Senior Student Support
Question matrix Helps students create their own questions about a specific topic and to encourage in-depth thinking
Study skills Articles on note taking, remembering, writing skills and more
How to write Bibliographies
Books
Name of author/s (surname, first names).
Year of publication.
Title of book (underlined).
Place of publication:
Publisher.
Examples:
McLarty, Ron. 2005. Rediscovering the Romanovs. London: Historical Press.
Butler, M., Hopkins, D. & Willis, J. 2001, Animal Behaviour. Johannesburg: Macmillan Education.
Books with editors
Name of author/s of chapter (surname, First name)
Year of publication.
Title of chapter or article, ‘in’
Title of book, ‘edited by’
Name of editor/s
place of publication:
Publisher
Page numbers of chapter
Example:
Machet, M. 1988. Authorship and book publication in South Africa, in The Information Society, edited by N Shillinglaw & W Thomas. Craighall: Donker: 77-100.
Encyclopedia Articles
'Title of article',
Title of Encyclopedia
Year of publication,
Edition,
Place of publication
Publisher
vol. no.,
page no/s.
Example:
‘War of 1812', The World Book Encyclopedia. 2006, Chicago: World Book, vol. 21: 28-33.
Interviews
Name of interviewee
Year of interview
Position of interviewee (if relevant).
Subject/title of interview.
‘Interviewed by ...,’
‘Transcript of interview’.
Date of interview.
Example:
Wessels, Tessa. 2002. Former prisoner at Dartmoor Prison. Life in prison, interviewed by Sally Nelson. Transcript of Interview. 21 February.
How to plan and do a project
Research Project Basic Steps
Step 1: Define the Research Task.
Identify the information requirements
What am I supposed to do?
What is the problem I need to solve?
What are the questions I should answer?
What type of information do I need?
How much information do I need?
Should I narrow or broaden my topic?
What will my completed project look like?
When must I submit the project?
Step 2: Use Information Seeking Strategies
What do I already know
What are my possible sources of information?
Books, Web sites, periodicals (print, online), E-mail, interviews, television, video?
Which indexes should I use?
Which are the best sources of information?
Step 3: Locate sources of Information.
Find Information from within Sources
Where will I find my best resources?
Who can help me find the materials I need?
Within my sources, how will I locate information?
Print: tables of contents, indexes, headings, subheading, bold print, scanning text;
electronic: database strategies, keywords vs. subject, identify keywords
Should I go to other libraries?
Step 4: Use of Information (reading, hearing, viewing, interacting)
Interpret and Record Information
Which information is relevant?
How will I record the information I find—note cards, graphic organizers?
What is the best and most logical structure for organizing my information — e.g. compare/contrast, chronological?
Are there appropriate quotes I can use?
How will I acknowledge my sources and avoid plagiarism?
Step 5: Synthesis and Final Presentation
How will I organize information from multiple sources?
Can I eliminate information that does not answer my questions?
How will I present the results of my research? Format? Structure?
What conclusions have I made?
Purdue's OWL Resource has good examples of effective writing and editing at :
General Writing Concerns.
Step 6: Evaluation
Answer the following questions:
Have I completed the requirements of the assignment?
Is it logically organized and carefully proofread?
Is this my best work?
How could I have improved the project? What will I do differently next time?
Did I really answer the questions I posed?
How efficient was my research?
How effective is my product?
