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Research and Reading


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The following strategies bring together the research process, the structure of the sources, and the purposeful use of the tools that organise your ideas and thinking, to help you research and read effectively.

 

This strategy provides a starting point for research and reading on your topic.

 

  • Brainstorming gets you started on unpacking and thinking about a topic you may know very little about. 
  • Using a Mind Mapping tool is a very simple and visual way to identify, group, and link the different ideas related to your topic.


This strategy helps you to:

  • think very broadly and very generally about the topic
  • come up with ideas not immediately obvious as being related to the topic
  • begin identifying key words and key concepts to follow up in your research and reading

 

This strategy helps you to get a general idea about your topic, and then focus on key points that might become the claims / arguments in your assignment.

 

Get a broad overview of the topic

  • Find and read general background information.
  • This sets out key ideas, differing perspectives, and biases.
  • Use the skimming and scanning reading strategies to read this material.
  • Gather ideas from your readings using a simple reading grid.
  • Use this to plan 3-4 key points about the topic you might want to focus on.                        

                             

Focus on the key points to collect evidence:

  • Find information focusing on the key points you want to make.
  • Read this material using the intensive reading strategy. 
  • Use a complex reading matrix to organise the key points / themes that will make up your claim / argument.
  • The matrix helps you map how all your readings relate to the assignment topic, and where they could be used as evidence to support the claim / argument you want to make.

                                                                                                     

 

 

 

This strategy uses the structure of the source to help you quickly evaluate:

 

Is this relevant to my assignment?

Scan headings and text for topic keywords

  • Books - Book title; Table of Contents / Chapter Headings; Index
  • Journal Articles - Article title; Abstract; Conclusion; Results / Findings

 

Is this an academic source?

Scan book and journal article sections:

  • Author Biographical information - helps evaluate author perspective and area of expertise by their affiliation with research institutions/organisations;
  • also extremely useful to identify bias - especially if an organisation is funding the research.
  • Reference List - helps evaluate the kinds of sources the author has used as evidence
  • In-text Citations - helps evaluate how the author has used sources to support their claim

 

Go to   >> Study Toolkit for Reading Strategies that help you manage a large reading load efficiently.