Boost your research skills for your Built Environment research project

You will find out about:

• Why we need to make a plan.
• The search cycle.
• The range of information you need to consider.
• The differences in literature types.
• How to set up Saved Searches in Library Search.

You need a plan.

Trust your librarians and teaching team on this one! Figuring out what you are going to do and when will make your life easier and may help you feel in control of the process.

 Activity 1: Answer the poll.

You can find feedback on this activity in Box 4. Answers in the Support section.

How to make a plan.

There is a fantastic resource called Sage Research Methods Books and Reference which has lots of useful content and one of the tools we really like is the Project Planner!

The Project Planner is in the Tools section of the resource and takes you through planning a research project from beginning to end. 

Take a look at it but if you use it... you still need to make sure that you are following your assignment brief.

Sage Research can also help in more ways.

Do you need to know your ground theory from your random sampling? If you do not... you can use the resource to look up research terms and find out all about them with definitions and research related books.

Prefer videos or podcasts? Sage has research information available as videos and podcasts.

Using referencing software enables you to:

• manage the information you find! As you search, import the information you need into the referencing software you choose to use. Use folders to help you keep the information logically ordered otherwise you could end up with lots of information and no structure!

• you can annotate information. Adding notes could be one way for you to remember why you imported that source and your thoughts about it.

• you can create your reference list and add citations into your work.

Hallam Library recommends and supports students using ProQuest RefWorks. But, this does not mean that you cannot use other reference management software.

 Activity 2: Find out how to push information from Library Search.

Lets think about our search for information as a search cycle.

Researching for information has different steps and we may need to refine a search before you find the information you need.

Using the search cycle approach is useful for helping keep a logical and methodical approach to searching for information.

You may find it easier to picture it as a circle and the video here presents the idea visually.

 Activity 2: Watch the search cycle video.

You can break researching your topic into 3 steps.

• Break down the topic into concepts and identify keywords.
• Identify and search resources, refine your keywords and filter results.
• Use citation searching with the databases.

Take a look to see how we would approach searching step by step.

We have put together a plan in the My research approach document to help provide some guidance. If this approach does not suit your way of working, it is ok to use an alternative approach as long as you have a plan.

You can see that we have split the research topic into two areas and then added in alternative words.

We use alternative words to ensure that we find as much information as possible. Alternative words also ensures we find all the different ways researchers and writers can refer to a similar topics.

Below you can find two versions of the above image.

There is a version used in this box and a blank version for you to complete using your own research topic.

Imagine if today, you fell over in the street and needed medical help*.

What would your reaction be if instead of an ambulance, two historical medics from a different historical period arrived to treat you?

You may be surprised by the treatment options offered as they are unlikely to be current or found in NHS clinical pathways, guidance or listed on NHS Choices. Would you want to be treated by historical medics?  We think you would not!

We keep up to date with literature to make sure:

• our knowledge is current.
• we are not relying on superseded information.
• we are aware of developments in your field.
• you maintain the continuous professional development requirement of your career.

*The inspiration for this idea comes from the wonderful BBC series - Horrible Histories - which included a recurring sketch related to historical paramedics from many historical periods treating people in modern times.

Use Library Search. Experiment with search terms and filters. 

It its likely that you may need to refine your search before you set up your saved search. Once you are happy with the search and it is returning relevant information then save the search.

You can delete searches at any time.

You receive the results as an email once a week with items that have been added to Library Search that match your search criteria.

 Activity 3: Set up a Saved Search related to topic in Library Search.

Follow the instructions in the Library FAQ linked below.

You may need to draw on:​

• ​Textbooks, industry reports, financial information, technical reports, professional bodies reports, journal articles, conference proceedings, raw data, contracts, statistical data, maps, datasets, newspapers or trade publications and more​.

 All available within the Library collections.

However sometimes you may need more information than is within Hallam Library.

You may need alternative sources to triangulate, confirm or disagree with what you are finding in academic or professional publications. But... you need to protect your academic credibility and you need to evaluate the content and make sure it is appropriate!

You may need to draw on:

• grey literature. 
• government reports.
• reports by think tanks or independent organisations.

You are not likely to find this material in the library collections and you may need to use any popular search engine to find this.

Congratulations you have completed four sections! 

Time to take a break - maybe take a look at the BFI Player!  Remember to come back to the guide though, we still have work to do!