Identifying research information

Tristram Hooley
SCONUL Seven Pillars

Real
knowledge is
to know the
extent of one's
ignorance.
Confucius
Research is about finding information
Information is infinite you cant look at
everything.
A key question is where to start looking.
1. Assessing your current knowledge.
2. Defining your research question or area.
3. Identifying likely places to look.
Assessing current knowledge
Before you start researching a topic it is useful to think about what you know
already.
Consider
What do I know?
Where did I learn it?
How far can I trust
what I know?
Who do I know with
expertise?
What do I want to
know?
Where are the gaps?
Defining your research question/area
Research requires focus you cannot investigate
everything.
There is a skill in asking a question that it is possible to
answer within the frame of your project.
What is the meaning of life, the universe and
everything? is not a viable research question.
The expert knows
more and more
about less and less
until he knows
everything about
nothing.

Mahatma Gandhi
Some focusing questions
This project will study

To find out

So that more will be known about

This project will not study
For example
This project will study how doctoral students use University libraries.

To find outmore about how researchers use research information.

So that more will be known aboutgenuine researchers practice and
library use and how this relates to theories of information use.

This project will not studyhow libraries work, how doctoral students
use other information sources, how other professions and the general
public use libraries etc.

Research question to keywords
Keywords are tools to help you to answer your research
question.
Developing keywords is about thinking about what
concepts are important to your topic and how others
might have described those concepts.
Watch the short film on keywords from the University of
Houston to help you to construct keywords.
Identifying likely places to look
Particular authors
Particular research centres
Key texts
Journals
Libraries
Databases
Websites
In summary
Before you start researching spend some time thinking
about the information that you know, defining what you want
to know and thinking about where it might be located.
www.derby.ac.uk/icegs
Tristram Hooley
Professor of Career Education
International Centre for Guidance Studies
University of Derby
http://www.derby.ac.uk/icegs
t.hooley@derby.ac.uk
@pigironjoe

Blog at
http://adventuresincareerdevelopment.wordpress.com