question or questions.

Study the preamble for information about the topic.

Analyse each question separately.

Make sure you answer each question when you do your research.

Writing your own essay question

Sometimes you may be asked to write you own essay question. This is more likely to be the case towards the end of your course when you have had some experience of writing research essays. To write an essay question you can follow steps which are similar to those involved in interpreting a set essay question. Select:

1 The topic: the general area you want to investigate.

2 The focus: what you want to find out about the topic.

3 The approach: how you are going to investigate it.

Choosing a topic

You will probably spend a lot of time and effort on your research, so it is important to pick a topic that interests you. However, your topic should also be relevant to your course. You need to use your essay assignment to demonstrate that you can think more deeply about an issue covered in your lectures and/or reading.

If you have difficulty identifying a suitable topic, try looking at your course outline and lecture notes. List the topics that are most interesting to you and that seemed important to your lecturers. Put your list away for a time. When you come back to it, see what grabs your attention most.

Narrowing the topic down

Once you have chosen a topic, you need to narrow it down until you have a focus. If you write about a topic without first identifying your focus, you will probably end up conveying a lot of information without examining it in any depth.

Glossary

impact The impact that something has on a situation, process, or person is a sudden and powerful effect that it has on them.

Before you start your research, you need to think about what aspect of the topic is most interesting to you. For example, if you want to write about the topic of the internet, you may decide to focus on: the impact of the internet on how people relate to others.

This is a good start, but the topic is still rather broad. One method for narrowing your topic further is to highlight the key words and list specific words under those categories:

For example:the impact of theinterneton howpeoplerelate to others

Under internet you might list: online gaming, social networking, or access to information.

Under people: children between six and ten, adolescents, young men from disadvantaged backgrounds, people who spend more than five hours per day online, etc.

Under relate to others: form friendships, maintain face-to-face social networks, perceive authority figures, see themselves in relation to others, etc.

This method can generate more than one focus from which to choose:

However, make sure that you do not narrow your question down too much. If your focus is too narrow, you may not be able to find enough information to research it properly.

Exercise 7

Imagine that you are interested in researching why some films become very successful .

Narrow down the highlighted key words.

1 What type of films could you focus on?

2 What are the different ways you could define вЂ?successfulвЂ™?

Choosing an approach

Once you have identified your focus, you need to decide on your approach, that is, how you are going to investigate it. To do this, it is helpful to rewrite your focus as a question. Sometimes there are several possible questions. The type of question that you ask will determine your approach.

For example, you could write the phrase:the impact of online social networking on how adolescents form friendships as the question: Does online social networking affect how adolescents form friendships?

Glossary

notion A notion is an idea or belief about something.

This question requires you to present an argument. You need to evaluate the evidence for the notion that online social networking has an effect as well as the evidence against and come to your own conclusion.

Alternatively, you could rewrite the question as: How does online social networking affect the way adolescents form friendships?

This question assumes that there is an effect. Your task is to analyse and explain that effect.

When deciding your approach, it is helpful to consider the context of your assignment. Discuss your title with people who are familiar with your course. Do some preliminary reading to find out what sorts of questions other scholars are asking about the topic.

You may also find it useful to break your focus down into several related questions:

For example:Does online gaming affect the way children see themselves in relation to others?

If so, to what extent does online gaming affect вЂ¦

In what ways does online gaming affect вЂ¦

Exercise 8

Write an essay question of your own following steps 1вЂ“4 below.

1 Choose a general topic that interests you.

2 Identify your focus вЂ“ write down what aspect of the topic interests you most.

3 Narrow down the topic by replacing 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 вЂ“ 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 вЂ“ analyse each part separately.

To write your own essay question, identify a topic and a focus вЂ“ 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 (#ulink_f079920d-bfb4-5779-82aa-e41e002ce07e)

Aims

find information in the library (#ulink_7b139658-e0de-5f99-ae6c-5f6c9a3a57d9)

use databases (#ulink_41d5fc52-e693-5c28-aa6d-1a10f00aed9a)

search effectively with key words (#ulink_6852c8b8-fada-5963-ae0f-758699b9d295)

make the most of the library (#ulink_eb16a3f8-83fb-5333-ab2d-5aa58bb800c4)

make good use of the internet for research (#ulink_9eabc962-370b-5092-a76b-a8d285ef12a9)

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.

