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EPQ

EPQ. Research Skills. Making a start. The key is finding and selecting the best resources Make sure you have a variety of resources This will show the reader that you have carried out a full search which increases your chances of finding credible material. Where do YOU look first?. Google?

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EPQ

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  1. EPQ ResearchSkills

  2. Making a start • The key is finding and selecting the best resources • Make sure you have a variety of resources • This will show the reader that you have carried out a full search which increases your chances of finding credible material

  3. Where do YOU look first? • Google? • NO • Wikipedia? • NO – why? – Watch Professor Wikipedia • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaADQTeZRCY • Ask a friend? • NO • The Library? • OF COURSE

  4. Why The Library? • It is the gateway to all knowledge • It has books • Electronic resources • And the giant human search engine – Mrs E!

  5. Print Resourcesare • Generally reliable • You can check an author’s credentials • Bibliography useful for further exploration • Currency – don’t forget to check. It can take a while to write, edit then publish a book. It may have gone into many editions – do you have the latest?

  6. Books • Get hold of reviews and abstracts • These can often provide an overview and bibliographic material • A review is someone else’s opinion of the work • An abstract is a resume of the contents • They can help you decide if the book will be useful

  7. JournalsWhat are they? • Magazines written for an academic audience • Up to date • Peer reviewed

  8. How to access print resources • You can borrow books from: The School Library Departmental Libraries The British Library (via school) The Public Library • You may be able to read books at York University Library

  9. ERY Librarieshttp://www.eastriding.gov.uk/cs/culture-and-information/libraries/online-reference-and-information/ • Via your membership you have access to: • Encyclopedia Britannica and Britannica Student • Know UK and News UK • Oxford Reference Online • Oxford Art Online • Oxford Music Online and many others

  10. Subscription Databases • School has access to paid for databases: • Issues Online • Heinemann Worldbook Online • History Today • The Economist • Greece and Rome

  11. Search Tip • Start on paper - What do you already know? - Where are the gaps in your knowledge? - Think of keywords and phrases - Use more than one example to widen your search - What kind of search engines are you going to use?

  12. The Web • There is too much information out there! • Books • Newspapers and Journals • Audio visual • Websites

  13. Searching You need to use specialist tools: • Search engines – for comprehensive researching • Meta search engines – less precise, but present findings in different ways • Subject portals • Subject directories

  14. Subject Directories and Portals • Contents arranged by subject area, subject catalogue • Selected, annotated and maintained by specialists • Good for initial use if searching a general topic with broad keywords and phrases • Quick access to best sites • Fewer results, possible currency issues

  15. Use the Search Tools • Boolean operators: AND OR and NOT - you can access these via the Advanced Search options as well as date restrictions, field keywords etc. • Treat “words as phrases” for precision • Use a ~ (tilde) to search for synonyms • Search in lower case unless looking for names • Mine your results, exploit new keywords/phrases

  16. The Free Web • Using search engines, meta search engines we can access most of the free web • Examples of search engines: • www.google.co.uk • Check out the Search Me tutorial: http://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/untrusted_dlcp/www.google.co.uk/en/uk/schools/files/searchtutorial.pdf Examples of meta search engines: • www.dogpile.com • www.ixquick.com • http://uk.altavista.com

  17. The Invisible Web • It has been estimated that it is possibly 800 times bigger than the free web (source: about.com http://websearch.about.com/od/invisibleweb/a/invisible_web.htm) • It is the largest and most important part of the web • The usual search tools will not help • It comprises intranets, password coded collections and databases

  18. Databases • Organised, searchable collection of materials • Filtered and evaluated by publishers, authors etc. • Invisible to robots, spiders and crawlers OPACs • Online Public Access Catalogue • Can be accessed from anywhere • Examples, British Library, University and Public Libraries • Search by author, title, keyword

  19. Search Tip Use subject headings on catalogue entries to find more resources Original Search “bovine tb”

  20. Have a look at • The Librarian Internet Index: http://lii.org/ • The invisible web directory: http://websearch.about.com/od/invisibleweb/The_Deep_Web_Find_Out_More_About_The_Deep_Web_Deep_Web_Search.htm

  21. Ask an Expert • These sites really work – there are experts who will come back to you with answers! Recommended sites: allexperts.comThis site claims to have answered a million questions, which can make searching through the archives a challenge. Its experts are volunteers and include lawyers, doctors, engineers and scientists. Advice is free; most questions are turned around within a day. Ask A Mad ScientistDespite the frivolous name, and some horrible design, the question section at madsci.org is free and informative. With 36,000 questions answered by the 800 scientists on its books, it’s hard to think of something they haven’t already figured out. Peake, Mike. "The 10 Best 'Ask an Expert' Websites." Times 31 Jan 2010, Print.

  22. Evaluate your Sources Are they - CREDIBLEcheck credentials of sites, authors, web addresses ACCURATEcompare sources RELIABLEwhat is the aim of the site? Check for bias RELEVANTquality not quantity. Does it answer the question? Use the URL address extensions to check the type of site: • .com or .co.uk • .edu or .ac or .sch • .gov or .gov.uk • .org • %~

  23. Academic Fraud • What is it? • Stealing other people’s work or ideas • Copying from a friend • Buying from the internet • Help from others • Cut and paste without attribution

  24. I didn’t mean to do it ... • The information really did come from a book but I can’t remember which one • I can’t express it any better than the website did, but I changed a few words • My Mum wrote the summary because I was running out of time • I reused a piece of work I did last year – well it is my own work

  25. How to avoid it • Credit facts and ideas • Be organised – keep a record of all the resources you use • Ensure all quotations are in “quotation marks” • Paraphrase • Summarise/minimise

  26. Clearly identify your sources – make a bibliography • King Edward VI School, Southampton has a great page explaining the hows and whys of referencing – why should Mrs E reinvent that wheel? http://intranet.kes.hants.sch.uk/api/subwebs/?id=51&pid=221

  27. How to knock our socks off The bibliography is potentially the most time-consuming part of your work Don’t let it be Use citation machines – simply fill in the boxes http://www.citationmachine.net/index.php Remember, it doesn’t matter which system you use – APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago – as long as you are consistent

  28. THE END • And just to make sure I haven’t plagiarised: This presentation is based on work done by Jane Whitelaw, Heckmondwike Grammar School A.J. Edwards July 2010

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