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USING THE LIBRARY FOR RESEARCH

Research Skills

The information you find, and the search method both depend on your need.  Most pupils in KS3 (years 7, 8 &9) coming to the Information Library need a small amount of information for a homework or mini-project.  KS4 pupils (years 10 & 11) don’t usually need a lot of detail but a more general view.  A Level students need more detail and varying interpretation.  “Hot” information (new discoveries or research) tends not to be required until undergraduate level.  However, any user might want any kind of information because they find a subject interesting and want to pursue it for their own satisfaction.

Encyclopaedias

are the first stop for general information.  Use the one volume encyclopaedias or the Children’s Britannica, and only move on to the big, multi volume encyclopaedias, like The Encyclopaedia Britannica if you need more detail. 

Index

Always use the index to find your information.  Read the index with care, thought and a notebook to be sure you get the right article and note the page and volume numbers of all the articles which look promising.  To work quickly and look at several articles you don’t want to be going back to the index between each one.  Besides, it is likely that someone else will be waiting to use the only index volume.

 

Acknowledgement of sources, citation

Always acknowledge your sources in the piece of work that is the outcome of your research, whether it is written or oral.  Your teacher will want to know where you found the information, especially if at KS4 or A Level you find that different sources conflict with each other in interpretation or fact.  Failure to acknowledge sources is plagiarism, a major academic crime and one that can result in disqualification at KS4 or A Level or degree level.

 

General/Particular

From KS3 to university study every student should read general sources first to develop an overall view or map of the field of study, moving on to more detailed areas of the subject when your general research has helped you decide where your particular interests lie.  CD ROM encyclopaedias such as Encarta are more general than the Encyclopaedia Britannica but all (including the Encyclopaedia Britannica on CD ROM) can be searched for general information.

Books and other detailed resources

If your study needs greater detail, or if you have, or develop, a personal interest in a subject, you may need or want to go to the shelves.  There are some specific subject encyclopaedias, a sort of half-way stage which you will probably not be able to borrow but must study in the library.  Also there may be books about a broader subject area than you are studying which contain chapters, pages or even just a useful reference to your chosen subject.

Subject Index

Use the Subject Index (the first three drawers in the catalogue cabinet) to look up terms related to your topic.  The cards are arranged alphabetically by subject and tell you the DDC numbers which classify the books in those subjects.  A really useful research tool which you can create at this stage or earlier is a spider diagram which maps your understanding of your topic, to which you can add the DDC numbers when you find them out.  Again, note down the DDC numbers before you  go to the shelves. 

 

SearchStar

Use any school network computer to access the School Library’s Catalogue. In your planner there is advice on how to use SearchStar. When your search on SearchStar finds an item such as a book, an audio tape, a CD ROM or a magazine article, click on the button to find websites associated with that resource and sharing keywords with it.

Shelves

are arranged in DDC order round the Information Library from the Library counter to  the door of the library store with two groups of books out of their proper order, the encyclopaedias and the language dictionaries which are more easily accessible in the central part of the library than where they should be.

Other resources

Don’t forget the CD ROMs, particularly of newspapers; don’t forget we have some periodicals and audio tapes; don’t forget we keep last week’s The Times and The Guardian.

The Internet

Always make a list of keywords before you start to look for information on the Internet.  Use a search engine. Google is popular (http://www.google.co.uk/); read its Advanced Search advice to make the best job of searching.  When you get the list of the 10 most likely hits read through them carefully to avoid “false hits”, which have nothing to do with the subject you are looking up.  Don’t be afraid to look on at the next 10 hits. Don’t be afraid to reconfigure your search and try again.  When you find a good site, mark it as one of your favourites, and make a note of the URL.  Always open a Word file when you start to use the Internet so that you can copy and paste into it anything you find on a site that you want to look at later.  Copy and paste the URLs here so you can tell your friends and teachers about them later.  Never print direct from a web page.  If you use anything from a website in your work always acknowledge it by putting it in quotation marks and citing the URL and the writer’s name as well if you know it.