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How to Research & Reference in HASS: Research

A guide for Year 7s.

Research Steps

Lets imagine that you are conducting research for a History assessment on Stonehenge. Your assessment asks you to investigate why Stonehenge was built. 

You will need to break this topic into keywords so that your search can be effective. You can use the keyword of Stonehenge itself, but may want to include other keywords as a part of your investigation. An example is below:

Main Keyword Other Keywords
Stonehenge purpose
  history
  construction
  age
  materials

There are several steps you can follow when conducting research for a task. Many of these steps involve using the library's website. To find this, go to the SEQTA Welcome Page and select the library icon:

Step One - Library Catalogue

Search the library's catalogue (called Oliver) to see what books they have on the topic:

1.On the library's homepage, select the search icon:

2. Using one or more of your keywords, search the catalogue and have a look at the results. 

Step Two - Library Databases

The library subscribes to several databases that may help you to find quality information suited to your age group. This step should be completed BEFORE you search the internet for information!

1. On the library's homepage, select the databases icon:

2. Have a look at the list of databases and their descriptions. There are three databases that would be suitable for this topic:

- Encyclopedia Britannica

- Gale eBooks

- Clickview

3. Take a look at these three databases and conduct your search again to find information.

 

Step 3 - The Internet

Now that you have examined resources from the school's library, you can head to the web to find any extra information you need. Because of the vast amount of information available on the web, there are a few extra tips that can help you to locate quality information.

When you use your keywords to search for information in a search engine like Google, be aware of the types of websites that appear on your results page. Some comapnies pay for their websites appear at the top of search results. Be cautious of this - you may need to look further down the list to find what you're after.

1. Using one or more of your keywords, conduct a Google search  and have a look at the results.

2. Consult the table below to anaylse the websites that seem suitable. We call this the CRAAP method of website evaluation.