1. Researching, Writing and Presenting Information - A How To Guide: Effective Research

There is no one set of criteria for a good research question. This can differ depending on your subject and class requirements.

In general, however, a good research question should:

• be open-ended. It should have no limits or boundaries. Use how or why instead of when or did
• be complex. It should lead to more questions and require multiple levels of analysis
• be researchable. Does your question demand supporting or corroborating evidence?
• not be too easy to answer. The question should require more than a simple yes or no
• not be too difficult to answer. Keep in mind the word limit (if you have one) and the time restrictions or due date
• be analytical rather than descriptive. In other words, your research question should allow you to produce an analysis of an issue or problem rather than a simple description or retelling of it
• require the use of skills. What skills do you need to demonstrate during your task? Does your question allow you show your proficiency in them all? 
• be clear and focused. In other words, the question should clearly state what you need to do
• not be too broad and not too narrow. The question should have an appropriate scope. If the question is too broad it will not be possible to answer it thoroughly. If it is too narrow you will not have enough to write about and you will struggle to meet the requirements
• come from a place of curiosity. Choose a topic that you are genuinely interested in. This will make your research and the development of your final product an enjoyable experience, rather than a chore.

Not all sources are created equal. You need to be selective and evaluate what you read, particularly when using online research material. Databases and print material have a team of editors and fact checkers, but this isn't the case for all online material.

Evaluating sources using the CRAAP test

Evaluating websites using the URL

When evaluating a website, one of the first things to look at is the URL (Uniform Resource Locator). This can often tell you several things about the website such as the creator, the audience, the purpose and sometimes even the country of origin.

Refining your search using domain suffixes

One easy way to narrow the scope of your search and to ensure credible sources is to include a domain suffix in your search. 

If you perform a Google search by including a domain suffixes at the end of your search, you will limit the results to websites that end in that suffix. For example, by typing site:org at the end of your search terms, you will limit the results to websites that end in .org. Similarly, if you end your search by typing site:gov.au, your results will only include websites that end in .gov.au.

Formula: Search terms site:suffix
(Do not leave any spaces between “site”, the colon symbol, and the domain suffix.)

Example: detention centers site:gov.au

Identifying academic sources

When researching a topic for assignments, academic sources are preferred over other types of sources. They carry more weight and authority, and are likely to be more convincing.

Academic sources are:

• Authoritative: academic sources identify the qualifications and expertise of the writer. A source written by a recognised expert in a field is more likely to be trustworthy.
• Sourced: academic writing is careful to credit the origins of information and ideas, usually by means of a reference list or bibliography.
• Peer-reviewed: other academics have read the source and checked it for accuracy. Before publication in an academic journal, for example, an article is checked by a panel of referees. Academic books are checked by editors and other reviewers.
• Objective: academic sources aim to examine a topic fairly. This does not mean that they never take a side, but that the source does not ignore alternative positions on the topic.
• Written for academics

Types of Academic Sources include:

• Books
• Journal articles
• Published reports

Sources such as newspaper articles, magazine articles, opinion pieces, and websites are not commonly academic, although there are some exceptions. Many journal articles and reports can be found online, for example.

A database is a searchable collection of information. In research, a database is where you find articles from journals, newspapers or magazines. It can also contain encyclopedia entries or excerpts from biographies or books. Some databases contain links to further information or multimedia content. 

Each database contains thousands of articles which you can search for simultaneously and quickly to find articles with higher relevancy and credibility than an internet search. 

A benefit of databases are that they are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from the comfort of your own home. At St Clare's College our databases can be found on the Portal. Our research databases include:

You can also use a combination of operations in your database search to help you find exactly what you are after, eg adolescen* OR youth AND "risk taking"

Although Google is convenient, there are other search engines that you can use for your research. Try one of the following for your next online search: