- [Narrator] This is the Australian National
University Library
and this video will show you how to best tackle
your research assignment.
Meet out hypothetical student, Sheila.
She chose her essay topic the day it was assigned
because it was something she was passionate about.
Hashtag activism and the student climate strike movement.
Her plan of action:
go to the library databases,
find and read some killer resources,
then boom, write a high distinction essay.
Achievement unlocked.
But when she gets to the databases,
Sheila is having trouble finding what she needs
to back up her argument.
She panics.
Did she pick the wrong topic?
But the problem isn't with the topic.
It's with Sheila's own mental model of the research process.
A lot of people see research as a one-way street
from choose topic to find and read resources
to write essay.
But research is actually a lot messier than that.
It's an iterative process,
so there really is no straight line from here to there,
and that can take some getting used to.
Choosing your topic is actually interwoven with
embarking and clarifying our topic,
generating keywords and finding resources,
evaluating and reflecting critically on those resources,
organizing and managing the information,
and analyzing and synthesizing all the information
we have found.
That's before we can even begin
to start actually writing that essay.
So selecting a topic isn't something you do before research.
It is research.
And how much time you spend in this interwoven cycle
depends on the time you have to complete it,
the level you are studying at,
and your lecturer or supervisor's guidelines.
So how does this look in the real world?
If you've chosen a topic that you're passionate about
and you've identified an area to explore,
you are on the right track.
The first step is embark and clarify.
This I where you think broadly on your topic.
Clarify the research question and read widely.
Forming a foundational understanding is critical.
Next it's time to find and generate.
This is where you generate a list of keywords
you want to target in your searches.
Then go to the library databases to find the information.
After you have some sources,
it's time to evaluate and reflect on what you found.
Critically evaluating the information
to ensure it is of a high quality.
Then you need to organize
and manage what you have found.
This is where you sort the information and data,
looking for patterns and themes.
As these emerge, you can begin to analyze
and synthesize the information.
This is where you reflect on the information,
evaluating your own thinking
in light of what you have found.
It is perfectly normal to move between these steps
in a nonlinear fashion
or cycle through this process multiple times
before you're ready to communicate and apply.
This is the fun bit where you get to write your essay,
discuss it with your peers, get feedback,
and really hone your writing.
So in Sheila's case, instead of panicking,
she can search more broadly.
The climate strike movement is relatively new,
so rather than honing in on it straight away,
she can read more broadly on the topic of hashtag activism.
Without a solid foundational understanding,
there will be nothing for her to build her argument upon.
So how could she approach this?
She can start by researching
other key hashtag activism movements
like the 2014 Ride With Me campaign
and the 2017 Me Too movement.
She can also look at the history of activism itself,
comparing the evolution of activism from the pre-digital
to the hashtag era.
She could then look at perspectives
outside her own experience.
The Indigenous Australian context,
multicultural movements, international movements, and more.
Now, engaging with multiple perspectives
may cause Sheila to evolve or change her research question,
and that is perfectly normal
and really what learning is all about.
So if you were struggling to find resources
to support your research, don't panic.
Remember, research is not a simple journey
from here to there.
It can be messy
and follow many additional lines of inquiry
and re-inquiry as you reflect on the resources
you are finding
and how they interact with your topic.
Think of the resources you find as puzzle pieces
that can be brought together to create a bigger
and clearer picture of your topic.
When it all comes together,
you will be ready to write that killer essay.