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 вЂ?prescribedвЂ™ or вЂ?recommendedвЂ™ 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 (#u16fa79b7-b29d-595f-84af-5cbd640de507).

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 вЂ?open-accessвЂ™, 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 authorвЂ™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 An editor is a person who collects pieces of writing by different authors and prepares them for publication in a book or series of books.

volume A volume is a collection of several issues of a journal, for example all the issues for one year.

access If you access something, you succeed in finding it or obtaining it.

An article in a journal will normally be listed under the name of the author of the article and will usually include the title of the article, the name of the journal, the volume number, the issue number, and the page numbers of the article.

An online article will also normally be listed under the authorвЂ™s name and will include the URL of the item as well as a date for when it was accessed.

Exercise 1

Imagine you have items 1вЂ“4 on your reading list. Match each item with the type of text aвЂ“d.

Searching for books by title and author

You can normally search the library catalogue for books by title, author or key words. If you know the item that you are looking for, it is easiest to use the author, or even better, the title. If you are looking for a chapter within a book, make sure that you type in the title of the book, not the title of the chapter. For example, for item 3 in Exercise 1, type An introduction to bilingualism: Principles and processes into the search box.

Glossary

recall If a library recalls a book, it asks the person who has borrowed it to return it.

The catalogue will show you whether the book is available and where you can find it. Sometimes several books with the same title will be listed. This may be because several editions of the book are available or because the library holds both a print and electronic version of the book. For print books, select the book you want and make a note of the location and any identification code given to the book by the library. This might be referred to as a вЂ?call numberвЂ™, вЂ?shelf-markвЂ™ or similar term. This code will give you information about the section of the library where the book is located.

If the catalogue indicates that the book is вЂ?on loanвЂ™ you may be able to recall it, either electronically or by requesting this service at your library help desk.

Searching for journals by title

If you are looking for a journal article and you know the name of the journal, you need to search using the title of the journal, not the title of the article. For example, for item 1 in Exercise 1, you should type Bilingualism: Language and Cognition into the search box. Journals are listed in the catalogue chronologically (with the most recent appearing at the top of the list), so it is important to know when the issue that you are looking for was published. Like books, journals may also be available in both print and electronic forms. To find the print version of a journal, note the location information. The most recent issues of print journals are normally shelved separately from older issues. Older issues of a journal are often collected together in вЂ?volumesвЂ™. Like books, these are labelled with a call number or shelf-mark so that you can retrieve them easily.

Exercise 2

Imagine you wanted to search your university library catalogue for the items below. For each item, indicate the type of publication and the words you would use to search.

1 Small, G., & Vorgan, G. (2008). iBrain: surviving the technological alteration of the modern mind. New York: Collins Living.

2 Semanza, J. C. (2003). The Intersection of Urban Planning, Art, and Public Health: The Sunnyside Piazza. American Journal of Public Health, 93(9), 1439вЂ“1441.

3 Inceoglu, I., Segers, J., & Bartram, D. (2012). Age-related differences in work motivation. Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 85(2), 300вЂ“329.

4 Chan, K. W., Kwong, C. K., & Dillon, T. S. (2012). Computational intelligence techniques for new product design. New York: Springer.

Searching the library catalogue by key words

If you do not know the exact title of a book or journal, or if you want to find out what books and journals are available on your research topic, you can try a key word search. Start by highlighting the most important words or phrases in your essay question. Do not include instruction words or small words such as вЂ?theвЂ™, вЂ?andвЂ™, and вЂ?inвЂ™. For example, if you have been given the question below, you could type in the word management.

Examinethe impact ofmanagementstyle onteamworkinorganizations.

The catalogue will show all the items that contain management in the title. If you get too many hits, narrow down your search by adding another key word, teamwork or organizations for example.

Exercise 3

Underline the key words and phrases in the essay questions below.

1 Assess the European Central BankвЂ™s response to the Eurozone financial crisis.

2 Compare and contrast social media use among young people in the United States and in China.

3 Give an account of the role of ribonucleic acid in protein synthesis.

4 Trace the history of the comic book.

Exercise 4

Type one of the key words or phrases you have underlined for each question into the key word search facility in your library catalogue and see what happens. Try a different key word or combination of words and compare your results.

