I’m too young to remember decimalisation in 1971, but the idea was that working in ’10s’ would make life easier. If you’ve got an essay or piece of course work to research, here are 10 things which can make your life easier.
1. Pinpoint the topic. I know it seems a bit obvious, but you can waste a lot of time faffing around because you’re not clear what it is you want to find. Think about all those hours wasted wandering round Princes Street looking for something to wear on Saturday night. Maybe something black or maybe green? Sleeveless or short sleeves? To go with those new shoes, or not? Lack of clarity can lead to wasted time and few results.
2. Do a bit of background reading. Get a feel for the topic and the terminology used. Jot down some key terms.
3. Plan your search. Think of it like a holiday. You don’t just set of without a suitcase and no passport to the airport with no reservation and no place to stay. You spend a bit of time planning. You identify possible destinations and come up with a few alternatives. You research flight routes and timetables and review a few hotels. Do the same with your search. Plan what concepts and keywords you’re going to use. Think of a few alternatives terms. Get your passwords together. Decide what databases you’re going to use and some routes in to the information. To use the Scout motto – be prepared.
4. Think about alternative search terms. If you go to the supermarket looking for a tin of Campbell’s chicken soup and you can’t find any – you don’t give up do you? You might think of looking for other makes – or you might try another shop. You might think about other varieties and move to different aisles in your search. It’s similar with searching for information. If at first you don’t succeed – adapt your search. Modify your search terms, broaden your search out or try a different database.
5. Have a cup of tea. A short break will do you good!
6. Think about where you’re going to search. Let’s go back to looking for that elusive outfit. If you’ve focused down on what it is you’re looking for (black, smart, short sleeves and not more than £40) you can target shops that sell that kind of stuff. Even if you have to go to two or three, its got to be quicker than trawling through every shop in Princes Street looking for something you don’t even know the colour of. So, once you’ve pinpointed your topic, target some relevant sources. The library’s databases page might be a good place to start. Here you can select databases covering your subject. You might also find the Library’s How to Find Out Guides useful.
7. Keep detailed notes of the useful stuff you find. Its frustrating to use a really good book or article for your essay and then when it comes to writing up, you don’t have all the reference details. Maybe you’ve got the author surname but not the initials. You might have jotted down the journal name in shorthand but now you have to write it out in full. What is “Nat Proc Ind Eng”? National Proceedings of Indian Engineers or Natural Processes in Industrial Engineering? And what pages did you get that really good quote from? If you can’t attribute it you can’t use it.
8. Use something like EndnoteWeb. EndnoteWeb allows you to keep all the details you need of all your references together in one searchable database on the web. You can import references from searches (with a couple of clicks from Google Scholar, Web of Knowledge and others) and add notes like “quote used on page 2 of marketing essay taken from page 111″ You’ll never be lost for the correct page numbers again. It’s also fully compatible with the desktop version of Endnote offered by the University’s Information and Computing Service (UICS). There is training available on the desktop version for PhD students and staff and all students and staff can register to use EndnoteWeb. You might also want to have a look at other free web-based services like Connotea or Zotero
9. Don’t pass off other people’s ideas as your own. If you use other people’s ideas or quote from the work of others – say so. Citing & referencing may sound like nothing you can be bothered with but it can save you a lot of hassle. It allows you to show how you’ve used other people’s ideas in your work. Of course this also means its easier for the reader (i.e. the marker) to identify your original thoughts. If its your idea - you should get the credit!
10. Make EndnoteWeb work for you. Endnote and EndnoteWeb can automatically create a reference list or bibliography for your course work – in a choice of different formatting styles. Whatever style you choose, all the punctuation will be in the right place. Hours of time saved there! Remember you need to register to use EndnotWeb.
That’s it! Ten things to make your life easier. Trust me . . . . . . I’m Miss Dewey
Photo on this post by Mrs. Maze www.flickr.com
Creative Commons licence for this photo
Posted by Iain Young 
Posted by Iain Young 
Posted by Iain Young 
