YOU have an assignment to work on, and you’re going to have to do some research to get started. So where do you kick off?
Throwing a couple of key words in Google is where most people start their research and although it may yield something juicy, leaving that as your only resource is somewhat limiting. To make the most of your research, try these steps:
Make a list of what you need
The best place to start your list is to look at the rubric.
It will tell you what sort of information you need, and the marks assigned to each will tell you the depth you will need to cover.
Check the course text
If you have one, this should lay out the parameters of your research and reveal some of the highlights.
Make a list of the references, and chase these down
Having read the original work instead of a summary will be insightful and will give you good leads to more resources.
Check the library
Look for textbooks and appropriate journals. If you have an online database at your university, check this for academic papers and conference papers.
Check Google Scholar
Website http://sholar.google.com specialises in academic information, so throw your key words in here and look for important recent contributions to your subject. Tip: If you find a good paper, put the name of the author into Google Scholar and check his/her citations list. You may find other helpful material on it.
Check Google News
In some fields, researchers publicise their work over traditional news media so put your subject or the name of a current field guru into http://news.google.com . It may yield a lead to a book or other resource that you haven’t covered yet.
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