Plan

Question analysis

Analyse the question and identify the "information need". Ask questions like:

• What is the real question being asked?

• What information is needed to answer the question?

• What are the different parts or sub-questions?

• What information is already known?

The time spent now, reflecting on the assignment question and what it really means, will save time further down the track.

Type of information

The next step is to figure out what type of information is needed and where to obtain it.

For example some assignments require academic, scholarly journal articles and others might require primary sources to be used.

Type of information needed for all assignments:

• Accurate

• Relevant

• Authoritative

• Suitable for an academic assignment

• From a broad range of sources

Examples of assignment specific information:

• Must be current information

• New Zealand specific (although global information will offer a broader perspective).

Potential Sources

Where to look for information will be determined by your information need.