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Updated July 2014
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Where is all this ‘literature’?How do you choose and read an academic
textbook?How do you select and read journal articles?How can you keep up to date with the latest
research in your area?Creating notes and keeping records
Where will you find sources of info?http://libguides.worc.ac.uk/education or http://libguides.worc.ac.uk/earlychildhood
Sources:Books, eBooksDictionaries, encyclopediasNewspapersMagazinesAcademic journalsConference papersTelevisionRadioSpeechesDebatesStandardsLegislationPolicy, consultation documents (green/white papers)Theses, DissertationsBlogs
Library (Hive) andLibrary Search
Academic Search Complete, British Education Index; WRaP*; EPPI-Centre
Teachersmedia; Box of Broadcasts; on demand; You Tube; TED Talks Hansard (parliament.uk);
organisations and charities
News websites;TES; Lexis Library
legislation.gov.uk; Education in England website; Childlink; Digital Education Resource Archive (DERA); Department for Education
Dissertations and Theses; Level 4 (Hive)Try www.google.co.uk/blogsearch
*WRaP: http://eprints.worc.ac.uk/For websites see http://libguides.worc.ac.uk/education/websites
My iLibrary, Dawson Era
How to choose and read a textbook
• Title, contents, index (keywords?), authors, date of publication
• Introductory chapter – what’s it all about?• Skip to and skim a chapter – readability?• Don’t expect to read from cover to cover• Read first, create notes later• Summarise your understanding• Use it in those 2 weeks and expect
to return it
Journals
• Journals list on the LibGuides subject page• Use Zetoc to set up email alerts for key titles:
1. Click the Zetoc link on your LibGuide2. Click Zetoc Alert for emails3. Find and select ‘University of Worcester UKFed’4. Log in as normal5. Enter your preferred email address for receiving the alerts, and give it a
name (optional)6. Alerts have an expiry date so you can come back to change or add alerts. 7. Click ‘Add Journals’ to search for titles, or ‘Add Searches’ to add authors
or keywords. (You can switch between these on the next page.)8. (Use Library Search to access the full articles – just search by article title.)
How to choose a journal article
•Who are the authors?•Where are they
from?•When was the
article published? (Does it matter?)• Abstract and
keywords
Another abstract example – research study
Background (sometimes with references); methods; analysis; findings; conclusions; further research or work needed
• Are the reference details on the article itself? (Note down WHERE you accessed it too)• Title: ’review’
what’s to come• Author – known?
Background? What else have they written?• Keywords to
describe the article
• Look for related articles where available• Use the
reference list to find out about new sources
Intro: signposting for the reader – read this first
Conclusions – particularly for research studies – will this be of relevance? Is it worth reading the whole article?
(As an aside – notice how citations are included in the writing…)
Evaluate (all sources but particularly website information)
• Authority – who wrote it and who are they?• Audience – who was it written for?• Accuracy – use your own knowledge• Breadth and depth, references – validity and reliability• Bias – why was it written and by who (role)• Currency – date (does it matter?)• Comparison with other sources – primary sources and
further reading
Purpose and relevance: Remember that you are writing for an academic purpose and audience
Notes and records• Be discerning: Your time is precious. Evaluate books and articles
before borrowing or printing. Know what you want to read and get from them.
• Keep records: where you have searched, and the searches you have tried. Some tools provide a search history which you can save/email/print.
• Keep references: index cards or a Word document of all references you’ve consulted and read – in Harvard format.
• Note creation: include your thoughts and reflections on what you’ve read, alongside ‘typical’ notes of quotes, paraphrases and page numbers. This will inform your eventual essay structure.
• Summarise: your own short summaries of chapters and articles are easier to refer back to than whole documents in folders, especially when you want to find something quickly, compare sources and plan an essay.
A Few Useful References• Chong Ho Shan, P. (2012) How to read journal articles in the
social sciences: a very practical guide for students. London, SAGE. (300/SHO)
• Judge, B., Jones, P. & McCreery, E. (2009) Critical thinking skills for education students. Exeter, Learning Matters. (370.7/JUD, ebook available)
• Richardson, L. & McBryde-Wilding, H. (2009) Information skills for education students. Exeter, Learning Matters. (025.524/RIC)
• Wyse, D. (2012) The good writing guide for education students. 3rd edition. London, SAGE. (808.042/WYS)