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Regardless of whether you choose research as one of the Approaches to Learning skills applied in your Learning or Product Goal, you will all research some aspect for your project. Use this page for helpful hints and resources in that process.
Regardless of whether you choose research as one of the Approaches to Learning skills applied in your Learning or Product Goal, you will all research some aspect for your project. Use this page for helpful hints and resources in that process.
Research Skills
Research Skills
Student shows evidence of the use of resources drawn from a wide variety of sources.
Source Type: Credible websites, blogs, encyclopedias, audio, videos, books, magazines, newspapers, scholarly articles, interviews, field notes/observations.
Shows evidence of explicit evaluation of many sources, with thorough descriptions of scope, credibility, reliability, accuracy, authority, and point of view.
Considers limitations and strengths of the sources as well as author bias, and evaluates based on the goal of the project. Cite all relevant information in text.
Uses correct MLA in-text citation format with very few minor errors (spelling errors, small formatting errors, etc.)
Used with permission from ISS Personal Project by Lenny Dutton
What is the Research Process?
What is the Research Process?
Selecting Academic, Credible and Useful Resources
Taking Notes from Sources
Referencing Information
Synthesizing Information
Applying New Knowledge and Skills
Research Skills
Research Skills
Which skills are more challenging than others?
Which skills are more challenging than others?
There is a hierarchy of skills in the Personal Project: some skills are more challenging than others. Use this helpful list to guide you to understand the level of Research Skills you are achieving.
Evaluating Sources
Evaluating Sources
You must evaluate the sources that you use in your research for the Personal Project. At LCS, we use the OPCVL method, but there are other methods as well.
Here are some alternative methods and links:
ACCESS FM (analysing existing products - products are a type of source!)
CARS checklist (evaluating online sources)
CRAAP Worksheet (possible worksheet for process journal)
Evaluating Print Sources (checklist)
Evaluating Sources - Questions to Ask (possible worksheet for process journal)
Source Evaluation Table (possible worksheet for process journal)
Source Types
Source Types
Students must use both primary and secondary sources, and a range of different source types.
Source types: books, newspapers, magazines, field notes, interviews, videos, journal articles, experiments...
The following information is from UNSW Sydney's Library website, as they shared this information in a clear, concise and easy to understand way. (If this is still not clear, you can find information about primary and secondary sources on other websites here, here and here).
Primary and secondary sources
Primary and secondary sources
Primary sources provide a first-hand account of an event or time period and are considered to be authoritative. They represent original thinking, reports on discoveries or events, or they can share new information. Often these sources are created at the time the events occurred but they can also include sources that are created later. They are usually the first formal appearance of original research.
Secondary sources involve analysis, synthesis, interpretation, or evaluation of primary sources. They often attempt to describe or explain primary sources.
Scholarly journals, although generally considered to be secondary sources, often contain articles on very specific subjects and may be the primary source of information on new developments.
Primary and secondary categories are often not fixed and depend on the study or research you are undertaking. For example, newspaper editorial/opinion pieces can be both primary and secondary. If exploring how an event affected people at a certain time, this type of source would be considered a primary source. If exploring the event, then the opinion piece would be responding to the event and therefore is considered to be a secondary source.
Primary sources
Primary sources
Examples of primary resources include:
diaries, correspondence, ships' logs
original documents e.g. birth certificates, trial transcripts
autobiographies, manuscripts
interviews, speeches, oral histories
case law, legislation, regulations, constitutions
government documents, statistical data, research reports
a journal article reporting NEW research or findings
creative art works, literature
newspaper advertisements and reportage and editorial/opinion pieces
Secondary sources
Secondary sources
Secondary sources offer an analysis, interpretation or a restatement of primary sources and are considered to be persuasive. They often involve generalisation, synthesis, interpretation, commentary or evaluation in an attempt to convince the reader of the creator's argument. They often attempt to describe or explain primary sources.
Examples of secondary sources include:
journal articles that comment on or analyse research
textbooks
dictionaries and encyclopaedias
books that interpret, analyse
political commentary
biographies
dissertations
newspaper editorial/opinion pieces
criticism of literature, art works or music
Used with permission from ISS Personal Project by Lenny Dutton
Interview Skills
Interview Skills
It is important to be prepared for all your interviews. Even if you intend for the interview to be informal, laid back and spontaneous, you should still have a list of topics and questions you want to cover. You should ask open questions, covering who, what, why, how and when! After your interview you can write up a summary or transcribe the entire account. If you are doing your interview through email, make sure to keep a copy of the whole email conversation. You may wish to use this in your process journal as evidence of research, collaboration or communication skills!
For further advice/help:
Used with permission from ISS Personal Project by Lenny Dutton
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