Plan your research

1. Plan

Your research questions and keywords

• What is the scope of your research

  1. • Recent or historical?; What geographical area? Who is your audience?  

• What are your main concepts or keywords 

  1. •  Why did Australians enlist in World War 1?

• Identify alternative keywords - are there synonyms, related terms, alternative spellings, changes in terminology over time, different terminology used in other countries 

  1. •  World War 1 OR First World War

     •  enlist OR volunteer OR sign up

2. Identify

What resources do you need?

• Reference materials like dictionaries or encyclopedias give you background information on your topic and can help you clarify the meaning of your concepts. 

• What type of resources are relevant to your task?  Books, websites, images, newspaper articles, academic journal articles...?

• Library staff can help you find resources for your topic.  

3. Locate

Use the web and library resources 

• Search the web - see the Web Searching  guide for tips. 

• Not all information will be freely available in the web

• Consider print resources in the library - books, newspapers and magazines. 

• Some online resources are only available to subscribers - have a look into VBC Library eResources - or access even more sources through the public or State library. 

4. Evaluate

Check that the information  you have is suitable for your task

• The sources you use for school assignments should be authoritative, relevant and at an appropriate level. 

• Usually information in books, newspaper and journal or magazine articles has been checked by an expert before publication. When you use websites for research, you will need to spend time considering how authoritative the information is.  

See the Evaluate Sources guide for more information.  

5. Document

Keep track of the sources you use

• Keeping good records will help you to cite (or reference) your sources, and avoid accidental plagiarism.  

• Make a note of the search terms you use. You may need to search for the same information again later - or to try the search in a new source. 

• Keep a list of any books, articles or websites you use. Make sure you note page numbers of any information you will quote or refer to in your assignment. 

• Consider using social bookmarking sites (e.g. diigo) to help keep track of web references.  

• Software like myBib can help you keep track of all your sources, and to build your reference list or bibliography when you complete the assignment. 

More

• The State Library of Victoria's Ergo website has great information on how to carry out each stage of your research. 

• The State Library's Research Essentials for Secondary Students video series.