Throughout your IB Diploma and university years, you may be writing reports, critical reflections, scholarly articles, developing projects and conducting oral presentations.
What all of these forms share is their emphasis on providing reliable information through well-developed, persuasive arguments supported by evidence. So just where do you find reliable evidence to inform yourself, expand horizons and strengthen your arguments?
Many students use the internet to search for information relevant for their assessments and different assignments and projects. However, the amount of information we are able to locate can be overwhelming. Just by entering certain terms and phrases into a popular search engine, you may be faced with millions of results. How do you navigate this world of information and identify the truth within it? How do you know what to choose?
Dr Maja, from Westbourne College Sydney shares 6 Top Tips to help you in this process:
1. Make your own archive
Decide how you will store the information depending on your preferences and learning styles. For example, you may want to store the information digitally on your personal device.
Create thematic folders and clearly labelled documents to store resources as you research online. Divide the folders based on different topics and concepts relevant to your research. This way, you will be able to access the information when you need it and you will be able to attribute it properly through referencing.
2. Choose the right keywords
Choosing the right keywords when you start searching is a skill in itself. Keywords help you navigate millions of results that may come up when you use a search engine to locate information.
Your keywords can be general concepts related to the topic you are researching which you can narrow down by adding different words such as “impact”; “influence”; “role” and other specific keywords.
Try different combinations as you narrow your scope and examine the results. The more you narrow your scope, the more relevant your results will become!
3. Evaluate your resource
How do you know something is the right resource? How do you know it is reliable?
We live in a world where access to information is easy and convenient, but not all information we receive is reliable and verified by evidence.
Check to see where the source was published. What kind of website it is? Is the article posted on the website of a legitimate platform? Prominent scientific and scholarly organisations which are widely recognisable often contain reliable and engaging information relevant to your topic.
Universities, schools and educational institutions frequently publish well-written and informative articles, reports and other resources. Choose your websites wisely and avoid overtly informal, unreliable platforms.
4. Assess the scholarly quality
Online Encyclopaedias are a good and frequently reliable resource such as Encyclopaedia Britannica for general information, biographies and general explanations you may need to inform your search. The entries are written by experts or authoritative figures knowledgeable about the field.
University websites often host reports and articles which are openly accessible and written by scholars or experts. Many academic journals host freely accessible articles written by scholars which have been peer-reviewed. This means other scholars who are experts in the topic have read and reviewed this information before it has been published which makes them reliable and informative sources of information.
5. Consider expertise
When searching for various articles, you may be faced with a dilemma: is this a reliable source of information? Apart from assessing the platform on which this was published, you can also evaluate the author or authors. Ask the following guiding questions: is this person an expert in the field? What are their qualifications? Do they have the necessary expertise to make claims about a specific topic? Has their work been published in scholarly journals and reliable platforms? Finding information about the author can be a useful way to assess their expertise.
Note: Some resources may not have an explicit author attached to it. If no author is available, return to the previous step to assess the legitimacy of the publication by evaluating the actual platform / website on which the resource was published.
6. Access different databases
Apart from using a search engine and keywords, you can also access different scholarly databases and open access journals which are freely available online. Many scholars and academics upload their work to various online databases where they freely share important research articles or link the articles from their online profiles. Many websites and platforms also hold freely available resources, journals, books and magazines. Some options include:
– Google Scholar – provides a wealth of scholarly articles and publications across different topics and disciplines
– Google Books – accessible digital resource for online scholarly works and magazines
– ResearchGate – another useful platform containing millions of scholarly publications and useful information on authors’ expertise
– Directory of Open Access Journals – a database listing academic journals which are open access / freely available.
– JSTOR and Artstor Open Content – database of open access scholarly content, images, videos, audio files and others
There is a wide range of options available and developing your selectivity, critical thinking and evaluation skills as you navigate the vast world of information will equip you for online researching at university and beyond!