Tips

If you do not get any hits, or too few hits using key words from your essay title:

try using synonyms (= words that have a very similar meaning) or related words. Instead of management, for example, type leadership.

or use a more general term. For example, for Give an account of the role of ribonucleic acid in protein synthesis, you could use cell biology as your key words.

Exercise 5

Write synonyms for expressions 1вЂ“4.

1 financial crisis

2 social media

3 young people

4 comic book

Try a key word search of your library catalogue using these synonyms and compare your results with your results from Exercise 4.

Accessing e-books and e-journals

To access an e-book or e-journal, you normally select the item, which then takes you to the providerвЂ™s website. Each provider has its own website so they all look and work differently. In many cases, because the library pays for access to electronic resources, you may be directed to a login box where you have to type in your student identification number and password. This might be referred to as вЂ?ShibbolethвЂ™, вЂ?Institutional loginвЂ™ or a similar term.

Glossary

copyright If someone has copyright on a piece of writing or music, it is illegal to reproduce or perform it without their permission.

Individual e-journal articles can be read online, downloaded onto a memory stick or printed. E-books are subject to copyright regulations, which means that you can only download or print one chapter or section, or five per cent of the total number of pages. If you are not sure how much of an item you can copy, check with your librarian or look for relevant notices вЂ“ these are usually displayed near photocopiers. You can, however, read as much of the book online as you wish. Many e-books providers also allow you to make notes and highlight text, which you can save and view when you next access the book.

Borrowing print books and journals

Different libraries have different lending policies. Books can generally be borrowed for several weeks. In many cases you may be able to вЂ?renewвЂ™ an item, that is, borrow it for an extended period of time if no other user has requested it. It may also be possible to вЂ?reserveвЂ™ an item, in other words, to ask that an item be kept for you when it is returned by another user. Some libraries may contain a вЂ?short loanвЂ™ collection, that is, a selection of books that are in high-demand. These books may be available for borrowing for only a few days or hours at a time. Reference books, such as dictionaries, cannot normally be borrowed.

If your library does not stock an item that you wish to borrow, you may be able to ask your library to borrow the item from another library. This is called an вЂ?inter-library loanвЂ™.

The most recent issues of journals are not normally available for borrowing. You may read them in the library or photocopy one article within an issue. Note that there is usually a small charge for photocopies. Older issues of journals can normally be borrowed.

When you borrow items from the library, you should make a note of the вЂ?returnвЂ™ or вЂ?dueвЂ™ date. If you do not return items in time, you will probably have to pay a fine. For short-loan items, fines can be charged by the hour.

Exercise 6

Log on to your library website and look for answers to questions 1вЂ“5.

1 How many items can you borrow at once?

2 How long can you borrow items for?

3 Can you reserve or renew items online?

4 Are fines charged for overdue items? If so, what is the rate?

5 How do you request an inter-library loan?

Using a database

A database is an electronic catalogue or list of published materials. Library catalogues are databases; however, library catalogues have two main limitations: they only list items available in the library and they do not normally list articles separately. If you only have the name of an article or you want to know what publications are available on a particular topic, you need to use another database. There are general databases, such as JSTOR or ArticleFirst, which list publications on a wide variety of subjects. There are also specialist databases which list items relating to specific subjects or academic disciplines.

Glossary

credible Credible means able to be trusted or believed.

Academic databases are very useful for essays, because they only include items that are вЂ?peer reviewedвЂ™, that is, judged to be academically credible by other experts. Another advantage of databases is that they often provide not just the bibliographic information about the article (the title, author, year and so on) but also a short summary of the article contents. This is called an abstract.

For more information on abstracts, see Chapter 4 (#litres_trial_promo).

You can use open access databases, that is, databases that are available to the general public through the internet, or subscribe to particular databases yourself. However, in most cases, it is easiest to access databases through your university library catalogue. Your library will probably subscribe to many different databases. You can search the databases to see what has been published on your topic, and then check your library catalogue to see if the items you want are available in your library. If your library does not stock an item, you may be able to obtain it through an inter-library loan.

