Research skills tutorial

Recognise the need for information

We all have information gaps; holes in our knowledge about a particular topic.

These gaps inspire us to:

• ask questions
• seek accurate information or answers
• become a lifelong learner

Once you know that you need information, you need to ask yourself, what information do I need? 

Analyse your topic to identify keywords

Look at your assessment task and find the keywords; the significant words in the question (usually only two or three words or phrases). These may also be referred to as the content or topic words in an assessment task.

To work out if it is a keyword, look at the word in the context of the topic. Words like 'advantages', 'influence' or 'relationship' may have many meanings in different contexts. They are not keywords, but they can tell you the nature of the information you need to find.

If you are unsure of the meaning of a word, use a dictionary to find the definition.

Consider these examples:

Identify limits to your search

Limiting words help you decide where to start and stop your research, such as:

• time period (e.g. last two years)
• location (e.g. Australia or Queensland)
• type of information (e.g. statistics or critical review)
• quality or standard (e.g. scholarly, academic or peer reviewed articles)
• word limit for writing (e.g. a 500 word essay may require fewer sources than a 10,000 word essay)