Academic research

This web quest is to introduce academic research: looking for and using reliable sources.

Your task consists of three parts: 

Part 1: decide on an area in your field o study that you wish to find out more about

Part 2: explore different online sources to find information

Part 3: deciding if the information you find is reliable and can be used for study

To complete the task follow the steps below

Step 1: decide on an area of interest in your field of study 

Step 2: go to Google Scholar and type in the area of interest 

Step 3: click on some of the links and have a look at what is there.

Step 4: decide if the links are any use to you  

Step 4: use other search engines such as JSTOR, ERIC, SPRINGER, Directory of open access journals (these are data bases with journals)

Step 5: search for other sources that may be useful (i.e. government websites; websites for Non-Government Organisations (NGOs); individual academics; sites or journals for your area of study (i.e Office of National statistics)

Step 6: use the university's library catalogue and see what comes up

Step 7: use reputable news sources (i.e. the Guardian, the Telegraph, the Financial Times, Reuters, BBC)

IMPORTANT: as you search through the information assess whether the information is reliable.

To help you do  this, ask yourself the following questions

•     Is the article peer reviewed? 
•     Does the article or book have references?
•     Are there other works by this person?
•     Is it from a good publisher or well-known source?
•     Is the writer well-known in the field?

You may not be able to answer all these questions to start with, but always keep them in mind when you are researching information for any academic work. 

Once you've researched your chosen area, take some time to reflect

•     Did you find anything interesting?
•     Did you learn something new (about your subject and researching online)? 
•     How will you research in the future?