If you know which databases you want, search for them by title. Check your course reading list or ask a librarian for recommended databases for your subject. If you do not know which databases to use, search for them by subject. For example, if you are looking for information about how children learn to read, you could look for databases under education.

When you have selected the database you want to use, you can search for items in the same way that you search your library catalogue: by title, author and key words. However, as with e-book and e-journal providers, each database has its own website so they all look and work slightly differently.

Tips

When you select databases in your library catalogue search facility, make sure you type in the name of a database, not the name of the journal or article that you are looking for.

If you do not know the name of a database, search for one by subject.

If you get poor results with one database, try searching for articles using a different database within your subject area.

Advanced keyword searches

Searching for items in a database requires a lot of skill and practice. There are several ways in which you can make keyword searches more efficient.

Searching for phrases

For most databases, if you wish to search for a phrase, rather than individual key words, you can place quotation marks (вЂњвЂ¦вЂќ) around the phrase. For example if you are looking for articles for the essay question: Examinethe impact of management style on teamwork in organizations, you can type вЂњmanagement styleвЂќ in the search box. The database will list all of the articles containing that phrase. If you type the words in without quotation marks, the database will list all of the articles that contain the words management and style in separate places. You may end up with a list containing many irrelevant articles, for example articles about style in fashion or architecture.

Exercise 7

Look at essay questions 1вЂ“4. Put quotation marks around the phrases you would use in a key word search.

1 Critically evaluate media coverage of the 2008 banking crisis.

2 Relate the principal factors that are commonly thought to influence a personвЂ™s choice of life partner to Abraham MaslowвЂ™s hierarchy of needs.

3 Compare and contrast electricity generation from wind power versus electricity generation from hydropower in terms of efficiency, value for money and environmental impact.

4 How does online social networking affect the way adolescents form friendships?

Truncation

Another technique that you can use to search more efficiently is to truncate key words so that articles containing words in the same word family are also listed in your search result. For example, if you are looking for articles about banking crises, you can truncate the word banking by typing a * after the root bank: bank*. This will ensure that articles containing the words bank, banks, bankвЂ™s and banking will appear in your search results.

Glossary

truncate To truncate something is to shorten it.

Exercise 8

Truncate one word in each of the phrases 1вЂ“3. What additional words would be included in the search?

1 environmental impact

2 online social networking

3 form friendships

Boolean operators

A third way of making your search more efficient is to use вЂ?Boolean operatorsвЂ™. This involves combining your key words using вЂ?andвЂ™, вЂ?orвЂ™ and вЂ?notвЂ™ to make your search either more specific or more general. For example, if you want only articles that discuss both children and adolescents, enter вЂ?children and adolescentsвЂ™. The more words you join with вЂ?andвЂ™, the smaller the number of results. Entering вЂ?children and adolescents and friendshipвЂ™ will only get you articles that discuss both children and adolescents in relation to friendship.

If you want to widen your search results, use вЂ?orвЂ™. For example if you want all of the articles that discuss only children as well as all of the articles that discuss only adolescents, you should search for вЂ?children or adolescentsвЂ™. вЂ?OrвЂ™ is also useful for entering synonyms into your search. If the topic you are interested in is commonly referred to in a number of ways, you should use вЂ?orвЂ™ to capture as many relevant articles as possible. Some authors, for example, may use the word teenager instead of adolescent. In this case, you should search for вЂ?adolescents or teenagersвЂ™. The more words you join with вЂ?orвЂ™ the larger the number of results.

It is common to combine вЂ?orвЂ™ and вЂ?andвЂ™ operators. For example, if you are interested in how adolescents form friendships, you might search for: вЂ?adolescents or teenagers and friendshipвЂ™. Note: for some databases, you need to put terms you want to connect by вЂ?orвЂ™ in brackets, for example: вЂ?(adolescents or teenagers) and friendshipвЂ™.

Using the operator вЂ?notвЂ™ narrows your search by excluding any article with the word or phrase which follows вЂ?notвЂ™. This is useful when one of your key words has multiple meanings. For example the word capital can mean a sum of money or it can refer to a city where government is based. If you are only interested in the first meaning, you can enter вЂ?capital not cityвЂ™. This makes it more likely that your results will only include articles relating to finance.

