Research: B2+. Anneli Williams

the book.

      

Tips – Key points are highlighted for easy reference and provide useful revision summaries for the busy student.

      

Glossary – Difficult words are glossed in boxes next to where the text appears in the chapter. There is also a comprehensive glossary at the back of the book.

      

Remember sections – This is a summary of key points for revision and easy reference.

       Authentic academic reading texts

      The book uses authentic examples of academic reading texts and essays in different academic subjects to help you apply what you learn to your own essay, whatever your subject.

       Glossary boxes

      Where we feel that a word or phrase is difficult to understand, we have glossed this word/phrase. All definitions provided in the glossary boxes have been taken from the COBUILD Advanced Dictionary. At the end of the book there is a full alphabetical list of the most difficult words from the book for your reference.

       Using Research

      You can either work through the chapters from Chapter 1 to Chapter 13 or you can choose the chapters and topics that are most useful to you. The Contents page will help in your selection.

       Study tips

      

Each chapter will take about five hours. Take regular breaks and do not try to study for too long. Thirty to sixty minutes is a sensible study period.

      

Regular study is better than occasional intensive study.

      

Read the chapter through first to get an overview without doing any exercises. This will help you see what you want to focus on.

      

Try the exercises before checking the Answer key. Be an active learner.

      

After doing the exercises in the book, try them again using your own research topic and reading materials. If possible, ask a more experienced researcher to give you feedback on your work.

      

All university departments are different. Use the information in the book as a guide to investigating your own university department.

      

Write questions you can ask to find out how your department expects you to do research.

      

There is no one correct way of doing research. Use your experience of doing the exercises to learn what works best for you. Adapt the suggestions in this book to suit your learning style and context.

      

Learning to do research is an on-going process, which means you need to practise the same skills many times. Revise regularly.

       Other titles

      Also available in the Collins Academic Skills Series: Writing, Lectures, Numbers, Presenting, and Group Work.

1

Getting started

       Aims

understand the purpose of research

learn how your research will be marked

learn about the research process

interpret set essay questions

write an essay question of your own

      Quiz

       Self-evaluation

      Read the statements, then circle the word which is true for you.

1 I understand why I need to do research as part of my course.	agree | disagree | not sure
2 I understand how my research will be marked.	agree | disagree | not sure
3 I know how to plan a research project.	agree | disagree | not sure
4 I can easily understand set essay questions.	agree | disagree | not sure
5 I know how to write a good essay question.	agree | disagree | not sure

       What is research?

      In simple terms, when you do research, you are looking for information in order to answer a question. In academic settings, research can take many different forms depending on the subject discipline and the kind of question you want to answer. If you are studying a scientific subject, your research may take the form of an experiment to answer a question which begins with the phrase: ‘What will happen if … ?’. If you are studying a social science, your research may take the form of a survey of a group of people’s thoughts, feelings or experiences. In any case, no matter what your subject discipline, at some point you will have to do some research which involves investigating what other scholars have said about the topic you are interested in. In other words, you will have to do some library based research.