Essay workshop 1

What is research for?
- Research increases your knowledge of a topic and allows you to write about it with authority.
- Research also introduces you to the kind of vocabulary and writing style used in academic literature.
- Most importantly, research will provide you with the evidence to back up any points you put across in your essay.

The role of evidence
- Without supporting evidence the impact of any points you make in your essay will be limited.
- Arguments made without supporting evidence can only be considered to be opinions.
- Evidence in your essay can take the form of references, quotations and paraphrases.

Troubleshooting research
"I can't find anything"
- Are you looking in the right place? Web library, catalogue, database, etc.
- Are you looking for appropriate sources? Books vs magazines vs newspapers.
- Is there very little written on the subject? Find similar examples that have been written about.
- Are you using the right search words? Are there others you can use?

Too few sources
- A good essay bibliography should contain at least 6-8 references.
- There should be drawn from a range of reliable, academic sources.
- If you do not have enough references, this will limit the depth of analysis in your essay.
- Think about ways to explore your subject further, or of related topics, ideas or questions you should explore.

Too many websites
- The majority of your bibliography should be made up of references from authoritative academic books and other reliable sources (newspapers, magazines, online sources with expert, verifiable authors).
- The person marking your essay will not be impressed if your bibliography is a list of websites.
- You will not be marked on the quality and variety of your research - bear that in mind.

Too much factual/historical research 
- Telling the story of a work or practitioner can take up too much of an essay (an essay is a discussion or analysis, not a story).
- Essays are based on analysis, comparisons and explanations - facts and history are only small, but important, part of this.

Not enough critical/analytical research
- The essay research should include critical, theoretical and analytical sources.
- Theories and critical approaches are the lenses through which you view the practice you are analysing.
- If you do not engage with theoretical sources, you are limiting the potential and the sophistication of your essay.

 Theoretical sources are difficult to read
- If you're not sure which theories to use, go back to your lectures or reading lists.
- Many theorists and critics write in academic language that can be hard to make sense of. If this is the case, look for books with titles such as 'An introduction to...' or 'A ... reader'.

Using evidence 
- It's not enough to just drop quotes in your essay text. Evidence must be properly integrated into your argument.
- To use evidence effectively, it must relate directly to the point you're trying to make.
- You must also explain how the evidence or quote supports your argument.
- All evidence must be cited in your text and the source it came from added to your reference list.

Why do you need to reference your work?
- Basically, because you have to.

" Referencing is the method by which you show when you have referred to someone else's work in your written assignments. Not only does the use of references demonstrate your honesty as a student, it also makes it clear which ideas are yours, and that you get proper credit for your own work." (UCA, 20160

Harvard referencing
- Name/date system (Name, 2015).
- Consists of citations in the text and an image list and bibliography of references at the end of the text.
- Citations state when you have used someone else's ideas, references show where you found those ideas.

Citations
- One author/editor: (Author, 2015)
- Two authors/editors: (Author & Writer, 2015)
- Three authors/editors: (Author & Writer & Another, 2015)
- Four or more authors/editors: (Author et al, 2015)
- For book/print journal citations, include the page number that the information comes from: (Author, 2015:11)

Secondary referencing
- Secondary references are when an author refers to another author's work and the primary source is not available.
- When citing such work the author of the primary source and the author of the work it was cited in should be used.
- E.g. (Foucault 1978, cited in Sheridan, 1980:138)

No author?
- Where you can't find the author for a print or online source, use what's called the 'corporate author' (the company or organisation that produce the source).
- (Pixar, 2015)
- Pixar (2015) Our Story. At URL (Accessed 3 November 2015)

Quotation style
- As Smith (2015) says ".... .... ..."
- "quotations should be put in inverted commas", (Smith, 2015).
- If a quote is longer than three lines"

"that quote should be put separately in the essay text" Smith 2015)

Paraphrased information still needs to be cited (Smith, 2015)

Referencing book:
Author, A. (Year) Title. Place: Publisher
Referencing a website:
Author, A. or organisation (Year) Website title or name. At: URL (date of access)

Citing an image:
All images in your presentation should be cited with a figure number, the title of the image (in italics), and the year the image was created (in brackets).

Referencing an online image
- Figure number. Creator's name. (Year) Title of image. [Medium] At: URL (Accessed on date)

In conclusion
- Effective research involves using a variety of reliable sources of an appropriate academic level.
- Evidence must be presented when you make a point and it must be properly integrated into your essay text.
- All written work must be referenced in the correct UCA Harward format.