Search screens vary in format, so in some cases you may need to type in the operators yourself, in others you may select them from a drop down menu. Spend some time practising using different databases or search engines.

Tips

Use Boolean operators to refine your key word searches.

Use вЂ?andвЂ™ to combine key words and narrow your results.

Use вЂ?orвЂ™ to include synonyms for key words and widen your results.

Use вЂ?notвЂ™ to exclude irrelevant items.

Exercise 9

Prepare to do a key word search of the essay question: Is generosity an innate human trait? by following steps 1вЂ“4 below.

1Underline the key words.

2Write a synonym for generosity.

3Decide where to use quotation marks to indicate a phrase.

4Write your search terms using the Boolean operators вЂ?orвЂ™ and вЂ?andвЂ™.

Making the most of the library

As more and more information becomes available online, you may be tempted to do all of your research by computer and avoid your university library altogether. However, if you do this, you will miss out on a very useful resource. In addition to print and electronic copies of books and academic journals, your library is likely to have:

specialist librarians who can give you advice on resources in your subject area

training courses on using library facilities such as databases

quiet study spaces

printing, photocopying and IT facilities

access to inter-library loans.

Using the internet for research

If you do not have access to a library, searching for information on the internet using a search engine such as Google в„ў can be a good option. Remember that the internet contains vast amounts of information, so good key word search skills are essential. Most search engines have advanced search options which allow you to use Boolean operators to narrow down your search. Sometimes these may appear as options such as вЂ?any of these wordsвЂ™ (= and) or вЂ?all of these wordsвЂ™ (= or).

Glossary

bias Bias is a tendency to prefer one person or thing to another, and to favour that person or thing.

When you search the internet, you also need to be able to identify academically credible sources within your search results. Whereas library catalogues and academic databases contain items which have been selected for their academic credibility, internet search results will automatically list any online material which contains your search terms. In addition, most web search engines are commercial businesses which rely on income from advertising. Companies may pay to have their web pages ranked higher in search results or to have their web pages advertised alongside. This means that you need to look carefully for commercial bias when selecting information for your essay.

Using a specialized search engine facility such as Google Scholar в„ў can help because it lists scholarly publications such as journal articles, books, theses and so on; however, you still need to evaluate the source of the items you find listed.

For more information on choosing suitably academic material, see Chapter 3 (#u16fa79b7-b29d-595f-84af-5cbd640de507).

Exercise 10

Enter the search terms вЂ?generosityвЂ™ and вЂ?innate human traitвЂ™ into Google в„ў and Google Scholarв„ў and compare the first ten items returned by each search result. How many of the items appear to be scholarly?

Remember

When looking for information for an essay, begin with sources listed in your course reading lists and handouts.

Learn to use your university library catalogue.

Get to know where print books and journals in your subject are shelved.

Make sure you know your institutional login so that you can access e-journals and e-books held by your library.

Find out what academic databases are recommended for your subject.

Learn to refine key word searches by using phrases, truncation and Boolean operators.

Find out what additional services your library has to offer вЂ“ take advantage of any training available.

When using the internet for research, narrow your key word searches and be prepared to evaluate items listed in your results for academic credibility.

3

Choosing the right source material (#ulink_a3e58215-37f1-5933-96b7-4c92beff6932)

Aims

choose academically credible materials (#ulink_16d91ccd-4e7f-5dd3-b993-00287efcdcb9)

know who the experts are (#ulink_915dae9f-3a0f-55c8-a989-27fabab38a1a)

recognize what makes a text academic (#ulink_afebbf89-a6e4-5146-be3f-57b8b55b7e58)

choose relevant materials (#ulink_b52495c2-c1ad-50c7-9d7e-0bfcf300a8e0)

manage your materials (#ulink_0348974a-8333-5f03-8bae-4128e53ff29f)

Quiz

Self-evaluation

Which of these texts are suitable to use when writing an essay? Circle your answer.

Choosing academically credible source material for your essay

Selecting good quality source material for your essay is a key skill. Relying on materials recommended in your course reading list is a safe option, but it may not give you all the information you need. You will have to develop the ability to select the right type of material yourself. This is particularly important if you use the internet for research.

Glossary

source material Source materials are books, articles, and other documents that provide information for a piece of research.

