Resource tool

Our tutorials and user guides are available for staff and students to support you information literacy teaching and learning. Access the different stages of the information literacy cycle to see our range of support materials.

Identifying
Scoping
Planning
Searching
Evaluating
Referencing
Presenting

Identifying your information need

When you receive your assignment the first thing to do is to read all of the information carefully.

You need to identify:

What is the question asking me?
Does the assignment require me to be descriptive, evaluative, reflective or a mixture
What type of information am I likely to need?
What do I already know about this topic?

Spending time at the beginning of the research process thinking and planning will help you to identify what information you need and what is expected of you in your assignment. The same is true if you are researching a topic and do not necessarily have a specific question formulated at the time. As you begin the research process, and working with your lecturers, you will develop a specific research question and focus which will help you when trying to find appropriate information.

The ‘Identifying your information need’ tutorial will shortly be available to help you to become familiar with the process of analysing your question and identifying your information need.

If you require assistance please contact your Academic Support Librarian.

Scoping the resources

There is a range of information sources available to you, including:

Books
Journals
Websites
Newspapers
Databases

You are likely to be using a range of these when writing assignments. However, each have certain attributes, strengths and weaknesses depending on your subject area and topic of your assignment. Working through the tutorial to gain further information on these aspects. If you require help accessing and using our resources, contact your Academic Support Librarian.

Planning your search

Now that you have identified the key concepts in your question and potential sources of information you are ready to begin planning your search. You have probably already realised there are different ways of describing your concepts. You will need to incorporate this fact in your searching to ensure you retrieve all the information you need.

Consider:

How else could this topic be described?
Are there any professional/technical terms?
Are there any variations in spelling eg organisation or organization?

We recommend you do not try to search using sentences in our databases. Instead you should use keywords. To construct meaningful searches we use linking words or Boolean Operators. There are three main operators:

Access the Search strategy User Guide to discover how to plan your search and use Boolean Operators.

Searching

Time to begin searching

Searching is not a linear process, you should be constantly reviewing you search to improve your search and find the best information for your assignment. Throughout the searching process you need to try different keywords and phrases and make judgements on which are the most effective. This section will introduce you to some ways you can get help with searching, however if you need any support remember to contact your Academic Support Librarian to arrange a 1-2-1 or small group tutorial.

Where to search

Before you begin a search you need to decide where to look. The SCOPING RESOURCES section can help you with this. The type of information you need will affect where you choose to look.

Searching databases

Many of the searches your carry out for your assignments will be in academic databases, where you can find journal articles from a range of publications that match your key words. The databases are all available in SOLAR and you can access them by name, or find a list of databases relevant to your subject area.

The Library has written User Guides to help you with searching databases. You can also find short videos on how to search key databases online, for example in YouTube. It is always best to find videos provided by the company who produces them so you can be confident that they are accurate. Some of the major packages used at Salford University have help videos, which are listed below:

Finding electronic full text

Some databases will allow you to access the full text of the article you want directly, but in many cases you will need to click the red Find It button, or search SOLAR to locate the full text of an article. For help accessing journal articles, read our User Guide Journal articles - how to find them.

If you use Google scholar on campus you will notice that links to full text content or to Find It at Salford often appear next to results, this is because Google is connecting to our University electronic resources. In order to recreate this off campus you need to set up your Google scholar preferences. You can learn how to do this from our User Guide Google Scholar and Find It.

For help on how to get the most out of searching Google scholar you can visit their Help pages. Searching more widely

Databases are a fantastic way to search effectively for journal articles; however there are other ways to find relevant research.

Citation searching

This method is where you find articles that are connected to one another by their references.You can carry out citation searches yourself by checking the reference list at the end of an article and then using SOLAR's e-journals section to see if we subscribe to that article. This will allow you to locate evidence upon which the article you have read is based, so it is taking you back in time from your article. Some databases also have options to see items under a 'cited by' link, this allows you to move forward in time to see evidence written since your article which refers to it in their reference list. Citation searching can help you find relevant material that did not necessarily have your chosen keywords and therefore would not have appeared in your search results.

