Being clear about this is vital so that the information you gather and use is relevant. Look at 'Instruction Words' in this 'Information Skills' topic to help you clarify what an assignment task means.

Activity 1.

Clarifying what you need.

What do you need to find out to complete your assignment? What questions do you need answering (your research questions)? eg "Discuss Sheffield's transport policy" What is the policy, why was it developed, what are the costs/benfits, what is right/wrong with it etc?

You can type in the box below when considering the following questions.
Why do you want the information (eg to persuade others, illustrate issues)? Who is it for (who is your audience eg a lecturer, students, an employer, yourself)? By when (date) do you need the information ?

Planning.

Consider your deadlines at the start, so you can plan.

To plan ahead you need to consider:

• your deadline (see Activity 1)
  
• how much information you can gather/use in that time (but quality as well as quantity is important)
  
• how long it will take to find the information
  
• how much time you need for writing etc, after you've got your information together
  
• the time needed to learn new skills (eg becoming familiar with computer systems), for problems (eg books out on loan) and processes (eg inter-library loans - borrowing books from another library).

Making a plan, breaking it up into small tasks with deadlines will help. Click on 'Organising Yourself and Your Time' and 'Action Planning' in 'Improving Your Learning' in the menu to the left of the screen.

It helps to record information so that:

• you can use it in an appropriate format (eg if using it for a table, to record it as a table)
  
• you can find it again easily (it may help to note where you found it eg - where in the library/learning centre, from which person)
  
• you know the details for referencing it, and you will not have to return to it to check, to see what is needed, click on 'Referencing' in this 'Information Skills' topic
  
• it saves you time.
  

Activity 2

How do you record information?

What do you use to record your information?

notebook
loose sheets of paper
cards
a computer

How do you classify your information so that you can find it again easily?

by subject (eg transport)
or topic (eg trains)
or author
by cross-reference - ie you file by one set of topics but show links to other topics with relevant information eg main file 'trains', cross-reference index - files on 'chassis', 'engines', 'safety'.

Referencing and plagiarism.

These are very important and it is strongly suggested that you look at the relevant sections in this system for further help.

You must 'reference' any information used in your work. To see how to do so and to see what details you need to keep about the information, click on 'Referencing' in this 'Information Skills' topic.

A main reason why you must give references is to avoid being accused of plagiarism (cheating). Click on 'Plagiarism' in this 'Information Skills' topic for more information.

There are legal restrictions on what you can photocopy. Libraries/learning centres can advise on this.

Look at 'Note taking' in 'Writing Skills' in the menu to the left of the screen.

You need to gather information from several sources.

How do you know where to start?

Start by looking in the library/learning centre (eg at an on-line catalogue).

Look at your purposes for clues - see Activity 1 (eg if your topic is transport, organisations providing transport could be a source).

Talk to: other students; friends; contacts.

Ask specialists (eg lecturers).

Look at the media (eg TV, newspapers etc).

It may be organised by: author; editor; organisation; government body; title; subject; date; key word (eg 'transport policies in Sheffield' - 'transport' or 'Sheffield' might be key words). You can look in the on-line catalgue, using any of these as starting points.

You may have a class session with a librarian information specialist, with handouts helping you to locate information. Use library/learning centre leaflets or web information.

Information delivered through the Internet and on multi-media CD-ROMS.

A large amount of information is produced electronically.

This information both repeats and adds to what there is in print (eg dictionaries, encyclopaedias, textbooks, journal articles, other types of information resources).

Activity 3.

Using computerised systems.

Are you confident using computerised systems?
Can you carry out precise database searches?
Can you link terms (eg search by author/subject/date)?
Do you know the difference between word and subject searching?
Can you create and store data on a floppy disc?

Look at 'Information Searching Using a Computer' in 'IT Skills' in the menu to the left of this screen for further help. Library/learning centre staff can help.

Reading strategies.

Given the amount of material you have to cover on your course, you need a range of reading strategies.

Try going through 3 stages.

1 Superficial - skim, don't read every word, look at titles/ contents
pages/headings/indexes/prefaces. If it looks appropriate, go to ….

2 refined - read introductions/first/last paragraphs of chapters/conclusions/summaries, look for key words/charts/diagrams. If it looks appropriate, go to …..

3 detailed - thorough reading.

Use:

• general/specialist dictionaries and a thesaurus (gives words with the same meaning)
  
• glossaries in books
  
• encyclopaedias
  
• a general textbook
  
• reference books and electronic sources of information (eg databases) - they often have guides explaining how to use them.

Ask:

• your lecturer/tutor
  
• in a library/learning centre.

Activity 4

Making sense of and analysing the information.

You can copy the following into the Scratch Pad and use it as a reminder when looking at information. You can add any other items to the list which would help you make sense of and analyse information.
- What are the essential points? Are there themes or issues which arise repeatedly? Are there connections between aspects of the information? Is it accurate? Is it up to date? Does it omit any information? Did the person producing the information have a vested interest or bias? Does it include opinions (eg as opposed to facts or statements supported by evidence)? What similar/different information do different sources give on the topic? What concepts lie beneath the factual information? Do you agree/disagree with the concepts and why? What would people unfamiliar with it ask about it?

If you make a claim or put forward a view, you need to give evidence. This can be gathered from your information search and it might be referenced to somebody else's work.

See 'Referencing' and 'Critical Analysis' in this 'Information Skills' topic for further guidance.

What do you tend to do when you look for information?

Are you more likely to:

• give up after a quick search? If so, you may miss important information.
  
• follow up every clue until you have the last scrap of information? (Are you going too far - do you really need all that information?)

Activity 5

How do you know when to stop?

It can help to ask yourself the following questions.

Has your information started repeating itself?
Have you covered the core material?
Have you answered your research questions?
Is all the information relevant?
Can you digest any more information?
Do you have time to look at more information?

Bringing your information together.

Putting it in a relevant format.

Once you've got all your information you need to bring it together. This usually means making a clear argument and linking the information to your purpose. For help, look at 'Critical Analysis' in this 'Information Skills' topic.

Also look at the menu to the left of the screen for guidance on how to use information in different sorts of work (eg 'Writing Skills' for essays, reports etc, 'Oral Communication Skills' for presentations etc, and 'Visual Communication Skills'). These also give guidance on suitable formats for presenting information.

For further help on presenting information look at 'Working with Numbers' and 'IT Skills' in the menu to the left of the screen.