Research and judge your sources

Turn your objectives into research questions

1. Write each objective from your PPR at the top of a page.
2. Under it, list the specific questions you need answered to meet that objective.
3. Mark which questions need facts, which need opinions or arguments, and which need both.
4. Use this list to decide what to search for. It stops you collecting sources that are interesting but useless.

Search in more places than a search engine

1. Start with your school or college library, and ask the librarian which databases you can use.
2. Use your local library service. Many give free online access to newspaper archives and reference works.
3. Look for the original source of any claim you find. A news story about a study is not the study.
4. Follow the reference list of a good source to find more sources. This is the fastest way to find the work that matters in a subject.
5. Record every search that worked in your log: where you searched, what you typed, and what you found. Moderators need to see how you got to your sources.
   • Dissertation routeLook for sources that disagree with each other. You cannot reach a judgement without more than one side.
   • Artefact routeLook for how other people have made or run something similar, and for the technical information you need, such as materials, methods, costs or safety rules.

Keep a source log from the first search

1. Make one table and add to it every time you use a source.
2. Give each source a number so your notes can point to it.
3. For every source record: the full reference, the date you read it, what you were looking for, and what you actually got from it.
4. Add sources you rejected, with one line on why. Rejecting a weak source is evidence of selection, which is exactly what AO2 rewards.

Evaluate every source you use

Judge two separate things: how useful the source is to your project, and how much you can trust it. OCR's moderators suggest a method such as CRAAP.

1. Currency: when was it written, and does age matter for this topic?
2. Relevance: does it answer your question, and is it aimed at the right level?
3. Authority: who wrote it, and what makes them worth believing?
4. Accuracy: does it give evidence, and can you check it somewhere else?
5. Purpose: why was it written? Look for who paid for it and what they wanted it to say.

Write two or three sentences per source, not a tick in a box. Say what the source is good for and where you would not rely on it.

Take notes that work as evidence later

1. Put the source number and the page at the top of every note.
2. Write in your own words. If you copy exact wording, put it in quotation marks straight away, in the same colour and font, so you can never lose track of what is quoted.
3. Separate what the source says from what you think about it. Keep your own comments in a different column or a different bracket.
4. Note where two sources disagree. Those disagreements are where your analysis comes from.

Reference as you go

1. Ask your supervisor whether your centre requires a referencing style. If it does, use that one.
2. If not, choose one convention and use it for everything: Harvard, IEEE and APA are all acceptable.
3. Add the full reference to your list at the moment you first use a source, not at the end.
4. Cite every source you use, including ideas you have put in your own words. Plagiarism is malpractice and can lead to a mark of zero.
5. A list of web addresses is not a reference list, and moderators say it is not acceptable across most of the mark range.
6. The referencing guide gives a pattern for each kind of source, including interviews you carry out yourself.

Decide whether you need primary research

Primary research means evidence you gather yourself, such as a survey, an interview, an experiment or a test. OCR encourages it but does not require it.

1. Only do it if it answers a question your sources cannot answer. Say in your log what that question is.
2. Plan it properly: who you will ask, how many, what exactly you will ask, and how you will record the answers.
3. Check the ethics before you collect anything: informed consent, confidentiality, and protection from harm. Write a risk assessment if there is any risk.
4. Get permission from your supervisor, and from anyone responsible for the people involved.
5. Never collect personal data you do not need.
   • Dissertation routeUse primary research to add something your written sources cannot give, not to replace reading.
   • Artefact routeTesting your outcome with real users is primary research. Plan it now, because you will need the results in Phase 4 and Phase 6.

Check your research against your aims

1. Put your objectives next to your source log.
2. Mark any objective you cannot yet support with evidence, and go back for more.
3. Mark any source that no longer serves an objective, and stop using it.
4. Write the gaps and the next searches in your log.