Advances in information technology have increased the amount of information available but made it more difficult to identify good quality material. It is now possible for virtually anyone with access to the internet to make their writing available to the public. Whereas in the past, publishers and librarians would have screened information for quality, now the researcher is largely responsible for this task.

Some sources, academic journal articles for example, are normally considered more academically acceptable than newspaper articles for example. However, what is acceptable for your essay will depend on your topic and how you intend to use the material. If, for example, you are writing an essay analysing media coverage of the 2008 banking crisis, it would not only be appropriate but also necessary to refer to newspaper articles and news broadcasts. Nevertheless, you would also need to find sources that support your observations and ideas about the media coverage. To do this, you need to find academically credible source materials.

Glossary

screen If you screen something, you check it systematically to decide whether it is suitable.

cite If you cite something, you quote it or mention it, especially as an example or proof of what you are saying.

There are many different types of materials available, each with advantages and disadvantages. Although some sources of information may not be sufficiently rigorous for you to cite in your essay, they may be useful to you in other ways as you do your research. Popular magazines such as The Economist or New Scientist, for example, could give you a readable introduction to a topic and ideas that you can then go on to investigate through more academic sources if required.

Exercise 1

Match each type of material 1вЂ“6 with the comment aвЂ”f that you think best fits.

Knowing who the experts are

Before you spend time reading a text, it is normally a good idea to check the authorвЂ™s credentials. Authors of good quality, reliable information generally:

Glossary

credentials SomeoneвЂ™s credentials are their previous achievements, training, and general background, which indicate that they are qualified to do something.

have professional qualifications showing they have the knowledge and training to write about the topic

are connected to or work for a recognized and respected organization, for example a university, a research institute, a government department, or professional association

have their work published by recognized publishing houses, journals or organizations

are cited in other academic works

do not gain commercial advantage through promoting certain views.

Tips

If you are not sure whether a publisher, journal or organization is suitable, ask your lecturer and/or university librarian for advice.

If you do not know whether the author of a book or article has been cited in other academic works, check the bibliographies of related publications.

Search for the item through Google Scholarв„ў, which shows how often publications have been cited in other academic literature.

Exercise 2

Read the following biographical information about an author.

Does the author appear to have suitable academic credentials? Why or why not?

вЂ?Heidi Cullen is a senior research scientist with Climate Central, a non-profit research organization through which she reports on climate change for news outlets, including PBS NewsHour, Time.com and The Weather Channel. Before joining Climate Central, Dr. Cullen served as The Weather ChannelвЂ™s first on-air climate expert and helped create Forecast Earth, the first weekly television series to focus on issues related to climate change and the environment. She is a visiting lecturer at Princeton University, a member of the American Geophysical Union and American Meteorological Society, and an associate editor of the journal Weather, Climate, and Society [вЂ¦] She holds a BS in engineering and a PhD in climatology from Columbia University and lives with her husband and two dogs in Princeton, New Jersey.вЂ™

Source: Extract вЂњAbout the AuthorвЂќ from The Weather of the Future by Heidi Cullen. Copyright В© 2010 by Heidi Cullen.

Tips

Use educational and government websites with internet suffixes: .edu, .ac or .gov as they are generally considered more credible.

Avoid online material that is published through commercial sites (sites with a .com or .co suffix) as they may be biased.

Websites of non-commercial organizations usually have a .org suffix. Cite widely known and respected organizations, such as the United Nations.

Be wary of other organizations set up to promote a particular view or cause. They may be biased so indicate this possibility in your essay if you cite them.

Exercise 3

A student searching the internet for texts for the essay: Is generosity an innate human trait? came up with the search results below. Which of the items should be treated with caution? Why?

Choosing up-to-date materials

It is generally preferable to use up-to-date source materials, ideally published within the last five years. However, what вЂ?up-to-dateвЂ™ means in practice depends on your topic. If you are researching a topic that is changing rapidly, for example topics related to science, engineering and information technology, books and articles even a few years old may no longer be relevant.

Glossary

seminal A seminal work is an important and influential work.

Sometimes, on the other hand, it may be acceptable or even necessary to refer to older source material, for example, if you are referring to a seminal work or if you are giving a historical overview of what scholars have said about your topic.

