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Education

key information sources for education.

Finding Information

StepsNeed help with your assignments and research?

Follow the 4 steps to finding and referencing quality information for your assignments and dissertations. 

Better Googling will help you get much better search results from Google Scholar.

Finally don't forget that you are always welcome to contact me by email library.support@solent.ac.uk  You could get a group of fellow students together and arrange a meeting.  We will meet via Teams.   Meetings work well this way and with your permission I can record the meeting and send you a copy to refer back to. 

 

Step 1 Keywords - Your Starting Point

Watch the video to find out about keywords and their importance in searching for information

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Step 2 - Putting It All Together

Watch the  Putting it all together  video  which will take you through how to put your keywords together (and will give you some useful tricks and tips using the key database SportDiscus as well)

If the video is not displayed log in to SOL and refresh the page

 

 

Watch the video on Boolean Searching - how you can link your terms together to give more or fewer results using AND, OR, NOT.  Apply this to all your searching, whichever resource you are searching, including Google.

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Step 3 - Evaluating Your Results

Evaluating your results.

Once you have have run your search in one of the databases or Google you need to look at what you have found and evaluate the results.  Don't just assume the results are perfect for your needs.   

Ask these questions                                                                            

  • Are the results up-to-date? 
  • Are the results reliable? 
  • Are the authors authoritative? 
  • Are the authors biased? 

If the video is not displayed log in to SOL

 

TutorialTry the Tutorial to see if you understand how to evaluate a resource

Step 4 - Refining Your Search - The Final Step

 

If the video is not displayed log in to SOL

Search Process

 

Refining your search is final step in the process.   It is rare to get the perfect results first time.   Use what you have found to re-do your search.   

The process can be illustrated as in this diagram.  Then watch the video.

Try this quiz to test your knowledge