Developing Your Research Skills
Having the right skills and tools to perform effective research can make a huge difference in the success of your assignment. Research skills concern locating, evaluating, analysing and synthesising information. There is a lot of information out there online, so developing your research skills and learning how to find what you need is not just a skill that will serve you at College, but in your working and personal life too.
This page looks at some of the tools you will need to discover resources for your assignments.
What kind of Resource do you need?
Depending on what your assignment or research topic is about, the first thing you need to think about is what kind of resource is best suited to the task. Different resources can be helpful in different ways. For example...
- Books - are good at providing a deep level of knowledge on one topic, are usually a very credible source.
- Journal articles - are good at providing very up-to-date information on often very niche topics, usually a very credible source
- Websites - are good at providing information on a range of niche topics, but their credibility is less reliable
What is credibility and why is it important that the resources you use are credible? Learn about evaluating resources.
Library Subject Guides
Each course at the College has a dedicated subject guide. These are webpages curated by the Library Information Adviser for your subject area, and contain hand-picked resources for your course. This may be a mix of books, websites, videos, and journals, as well as reading lists where available.
You can find a link to the subject guides on the Library homepage. You can also open the drop-down menu below and choose your subject area to view the associated subject guides.
The Library Catalogue
An excellent place to begin finding resources for your assignment is the Library Catalogue.
The catalogue is where you will find all of our physical resources (books, textbooks, DVDs, print journals) as well as where you can find and access eBooks. For more information on how to use the catalogue search and some of its other features, see our page on The Library Catalogue.
Discover More
Discover More is our most advanced search engine. If you need more niche resources, or you're looking for academic journal articles, then Discover More is the best place to find them.
Library Information Advisers
Your Library Information Advisers (LIAs) are another valuable source. If you're stuck on where to begin searching for resources or you need help locating information, you can make an appointment with your LIA for direct support. Remember, each LIA specialises in different subjects, so check which LIA covers your subject area.
Featured Resources for Research Skills
Find Your Source
The key to building a strong academic argument is finding the best sources. Find Your Source shows you how to cut to the chase and uncover the right sources for your project. Hone your research skills and use your library effectively Focus your online search so you don't get lost down a black hole Sniff out quality sources (and reject the unreliable ones).
Doing Research
This concise, easy-to-read guide gives you all the basic knowledge needed for planning and doing research well, whatever your course of study.
Research Methodology
This practical book is designed for anyone who is planning to undertake a research project in the social sciences for the first time. Organised around eight operational steps, it explains difficult procedures step-by-step.
Research Proposal
When it comes to research proposals, there are essential elements and students often forget them, miss them, or struggle to find a workable plan. This book gives you a clever, beautiful workbook packed with real life examples to keep on track.
The Undergraduate Research Handbook
This practical, research-informed text will provide students across all disciplines with models, tasks and activities to enable them to plan, action, write and present quality research.
Doing Your Research Project
This is the market leading book for anyone doing their research project. Clear, concise and extremely readable, this book provides a practical, step-by-step guide to doing a research project from start to finish.
Doing Essays and Assignments
Giving students an insider's view of what lecturers and professors are looking for when they set essays and assignments, this text provides practical and effective guidance on how to write successful essays and other written assignments.
Useful Links
- Finding resources for your assignmentThis guide covers the pros and cons of each kind of research resource, from books to websites.
- What is Research?The online guide will introduce you to research and explain the language around methodologies.
- The CRAAP TestThe CRAAP Test is a list of questions to help you evaluate the information you find. Different criteria will be more or less important depending on your situation or need.