School of something FACULTY OF OTHER Being Critical: Focusing Your Research Project Bethany Suggett MA Global Development and Gender Education Outreach Fellow University of Leeds Education Outreach Educational Engagement

Outline 1.Picking a topic Where to start Brainstorming ideas Type of Resources 2.Getting Started Where to look Finding Literature Narrowing your topic 3.Give it a go

What to think about Questions to ask: What is already known about the topic? Am I covering this topic in one of my lessons? Is there sufficient literature to work with? What are the current issues surrounding the topic? Does your topic have a clear aim? Can you identify the aims and objectives? How will you go about researching this topic? Have you talked to your teacher about these ideas? Make sure you have a genuine interest in the topic

Brainstorming your Topic Think of a subject that you really like. Now think of a particular class or an element of this subject (area, problem/issue, date, person, etc.) in this subject that you found really interesting. Think of a hobby or something you really like to do. What is it that you like to do and why? Can you think of any issues/questions surrounding this? What is it that you want to do: at university and/or as a career? Why do you want to do this? Is there a particular ‘something’ that stands out to make you choose this discipline/profession? Three things to consider, which may help you decide:

Types of Resources Primary Resources Is a document or physical object which was written/created during the time under study. These sources were present during an experience or time period & offer an inside view of a particular event. Examples include: Original Documents: Diaries, Speeches, Manuscripts, Letters, Interviews, News Film Footage, Autobiographies, Official Records Creative Works: Poetry, Drama, Novels, Music, Art Relics or Artifacts: Pottery, Furniture, Clothing, Buildings Secondary Resources Interprets and analyses primary sources. These are 1+ steps removed from the event. They may have quotes, pictures or graphics of the primary sources in them. Examples include: Publications: textbooks, magazine articles, histories, commentaries, encyclopedias

Getting Started - where to look What sources should we look at? Media: Television, Newspaper articles, Social Media sites (Facebook/Twitter) Academic: GoogleScholar, Open Access Journals Websites: Wikipedia, Google Don’t forget: US/UK spellings, abbreviations, synonyms Keep focused – don’t get side tracked ovhM5ibl8x38aADkmP

Getting Started - finding literature First clarify any unknown information and definitions Use dictionaries for definitions; glossaries for specialised terms and encyclopedias for an overview Identify the main concepts or elements of your topic Use single words or key phrases Use related words, e.g. broad/narrower terms; synonyms Make a list of the relevant keywords & concepts Example: The impact of computers and the internet on higher education learning Concepts: computers, internet, learning, higher education Keywords: computers, information technology; internet www; learning, acquiring knowledge; higher education HE, university, college

Getting Started – narrowing the topic Lets discuss the BP 2010 Oil Spill … What do you think the key concepts are? (What terms would you search for?) Oil SpillBP2010 What information have we learnt? What would be a better search term? Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill What do we want to research? Environmental impact, Politics (US/UK relations), Investigation into what happened …

Evaluating Sources 5 Key areas Authority The Author: expert?; cited by others?; work for a particular organisation?; is it sponsored? Objectivity Is the perspective clear?; is there hidden bias? What is the purpose of the information? Timeliness Is it clear when its been produced?; is it up to date or been superseded? Supporting Evidence Have they provided any?; is it of a good standard?; are they referenced so you can have a look yourself? Relevance Is it at the right level?; is the emphasis appropriate?; is it relevant in relation to your work?

Website Evaluation

Referencing Strategies Key Information to Record for Texts: Author(s) Title Book/Journal Name Chapter/Article Date Published Publisher Specific Pages? Books Where Published Editions Journal Articles Volume & No Pages of Article

Harvard Style Book - One author Family name, INITIAL(S). Year. Title. Edition (if not first edition). Place of publication: Publisher. Adams, A.D Electric transmission of water power. New York: McGraw. Journal Article - Two authors Family name, INITIAL(S) and Family name, INITIAL(S). Year. Title of article. Journal Title. Volume(issue number), page numbers. Gutenberg, B. and Richter, C.F Magnitude and energy of earthquakes. Annals of Geophysics. 53(1), pp.7-12.

Lets Give it a Go Think about your passion and motivation for potential subject choices Think about things you have done that could potentially become a project; visits, holidays, discussions etc. Develop your EPQ focus in the form of a question Think about a specific element of your concept Dates/Time Periods People and Significant Events Politics/Environment/Health/Financial etc. impacts Consider the sources you will need and where to find them Amount of Resources Quality of Resources

Lets Give it a Go Area/Interest: Aims/Objectives: Key ideas you hope to cover: What is the specific element that you are looking at? Date/Time, People, Case Study, Specific Event Politics, Sociology, Economics, Technology, Environment, Psychology What resources can you use? Where will you find them? Primary Secondary

School of something FACULTY OF OTHER Thank You Questions? Education Outreach Educational Engagement