Sources Welcome to your Sources Let’s think about some of these issues. If you were writing either an essay or a dissertation about effective work practices and their impact on job satisfaction, which of these sources would you choose? A journal article published in a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal in 2012, by a Professor of Nursing at a well-known university. The title of the article is ‘Work smart: work happy’. A weekly blog written by a nurse entitled ‘Hazards of the workplace – my trials and tribulations’. An email from a friend discussing her experiences at the fast-food outlet where she works. An article written by a journalist in a popular magazine in 1984, entitled ‘How I learned to love my job’. None In the link on reading, we’ve provided you with an article relating to happiness in the neonatal intensive care unit. This would be a good time to have a brief look at the article. Refer to Professor Smallhausen's advice above to help you answer this question. Which of these relate to the article we’ve given you? Does it come from an academic source – a book published by a reputable publisher; or a journal that is intended for an academic readership? Are there references throughout, together with a list of references? Are the authors’ credentials appropriate for academic research? eg. expertise; affiliation with a university/professional body. If it is a journal, is it peer reviewed? Is it current (published recently enough so that the information is not out of date)? Time's up
Accessing Information Welcome to your Accessing Information Where will you find the information you require for your research? Wikipedia Google (including Google Scholar) Social media The university library None Time's up
Information literacy quiz Welcome to your Information literacy quiz We’re going to think about information literacy in this section – and information literacy is mentioned throughout – but first of all, try this quiz about literacy: literacy is: A collection of fictional stories Being able to speak clearly The ability to read and write None Time's up
Independent learning Why is independent learning important? You’ll be spending a lot of time working by yourself. You are the person who is responsible for getting the work done, so you have to be self-motivated. If you have a problem, you have to recognise it yourself and bring it to the lecturer or supervisor’s attention so that you can discuss it. All of the above. None Time's up
Academic literacy Welcome to your Academic literacy Academic literacy is Hint Digital literacy is Hint Media literacy is Hint Time's up
Purpose of researching and writing Welcome to your Purpose of researching and writing What do you think is the purpose of researching and writing your dissertation? You will be undertaking and presenting the results of research that is new, and may even be ground-breaking. All of these. You may have identified an issue or a question that you wish to investigate in detail. The dissertation may be used to summarize or present the findings of a research project you have undertaken. None Professor Smallhausen has said that you’ll be undertaking research that could be ground-breaking. You will be told by your supervisor that when you are researching for your dissertation, you need to find ‘the gap’. What is meant by ‘the gap’? Why do you need to find it? Hint Although you haven’t made a formal start on researching or writing for your research project, you will be starting to give it some thought. Can you write about 200 words describing your project? At this stage, use plain English and try to make your description as clear as possible. There is a good reason for using plain English at this early stage: people outside your discipline may be reading your work, so you need to ensure that they can understand it. Hint Let’s move on three years. Give some thought to your completed dissertation. When it’s finished you will have spent a long time researching and writing it – this has been a very big task and you will be very proud of yourself. You are now an expert in your area of study. How will your dissertation demonstrate to anyone who reads it that you are an authority in your field? You are explaining new ideas that will advance the knowledge in your particular field. The argument you present will be compelling, logical and clearly set out. Your dissertation will include many references from reputable sources, and will demonstrate your understanding of these sources and your ability to connect with them. The dissertation will be interesting and engaging. None Time's up
How to read Give it some thought Now that you’ve read these, write about 2 sentences predicting what the article might be about. Response: ‘I predict that the article will be about…’ Hint Read and summarise the whole articleRead the whole article. Don’t stop to look up any words or phrases you don’t understand – you can come back to these later. Make a note of them by highlighting them or using ‘sticky notes’. Read the article twice (or maybe three times) to help your understanding. Now minimise the article so that you can’t see it and write a short summary – no more than 4 sentences that captures the ‘essence’ of the article. Response: The focus of the article …’ Hint Figure out those hard wordsGo back to your highlighting or ‘sticky notes’ and sort out those troublesome words. Think about the words in their context (that is, look at the whole sentence, or sentences around the words, to look for clues about the sense of the words). What do you think they might mean? Then you can look up each word in your dictionary. Make sure it’s an English-English dictionary (not a translating dictionary). Professor Smallhausen has found some difficult words and has highlighted these words: adaptation (p. 1) The article says: ‘they encounter many challenges in this adaptation process’; ‘how to make international students’ adaptation proceed more smoothly becomes an important pedagogical issue’. Use the context (the words around our chosen word) to think about the meaning. Then write down what you think the word adaptation means. Answer: Professor Smallhausen says that the context tells him that students have to make adjustments in their new educational environment, so he thinks that it has something to do with making changes. My dictionary tells me that adaptation can be either an adjective or a noun, and gives the meaning: the process of change by which something becomes better suited to its environment. Correlated (p. 3) The article mentions that ‘language proficiency is highly correlated with international students’ academic performance’. Use the context (the words around our chosen word) to think about the meaning. Then write down what you think the word correlated means. Answer: Professor Smallhausen says that two things (language proficiency and academic performance) go together, so he thinks it means that one thing is linked with another. My dictionary tells me that it is a verb (past tense) and gives the meaning: established a mutual relationship or connection between things. Obstacle (p. 6) The article says that ‘international students would face several challenges when they tried to adapt to a new environment. The language obstacle for international students was widely observed by the educators.’ Use the context (the words around our chosen word) to think about the meaning. The write down what you think the word obstacle means. Answer: Professor Smallhausen thinks it links to ‘challenges’ and means that something is preventing the students from improving. My dictionary tells me that it is a noun and gives the meaning: a thing that blocks one's way or prevents or hinders progress. Time's up
