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Topic Selection
97
Topic Selection
03. 04. 2017.
Your Topic
Should be:
1. Focused
2.Current
Your Topic
3. Of local or Global Interest
(4. Related to your discipline)
topic tips
Be precise. Choose a specific aspect of your topic to write about.
Broad
Internet addiction
more focussed
topic tips
Internet addiction and teenagers
focussed
Internet addiction and its effects on teenagers in China
Your topic will be difficult to research if it is...
Too Broad: "Internet addiction".
Your topic will be difficult to research if it is...
(You may be overwhelmed by the amount of info available).
Too narrow: "Internet addiction at CUHK".
(There may not be much info available).
Too recent: "Internet addiction in 1001 students in Term 2 2017-2018".
(There may not be much info available).
Start broad
finish focused
It is a good idea to start broad, with a category or area of interest, and narrow it down.
Once you have a strong topic, you can begin breaking it down into searchable terms ...
Category: Environment
Topic: Conservation of marine creatures
Issue: The negative impacts of human activities on whales in Japan
Once you have a strong topic, you can begin breaking it down into searchable terms ...
Task 3: Brainstorming Overused Topics
Task 4: Finding Topics
Individually or in small groups, brainstorm current and relevant PSE topics.
This should NOT be a topic you have written about before.
Choose topics that are interesting and meaningful to you.
Use your phones to search reputable news websites. Suggestions:
BBC; The Guardian; The New York Times; The New Yorker; Al-Jazeera; The Economist; The Atlantic; Time; CNN.
After finding a few topics groups should discuss and agree that topics are suitable for the task.
Researching your Topic
From a topic to a keyword search
Academic or scholarly resources:
Academic or scholarly resources:
For your essay you need a minimum of 5 scholarly resources
These sources can include books, academic journal articles, and published reports.
Whatever the form, academic sources are usually:
- written by a researcher or scholar
- written for an audience of researchers or
scholars
- they are peer-reviewed by experts in the field
- published by a reputable publisher
- include a list of references
https://study.com/academy/lesson/academic-sources-definition-examples-quiz.html
Task 5: Determining if a source is academic
Using the checklist we just viewed, determine if the Wikipedia article on page 35 is an academic source.
Task 5: Determining if a source is academic
While this Wikipedia article does have a list of references, it does not fulfil the other criteria of an academic source. For example:
• The author is unknown to us, and therefore could be an academic researcher or scholar, but there is no way to know this;
• It is not published by a reputable academic publisher;
• It is not peer-reviewed (and in addition can be edited by anyone); and
• It is written for a relatively general audience.
Task 6: Categorizing academic and popular sources
k) Blog posts
b) Online magazine articles
g) Articles on a website
r) E-books
l) YouTube/Vimeo Videos
f) Wikipedia articles
a) Academic journals/periodicals
d) Online newspaper articles
n) Research reports
p) Legal documents
o) Interviews and survey data
j) Government documents/reports
s) Podcasts, T.V. and radio programmes
i) Books by academic publisher
q) Private organisation reports
t) Masters theses and PhD
dissertations
h) Trade journals (or publications)
m) textbooks
c) Print magazine articles
TASK 7: EVALUATING THE USEFULNESS OF SOURCES FOR ACADEMIC WRITING
Not Commonly used for Academic Research
Might be used, Depending on Context
Commonly used for Academic Research
B
C
D
E
H
J
Q
P
R
S
T
F
M
G
K
L
A
I
M
N
O
R
U
What is an academic journal?
These are collections of “original research articles, written by researchers and experts in a particular academic discipline”.
They are also known as scholarly journals or
peer-reviewed journals.
Source: http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/research-assistance/format-type/scholarly-journals
What is peer-review?
An editorial board asks subject experts to review and evaluate
submitted articles before accepting them for publication in a
scholarly journal.
Submissions are evaluated using criteria including the excellence, novelty and significance of the research or ideas.
Scholarly journals use this process to protect and maintain the quality of material they publish.
Members of the editorial board are listed near the beginning of each journal issue.
Source: http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/research-assistance/format-type/scholarly-journals
So How can you find academic sources?
Google Scholar
https://scholar.google.com.hk/
CUHK Library
http://www.lib.cuhk.edu.hk/en
From a topic to a keyword search
Internet addiction and its effects on teenagers in China
From a topic to a keyword search
Your
Topic
Keyword search
China
teenagers
Internet
Addiction
How to find related keywords:
How to find related keywords:
- Brainstorm
- Use a thesaurus to search for similar words or synonyms
- Do an initial web search which will likely yield results from Wikipedia or online newspapers & magazines which will help introduce you to related key terms
Selecting key words and related terms:
Internet addiction and its effects on teenagers in China.
addicted
The People's Republic of China
dependency
teens
symptoms
consequences
outcomes
health problems
web
net
apps
gaming
habit
adolescents
The PRC
excessive
use
Chinese
youth
Task 8A and 8B:
1. Take your own tentative topic and brainstorm related key words (5 minutes).
2. Jot these down in your coursebook
Using Library Search and Google Scholar
Search Tips
From a simple to an advanced search.