Hand searching

This is another useful way to check you have covered all the evidence. You can conduct hand searches using either print or electronic journals. Hand searching is simply the process of identifying a small number of key journals on a topic and looking through the contents pages to see if any articles that might be connected to the topic but do not contain the relevant search terms can be identified. Hand searching may also connect you to relevant material where a particular journal is not covered by the database(s) you have searched.

Finding other information

You may need to find information that is not written in journal articles, and there are many good places to look. The internet is a vast resource of information, but you need to carefully consider anything you find online to decide if it is appropriate to include in an academic assignment. Visit the Evaluating information section to learn more.

Getting help

Your Academic Support Librarian is an expert at finding information in your subject area, so whether you are just starting out and feel confused or would like help in refining an existing search, contact your Librarian to arrange an appointment.

Evaluating information

Finding information is only the start! You then need to evaluate it. There are many different ways of evaluating information depending on the type of resource and your subject discipline.

However, some general things to consider are:

Date of publication - is this resource up-to-date? Does it contain the latest research?
Who has written it? Is it from a reputable source?
Does the information show bias? This is not always a bad thing but you should bear this in mind.
What is the purpose of the piece?
Can the information be verified?
Who is the resource aimed at?

The tutorial uses the REVIEW method for evaluating information.

Referencing your work

Acknowledging your sources is an essential part of the academic process. You do this by referencing your material. Most subject areas at the University of Salford use Harvard APA referencing style.

The Library has a range of resources to help those students using Harvard APA. You can access:

Exceptions to the Harvard APA referencing style

The only students exempt from this standard are:

Law students will continue to use Oxford University Standard for Citation Of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) referencing: see Referencing: Using OSCOLA for Legal Referencing [pdf]
English students will continue to use Modern Language Association (MLA) referencing (see your tutors for help)
History students will continue to use Short-Author title referencing (see your tutors for help)
PhD Students: you must use a referencing style that is appropriate to your academic discipline, and the style must be consistent throughout your thesis. Your supervisor will be able to advise you which style you should use. It is recommended that you use EndNote to help with your referencing.

Coming soon! We hope to have access to the Epigeum 'Plagiarism and how to avoid it' tutorial very soon, which also covers referencing. In the meantime please use our tutorial for help.

Further information on checking for plagiarism and the e-submission process can be found on our e-Submission pages

Important notice

Remember: Failure to acknowledge your sources could lead to accusations of plagiarism - a form of academic misconduct for which the penalties can be severe. More information is available in the University's Academic Misconduct Procedure [pdf].

Need help?

If you require assistance with referencing please contact your Academic Support Librarian.

Study Skills also provide workshops on referencing

Here is a video to help you Avoid Collusion

Presenting your information

Once you have found what you are looking for, you will need to consider how you present your findings. You may be asked to do this in a number of different ways, for example in a written assignment, an academic poster, or a PowerPoint presentation.

Before you begin to present your findings you need to establish what you have discovered. As you find information, you should evaluate your sources to decide if they are appropriate for inclusion in your work. See our Evaluating information section.

Study skills at Salford

Visit Study Skills to find a range of support, covering academic writing, reading and note taking and reflective writing.

Critical thinking

You need to develop skills around critical reading and thinking in order to find ways to present your findings effectively. Learn all about these skills in the following titles:

Once you have identified your main arguments, you can begin to develop your final content. The way in which you do this will depend on the format; however you can get lots of help at the links below.

Written assignments

Presentations

Presentation skills

Some resources from other institutions

Here is a small selection of useful resources.

Referencing and Plagiarism

It is essential that you give credit to any sources who have influenced your work in order to avoid plagiarising. You can find detailed advice on how to reference a range of sources in your work, and information on issues around citing and plagiarism in the Referencing section.

You must remember to consider plagiarism and referencing when producing academic posters and presentations, just as you would in a written assignment. Details on how to reference images are available in our User Guide Referencing Images.

Getting help

For help with assignment writing or presentation skills, contact Study Skills
For help with searching for evidence, referencing or IT skills, contact The Library