Utilising online study resources
During the coronavirus pandemic, you will no longer be able to visit your library to access textbooks and journals. Instead, you will only be able to use online study materials.
Though you may be used to accessing study resources online, you may need to develop some new skills to be able to utilise your online resources effectively.
Let’s take a look at some of the common skills and approaches that can help you navigate the online study resources that you may now be using.
Search skills
Sourcing new information begins with an effective approach to searching. There is a vast amount of resources available to you from the wealth of internet resources. Knowing where to start can be overwhelming.
You should still have access to your institution’s online library where you will find a wide range of electronic textbooks and journal articles. Indeed, many libraries have been working hard to digitise their physical library collections in response to the current world events. Utilising your institution’s online library wherever possible will ensure that you are accessing high-quality resources. Try these steps:
- Break down the topic you are researching into a list of keywords which you can then search in a systematic way. You may find that you have more success with similar but alternative keywords. For example, instead of searching for the word 'exam', you may find a wider range of results using the word 'assessment'.
- Use quotation marks for specific phrases, such as “learning technology” rather than learning technology. If quotation marks are not used, search engines pull up all results related to each individual word- in this case, that would be everything related to learning and technology.
- To avoid endlessly searching, set a time-limit for your search and move on once you feel you have exhausted it.
Evaluate search results
Once you have identified a potential source, it is important to evaluate it for credibility, reliability and veracity. This may be easier to achieve with some sources than others. For example, if you have searched within a peer-reviewed journal database, you can feel confident that the materials have been subjected to a critical review and editorial process to ensure its quality.
However, if you have searched the internet, you will need to carefully evaluate the quality of the material presented as it may not be subject to the same editorial evaluation.
When evaluating the quality of the source, you can ask yourself these questions:
- who wrote the content?
- where was it published?
- when was it published?
- why was it published?
- how it is written and presented?
- what references are cited within the article?
These questions can help you identify any potential issues.
For example, if an article was published by an organisation who have a vested interest in the subject, the article may be biased and should be treated with caution.
Additionally, if the article was published a long time ago and much has changed since, you may need to source some recent material to compare and contrast the content.
Once you've identified that a source is of appropriate quality, your evaluation can turn to the author's viewpoints and conclusions.
Open access resources
Open access resources are intended to widen access to high-quality research and to reduce barriers to knowledge. They are academic resources which are free to use and are offered as an alternative to the traditional subscription-based access restrictions.
The rise of open access resources presents challenges to students seeking high-quality materials as newer open access journals have lower impact ratings and are less attractive to publish in than more traditional subscription-based journals. As such, you may miss key publications if you rely on open access resource alone. Try to combine open access resources with your institutional access to texts and journals.
In addition to open access resources, a number of publishers have made a wide range of ebooks and online material available to students and teachers to support teaching and learning during the coronavirus pandemic. To find out more about the resources that Pearson are sharing, access the links at the bottom of the page.
Keeping track
Once you have searched and evaluated your resources, you can use online tools to collate, organise and keep track of those that you have referenced or used to influence your assignments or group work. This will help you to produce your reference list and/or bibliography.
Cite this for me - a simple website which can generate citations.
Endnote -a free bibliography maker.
Zotero - a bibliography and citation storage tool.
While these resources can help to save you time, it is important that you review the accuracy of the information you are storing. Also, while your chosen tool may take time to set-up and manage, it should make your writing a little simpler in the long run.