Gathering information and using the Library

There is more to gathering information than a quick Web search using Google and cutting-and-pasting some of the text you find. In fact, that method counts as plagiarism (copying other's work) if you submit it for an assignment.

Read on to learn how to make the most of the Library and the printed or online information that you find.

Gathering information

You will spend a lot of time gathering information for use in essays and dissertations. We offer tips on:

a. Where to start gathering information
b. Is this text relevant?
c. Finding information again
d. Making notes to help you select important information
e. Making notes to help you understand
f. Making notes to help you remember
g. Further tips on making notes to help you remember
h. Organising your notes
i. Key points and detail

a. Where to start gathering information

You will start your course with a Reading List of books and articles.

Buying second-hand

You can buy some books second hand (make sure they're up-to-date).

Buying new

You can buy books new (make sure they'll be useful to you).

Library

Most of the books you will come from the library.

b. Is this text relevant?

When you know the essay question or topic, check that possible texts are relevant by examining:

Date

How up-to-date is the information?

Contents

Are there specific chapters devoted to your topic?

Index

Are there specific references to your topic?

Introduction

Does it give a promising overview of the text?

Chapters

Scan the beginnings and endings of likely chapters: do they seem to be worth reading?

c. Finding information again

When you do research reading it's crucial that you're able to find the information again.

Top tip: Note the sources of quotations as you find them.You don't want to be running around looking for references when you should be finishing your essay. Once you've decided that a particular text has the information you need, start by recording the details you will need for your bibliography.

For a quick overview, here is an example of bibliographic details for a book:

Author(s)	Turk, C. and Kirkman, J.
Date of publication	1989
Title	Effective Writing
Place of publication	London
Publisher	Chapman & Hall

This will make it possible for you to give a correct reference to the work when you quote the ideas in it:

Turk, C. and Kirkman, J. (1989) Effective Writing, London, Chapman & Hall.

You will find comprehensive advice on bibliographies, referencing and citation styles on the Library's website

d. Making notes to help you select important material

Once you have noted bibliographic details, you can make notes on the text.

Relevant

Note down points that are relevant to what you're working on.

Where

Note the chapter and page number so you can reference the material in your essay, and retrace your steps if you need to.

Quote

Write down all quotations exactly, using inverted commas. Check that the quotations are accurate.

e. Making notes to help you understand

Your own words

Putting the information into your own words helps you to understand it.

You understand?

Compare your notes with the original text to check that you have understood it.

Your comments

Add your own comments to any quotations you write down, to remind yourself, possibly in six months time:

• why you think they were important, and
• if you agree with them.

f. Making notes to help you remember

When you're revising for exams, you'll want to make sure you remember the information.

Help your memory

Don't try to learn whole sentences: use keywords to represent the facts.

Keywords

Choose keywords which you will associate with the main facts and central concepts.

Practise

Practise using some keywords and remembering the facts they represent.

g. Further tips on making notes to help you remember

Visuals

Visual images and colours will help trigger your memory, particularly if you're a Visual Learner. Use diagrams and pictures to represent facts.

Funny

You'll find it easier to remember images which are funny or which mean something to you personally.

Mind maps

You can use mind-mapping when you are summarising information.

Index cards

Copy the most important information onto index cards which you can carry around and refer to at any time.

h. Organising your notes

Organise

Organise your notes to help you understand the material.

Headings

Use headings and numbered lists to organise your notes.

Keywords

Write keywords in the margin to summarise each point.

Highlight

Highlight and underline your notes in colour to make key points stand out, and to show links.

Key points and detail

One of the skills which is essential to success both in studying and in most careers is distinguishing between key points and details: ‘seeing the wood for the trees'.

A tree is a good analogy for acquiring this discrimination:

• the trunk - represents the key central concept
• the branches - are less fundamental concepts
• the leaves - are the details

At the end of listening to a lecture, or reading a chapter of a book, you should know what is important (the key points), what is just detail, and how the two relate together.

Using the Library

The University Library contains hundreds of thousands of books and learned journals and provides access to a huge range of online journals and other academic resources.

The Library has an excellent website and printed guides which will help you make the most of the information and resources available.