Research for academic purpose

As part of the course curriculum, most universities have a minimum of 15 to 20 per cent of the marks allocated for  assignments, term papers and such. These assignments judge each individual's learning capabilities -- whether they can synergise the theoretical knowledge with real-life scenarios. Often such assignments require students to pen down their findings on a specific topic; others may involve writing their perception and critique of a paper. Such assignments require vigorous research on the student's part to achieve a good grade.  On top of that, due to strict anti-plagiarism policies implemented by universities, students must ensure the integrity of their work.

The first step

With easy access to Internet, students heavily rely on it for their assignments. When working on an assignment, the first step most students take is to “google” the topic. However, that should not be the case. The first step should be to form an outline of the report or paper to be written. Creating an overview can help sort out how to approach the particular assignment. It can help students to figure out what they already know, what the gaps in their knowledge are and help organise their writing better. Secondly, students must try to find out important keywords and relevant concepts to their assigned topic. They must think about what they are looking for and decide which words best define the topic. This allows them to narrow down their search and help avoid irrelevant results. Since Internet has a lot of information, it is necessary to filter out irrelevant information. This is where the student's intellect comes into play. They need to have a clear understanding of the assignment in question, to screen through the information available to them.

Assessing the information available

While there are many pros to the availability of information on Internet, there arises the question of authenticity and credibility of said information. The Wikipedia page is usually on top of the list whenever a topic is googled. However, it is common knowledge that Wikipedia is not an authentic source because anyone can edit Wikipedia at any moment. In most cases, students often directly quote from many articles (both newspapers and journals). To ensure authenticity, any source should be critically evaluated. Here are some questions that can help to analyse the reliability of a source of information from Internet.

* Is the author qualified to write this document?

* Where was the document published?

* Are the links current or updated regularly?

* Is the information on the page up to date?

If the answer to the above four questions is affirmative, the source may be considered authentic.

Proper utilisation of resources

Conversely, it is sometimes seen even after thorough searches on Internet, specific topics may not have much information available. In such cases, students might find it helpful to look for information in libraries. Although libraries are often deemed as a quiet place to study, they are also the most significant source of information on many topics. Students should try to take full advantage of their resources available in the university libraries, trying to locate thesis dissertations, internships reports and other such documents that can help their research. The current generation of students prefer to use Internet as their research tool. Most universities have an institutional repository (a set of services that a university offers to the members of its community for the management and dissemination of digital materials created by the institution and its community members) alongside a physical library so that articles written by both students and teachers are easily accessible.

Furthermore, universities have subscriptions of many online journals from all over the globe that can be accessed by the student's login via the university library's website. Besides, students have off-campus access to databases, online journals and e-books through their “MyAthens” accounts. It is quite unfortunate that most students fail to utilise such resources properly. 

Many times, many assignments or term papers require surveys to be conducted to have a better understanding of objective information. Google Forms can be used to create forms that have survey questions. Students can design surveys with questionnaires about the topic they are conducting their research on. These questions can be subjective, can include multiple choices or have ranking options. Ideally, a survey questionnaire should have a mixture of different types of questions to have a clear and robust understanding of what the topic demands.

The final step

Moving on to writing, due to strict anti-plagiarism policies, most students opt for paraphrasing extensively. However, that is not the appropriate approach. Students must try to understand the content from their sources and then write about it in their own words. Another habit student must develop being accustomed to referencing his or her sources. Directly with the help of the "References" tab in Microsoft Word, it is quite easy to insert both in-text citations as well as a bibliography. Students must keep in mind the different styles of referencing; for example APA, MLA, Oxford, Chicago and Harvard. The APA, MLA, and Harvard styles are known as author-date styles, as they put the author's name inside the text of the assignment. On the other hand, the Chicago and Oxford styles are called documentary-note techniques, as the author's name is put in a footnote at the bottom of each page, or in an endnote at the end of the assignment. Even though the APA style is most commonly used, students must be accustomed to different styles.

A vast majority of students tend to work on their assignments at the very last moment. This leads them lose sleep trying to complete their work on time. Many times, they get away with this habit; but when they fail, they often end up jeopardising their grades. It is necessary to work on assignments with time in hand so that students can adequately research, organise their thoughts and put it into writing.

Students tend to learn more about a topic through their research for assignments compared to just attending lectures. Additionally, as group work plays a crucial role in assignments and term papers, it is essential for all members to be aware of the proper ways of researching. This can help increase the overall productivity of the group and lead to achieving better grades. Lastly, while students struggle with the researching during the first semester or two, they tend to develop a sense of it later on and can rely more on their intuition.

The writer is a fresh graduate from BRAC University, with a dual major in Economics and Finance. She can be reached
at [email protected]