Planning Your Work
It can be quite overwhelming starting any kind of research but if you break it down into smaller separate steps, it’s much more manageable & not so scary.
Define your topic- The first thing to do if to read the assignment your lecturer has given you and understand exactly what topic they want you to research. Choose keywords and phrases that best describe that topic.
Remember to include synonyms & related terms, older/out-of-date terminology, and alternative spellings in your list, e.g. American spellings.
Think About the Scope of Your Topic- think about the time period you are interested in and what geographical location you are concerned with, e.g. Irish Art. Are there other factors to include?
Choose Which Types of Sources of Information You’ll Search- Are you looking for local material or internationally published items? Do you want English language publications only? The quality of your sources will be important too.
Will you use books/e-books, journal/e-journal articles, databases, websites, newspapers, blogs, dictionaries, encyclopedias, others?
Plan & Carry Out Your Research- Where will you look for your sources? You would normally search in more than one place, e.g. on the Library Catalogue, Databases, Google Scholar. Choose where you will search and search them using your list of keywords and phrases (or key terms).
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