Recognizing academic texts

From time to time you will come across texts which appear to be written by authors with academic credentials but which are still not appropriate for use in your essay because they have not been written for a scholarly audience. It is therefore important to be able to recognize whether a text is appropriate by looking at the way it is written.

Exercise 4

Read the text below. Do you think it has been written for an academic audience? Why or why not?

вЂ?WeвЂ™ve all had experience of generous behaviour вЂ“ people helping others without expecting something in return. We naturally assume that altruism is a virtue that we learn from our parents when we are children. вЂ?Share your toys вЂ¦ Be nice вЂ¦ Let your little brother go first вЂ¦вЂ™ But science says that altruism is probably instinctive.

Fascinating studies of the chimp, our closest relative, have produced evidence that altruism is a genetic trait. Chimps donвЂ™t teach their offspring to be generous, but scientists Felix Warneken and Michael Tomasello from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany have discovered that chimps do give other chimps a hand, even ones they donвЂ™t know, without expecting a reward.вЂ™

When authors write in an academic style for an academic audience, they are more likely to:

support opinions with evidence

refer to other authors by surname (for example, вЂ?DavisвЂ™ rather than вЂ?John DavisвЂ™ or вЂ?Mr DavisвЂ™)

give bibliographic information about works cited (for example, вЂ?Davis (2009: 24) states that вЂ¦вЂ™

use вЂ?objectiveвЂ™ language (for example, вЂ?It is often said that вЂ¦вЂ™ rather than вЂ?We often say that вЂ¦вЂ™

use formal language (for example вЂ?numerousвЂ™ rather than вЂ?lots ofвЂ™)

use precise language

use noun phrases rather than verbs (for example, вЂ?excessive alcohol consumptionвЂ™ rather than вЂ?drinking too much alcoholвЂ™)

Glossary

noun phrase A noun phrase is a noun or pronoun, or a group of words based on a noun or pronoun.

and less likely to:

make claims that are not backed up by evidence

make exaggerated claims or categorical statements, that is statements that do not have exceptions (for example вЂ?everyone likes to have funвЂ™)

refer to other authors by their full names or first names, or use titles such as вЂ?DrвЂ™ or вЂ?MrsвЂ™

use emotive words, for example вЂ?fantasticвЂ™, вЂ?dreadfulвЂ™

use personal pronouns вЂ?IвЂ™ and вЂ?youвЂ™

use slang or informal expressions

use contractions such as вЂ?isnвЂ™tвЂ™ or вЂ?wonвЂ™tвЂ™

begin sentences with вЂ?andвЂ™ or вЂ?butвЂ™

use certain punctuation marks such as the dash (-) or the exclamation mark (!).

Exercise 5

Look again at the text in Exercise 4 and identify the features that make it relatively informal in style.

1 What personal pronouns does the writer use?

2 How does the writer refer to other researchers?

3 What forms of punctuation are there that do not normally appear in more formal texts?

4 What contractions does the writer use?

5 Which words have been abbreviated?

6 Does the writer use any vague or imprecise expressions? If so, what are they?

7 Does the writer use language that is informal or emotive? If so, what examples can you fi nd?

8 What categorical expression does the writer use?

Now compare it with the text below, which has been written in a more academic style.

Altruistic behaviour, that is the offer of assistance to others without the motive of personal gain, is often said to be a characteristically human trait (Carter, 1989; Ericson, 1994). Moreover, it is commonly assumed that children learn to behave altruistically from their parents (Carter, 2004). However, the fi ndings of recent studies of chimpanzee behaviour suggest that altruism may be more instinctive than previously thought. Warneken and Tomasello (2006), for example, have documented numerous instances of chimpanzees assisting other chimpanzees to locate a food source without the expectation of a reward.

Choosing relevant materials

The availability of so much information also means that it is important to learn how to quickly identify whether a text is relevant to your research topic. Titles of academic texts are often very descriptive of their contents, so that is a good place to start. For example, the article from Exercise 3 entitled вЂ?Is altruism a genetic trait?вЂ™ is based on a research article which has the longer more descriptive title: вЂ?Altruistic Helping in Human Infants and Young ChimpanzeesвЂ™.