Search Tips
Library Basics
Step 1:
Visit http://www.lib.cuhk.edu.hk/en
Step 2:
Click "Search".
Step 3:
Sign in to the top right hand corner.
(If you do not sign in you will not be able to access all the material the library has to offer).
General search tips:
General search tips:
"All" will yield results for all kinds of sources (Books, articles, theses etc.)
You can modify the kinds of sources you would like to recieve in the search results here.
Keywords: Youth Internet China
You can see what kind of source you've found here.
Books usually offer a more general and comprehensive understanding of a topic, while articles often focus on a specific aspect of a topic.
Refine your search further by using "subject headings" & "Contents Notes"
Subject Headings
describe what the book
is about.
Contents notes provide
information about
topics covered in a
book.
more clues to the usefulness of a source:
Tip:
Save yourself time
and effort by reading the summary or
abstract of an article to
get an idea if the article
will be useful.
Advanced Search Tips
Advanced Search Tips
Task 8D: Search Operators
Watch the video and describe the following function of the below operators to your partner:
1) AND between two words or phrases
2) OR between two words or phrases
3) * at the end of a word
4) Quotation marks "..." around a word or phrase
Google & Google Scholar makes use of the same search operators
So you can make use of these tips in either CUHK Library's advanced search tools or within Google Scholar.
https://scholar.google.com/
Let's take our previous topic as an example:
Using 'and' and 'Or'
Using 'and' and 'Or'
Using truncation and quotation marks
Putting it all together...
Refining your search by date
Making use of databases
A database is a searchable collection of information.
In library research, a database is usually where you find journal articles.
Each database can be organised by subject or broad research area (for example: humanities; sciences) and contain thousands of articles which you can search for simultaneously and quickly to find articles with higher relevancy.
Library databases by title or subject: http://libguides.lib.cuhk.edu.hk/az.php
Homework: Doing an advanced library or google scholar search
1. Log in to the CUHK Library Website http://www.lib.cuhk.edu.hk/
2. Click on “advanced search”
3. Use your key words and Boolean Operators to try and find information on your topic. (Feel free to test, change and refine your key words as needed).
Referencing
To mention or cite a source of information.
Example:
"each essay should have references to books or articles covering the subject in greater depth".
Referencing
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
1. What is Plagiarism?
2. What are some different examples of plagiarism shown in the video?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brOoE7SufrA
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is an attempt to pass off the work of others as
one’s own.
Borrowing from other sources is great, but we must cite them properly to avoid stealing.
Without careful work, students sometimes unintentionally plagiarize.
Using five consecutive words in a row, or paraphrasing poorly, may constitute plagiarism if the source is not acknowledged.
Assessments which have been plagiarised will receive a mark of zero.
The maximum penalty for plagiarism is course failure.
Examples of Plagiarism
1. Using another author’s words without quotation marks (“…”)
2. Improperly summarizing another author’s words/ideas and failing to acknowledge them through citation/referencing
3. Improperly paraphrasing another author’s ideas and failing to acknowledge them through citation/referencing
4. Using your friend or classmates work as your own (with or without permission)
5. Paying another person or organization for work and passing it off as your own.
6. Patchwork plagiarism (using multiple ideas from multiple authors and attempting to pass it off as your own).
Citation
AKA
referencing
Citation
AKA
referencing
Always cite your sources!
Always reference your sources!
What is citation?
&
Why
shou...
What is citation?
&
Why
should
we
cite?
- Enables our reader to locate the source themselves
- Shows that we have done our research
- Ensures we avoid “accidental” plagiarism
- An accurate and correctly formatted citation makes a good impression on the reader
different citation styles
The most common citation formats are
MLA (Modern Language Association) style; which is primarily used for papers in the humanities;
APA (American Psychological Association) style, which is primary used for papers in the social sciences;
and Chicago style (The Chicago Manual of Style), which is used for both humanities and social science papers
How to cite different sources in APA style:
How to put together a reference list in apa style
Step 1: Put the reference list at the end of your essay.
Step 2: Title your list "References" and centre it.
Step 3: Put you reference entries in alphabetical order.
Step 4: Place your references in a hanging paragraph.
Step 5: Include all essential information in each entry:
- author name (Family name followed by initials)
- publication date
- title of work/s (journal article title; journal title; book title; book chapter title; newspaper title; film/youtube title etc.)
- publication information
Each reference entry is slightly different based on the kind of source
Example:
Referencing practice
Complete Activity 4 in your handout.