1. Understanding Your Research Needs
- Defining Your Topic: Start by clearly identifying what you're researching. What is your subject or topic of interest?
- Developing a Research Question: Guide students on how to formulate a clear and focused research question. This step can significantly influence the direction and scope of their research.
- Keywords and Phrases: Develop a list of relevant keywords and phrases related to your topic. These will be crucial in searching databases and catalogues.
- Search Strategies: Teach basic search techniques, such as using Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), phrase searching with quotation marks, and wildcard characters for variant spellings. This can help students in conducting more effective and efficient database searches.
2. Identifying Suitable Sources
- Type of Sources: Are you looking for books, academic journals, articles, or specific documents? Understanding the type of source can guide your search process.
- Source Evaluation: Assess the credibility and relevance of your sources.
- Publisher and Author Credibility: Who published the material? Who is the author? Do they have a reputable background or affiliation?
- Author's Expertise: Consider the author's qualifications and expertise. Are they an authority in the field you're researching?
- Evaluating Online Sources: Since students often turn to internet sources, a section on evaluating the credibility of online information (websites, blogs, forums, etc.) can be very useful. Discuss aspects like domain authority, objectivity, and currency.
3. Analyzing Content
- Citations and References: Examine the citations used in the source. How current are these references? Do they lead to credible and relevant information?
- Methodology: If the source is a research study, understand the methodology used. Does it align with your research needs?
- Relation to Topic: Ensure that the majority of the citations are directly related to your topic of interest.
4. Critical Evaluation
- Reading Between the Lines: Look out for the language and phrases used. Are there any biases or assumptions?
- Annotations and Reviews: Read any available annotations or academic reviews of the source. These can provide insight into the source's credibility and value.