Exercise 6

Imagine you are looking for information to answer the essay question Assess the European Central BankвЂ™s response to the 2008 global financial crisis. Your key word search has returned the following items. Which items do you think are relevant? Which are not? Why not?

Remember to look carefully at the essay question to identify the focus of your research. Notice how the instructions set the limits of your investigation in terms of

place

time

aspect of the topic to be discussed

1 International financial crises: causes, prevention, and cures

L.H. (2000) The American Economic Review, 2000 вЂ“ JSTOR

2 The aftermath of financial crises

Reinhart, C.M. & Rogoff, K.S. - 2009 - nber.org

3 Structural causes of the global financial crisis: a critical assessment of the вЂ?new financial architectureвЂ™

Crotty, I (2009) Cambridge Journal of Economics. CPES

4 The regulatory response to the financial crisis

Goodhart, C.A.E (2008) Journal of Financial Stability. Elsevier

5 [BOOK] NaudГ©, W.A. (2009) The financial crisis of 2008 and the developing countries - econ.tu.ac.th (http://www.econ.tu.ac.th)

Using abstracts to choose relevant articles

Most databases will supply the abstract of articles as well as bibliographic information. Reading abstracts is a very useful way of determining whether an article is relevant to your topic.

Exercise 7

Imagine that you have been asked to research the impact of social networking sites on the psychological health of young people between the ages of 12 and 16. Is the abstract below a useful source of information? Why or why not?

Facebook, as one of the most popular social networking sites among college students, provides a platform for people to manage othersвЂ™ impressions of them. People tend to present themselves in a favorable way on their Facebook profile. This research examines the impact of using Facebook on peopleвЂ™s perceptions of othersвЂ™ lives. It is argued that those with deeper involvement with Facebook will have different perceptions of others than those less involved due to two reasons. First, Facebook users tend to base judgment on examples easily recalled (the availability heuristic). Second, Facebook users tend to attribute the positive content presented on Facebook to othersвЂ™ personality, rather than situational factors (correspondence bias), especially for those they do not know personally. Questionnaires, including items measuring years of using Facebook, time spent on Facebook each week, number of people listed as their Facebook вЂњfriendsвЂќ, and perceptions about othersвЂ™ lives, were completed by 425 undergraduate students taking classes across various academic disciplines at a state university in Utah. Surveys were collected during regular class period, except for two online classes where surveys were submitted online. The multivariate analysis indicated that those who have used Facebook longer agreed more that others were happier, and agreed less that life is fair, and those spending more time on Facebook each week agreed more that others were happier and had better lives. Furthermore, those that included more people whom they did not personally know as their Facebook вЂњfriendsвЂќ agreed more that others had better lives. (246 words)

Source: Chou, H. G., & Edge, N. (2012). вЂњThey Are Happier and Having Better Lives than I AmвЂќ: The Impact of Using Facebook on Perceptions of OthersвЂ™ Lives. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 15(2), 117вЂ“121.

To determine whether a book is relevant to your topic, check the back cover or inside the front cover for a summary of the contents. If this is not present, or if it does not give you enough information to decide whether the book is relevant, you may need to survey the book or article to verify that it contains information that you are looking for.

For more information on abstracts and on surveying, see Chapter 4 (#litres_trial_promo).

Managing your materials

As you do your research, it is important to have a good system for storing your source materials. Remember that items you have borrowed from the library may be recalled by other users, so where possible photocopy the material that you need. Make sure you respect copyright law. Tagging items with a note of why you selected it or what you intend to use it for may be useful. Keep all paper copies of items in one place.

Glossary

repository A repository is a place where something is kept safely.

For online materials, use the вЂ?favouritesвЂ™ function in your computer or consider using programs which allow you to save different types of files including web pages, PDFs, and audio files into a single file. Many such programs allow you to store your material in a web-based repository, so even if your computer breaks down or is lost, your files can be retrieved.

However you choose to store your source materials make sure that you have full bibliographic information for each item. This will make it easier to create an alphabetical list of sources for the end of your essay.

For books, the bibliographic information you need to record includes:

the author or authors if there are more than one, keeping the names in the same order in which they appear on the cover

the date (use the date of the edition you are using, disregard dates of reprints)

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