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Starting a research project requires: good planning, critical thinking, and a smart strategy for gathering information. |
In today’s rapidly evolving digital world, the ability to effectively search for, evaluate, and use scholarly resources is more important than ever. Successful research depends on strong literacy skills, including AI literacy, communication, information, digital, and search engine literacy.
Each of these literacies plays a crucial role in navigating and making the most of the vast amount of information available.
AI Literacy
AI literacy is about understanding how AI works and how to use AI tools, including ethical considerations.
Find out more here.
Communication Literacy
Communication literacy involves the ability to communicate information clearly and effectively through writing, speaking, and digital media.
Digital Literacy
Digital literacy includes the skills required to navigate and use digital tools and platforms, such as software, apps, and the internet, safely and effectively.
Find out more here and explore our Digital Essentials Library Guide.
Information Literacy
Information literacy is the ability to locate, evaluate, and use information effectively. It helps distinguish between credible sources and unreliable ones, ensuring that research is accurate and relevant.
Explore our Information Essentials Library Guide.
Search Engine Literacy
Search engine literacy is the ability to use search engines effectively to find information. This includes advanced search techniques, evaluating source credibility, and avoiding misinformation.
Research Project - Step-by-Step Outline:
♦ Define the Research Problem and Formulate Research Questions
♦ Select a Research Topic and Write a Research Question
♦ Conduct a Literature Review
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Develop a search strategy: Conduct a literature review to understand what is already known about your topic. Use a well-structured search strategy – identify keywords and synonyms, use academic databases, and apply Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to combine terms – to find relevant literature. |
♦ Choose the type of review: Determine the scope and style of your literature review based on your goals.
♦ Analyse and Select Sources: Examine and filter the literature
♦ Evaluate Sources for Credibility and Relevance: Assess the quality of your sources: Not all literature is equally reliable.
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Identify Gaps and Refine Research Questions or Hypotheses Find the research gap: A good literature review doesn’t just summarise existing studies – it identifies gaps in knowledge. Refine your question or focus: Use the identified gaps to refine your research question or formulate new, more specific questions. |
♦ Choose an Appropriate Research Methodology: Decide on the research approach that best suits your question and hypotheses. Find out more here.
♦ Seek Additional Resources (Datasets, Theses, Grey Literature)
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Gather supplementary information: Beyond standard journal articles, consider looking at grey literature and other resources. For instance, if you’re doing a systematic review or a big literature review, searching theses and reports may reveal studies with important insights that didn’t appear in peer-reviewed journals. |
♦ Collect and Analyse Data Using Appropriate Tools
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Collect data systematically: It is important to carry out data collection in a consistent, organised manner to ensure reliability. Use proper analysis methods: After collecting data, analyse it with techniques suitable for your data type and research question. |
♦ Interpret Results in Relation to Research Question: Examine what the results mean. Ask yourself: Did the results answer my research question? Do they confirm or refute my hypothesis?
♦ Discuss Limitations and Implications
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Limitations: Every research study has limitations, and it is important to be transparent about them. Implications: Explain what your findings mean in the bigger picture. |
♦ Draw Conclusions
♦ Communicate Findings Clearly to the Appropriate Audience
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Share and publish your research: Choose the appropriate format(s) to reach your target audience: this could be an academic journal article, a conference presentation. |