Research for Media Production

What do you need to know?

Historical and contemporary animation techniques and practice

What do you need to know?

Historical and contemporary animation techniques and practice
Research for Media Production

Learning Outcomes Covered In This Project Are

Understand research methods and techniques
Be able to identify and gather research material
Be able to collate and store research material
Be able to present results of research

Why do you need the information and at what level?
Do you have to write an essay?
Do you just need a quick answer?
Are you researching an in-depth project?

Some questions you need to ask yourself before starting research ...
How far back do you need to search?

Are you just looking for up to date information?

Or do you need ‘historical’ background material?

What do you know already?

Make some notes about what, if anything, you already know this will show you the gaps you need to fill and what type of information you need.
Where does information come from?

Information can come from virtually anywhere --personal experiences, books, articles, expert opinions, encyclopedias, the Internet --and the type of information you need will change depending on the question you are trying to answer.

Don’t just use one source
You can develop more convincing arguments by not relying too heavily on one source of information.

Choosing a variety of sources can be an excellent way to support your own ideas as well as providing different points of view on your topic.
Where do you start searching?

Sometimes the hardest part about research is just getting started.

You need to have a Search Strategy

Search Strategy
What is it and why
do I need one?

What is a search strategy?

Your search strategy is your plan of action
It helps you find the information you need to complete your assignments. It makes you think about your project.
It helps you work out what information you need, and how you're going to find it.

What do I do first?

Look at your essay or project title and make sure you understand it.
If you are unsure of any of the words, use a dictionary.
There is a “Dictionary” Programe in the applications folder.

Now identify your keywords

As an example, here is an essay title: Discuss the way multicultural issues are portrayed in the media

Analyse your topic and expand your ideas

Write down your topic
Write everything you can think of about your topic
Include what you already know as well as what you need to find out

Mind map –organise your idea

Organise your ideas by forming connections between them using a Mind map.
Decide on your main idea and use colour and graphics to expand it.
Take a large blank sheet of paper and some coloured pens.
Write your topic in the centre of your paper.
Branch out lines from the centre so that each line has a key idea on each line.


Five questions to ask
Who, what, where, why, how
are powerful questions to check your ideas


What type of information do you need?

an overview on the topic so you can identify key issues?

key quotes to back up your arguments?

a definition so you understand your main concept?

a review of recent debates?

the latest research?

Start searching

You understand your project title
You have identified your keywords
You’ve worked out what you already know and what you need to know
You know what types of information you need
You’re ready to start searching
Sources of Information

Books
Journals
Newspapers
Internet
Books
Library catalogue
PDF books
Online book
Book Shops


Refereed materials assure readers that the information conveyed is reliable and timely.
Magazines
Searching the Internet
Internet
bear in mind that anyone can post information on the Internet so the quality may not be reliable

the information you find may be intended for a general audience and so not be suitable for inclusion in your research (information for a general audience is usually less detailed)

Evaluating Internet resources
If you are using the Internet for your research, you will need to develop skills to evaluate the suitability of what you find.

A lot of information on the Internet is unreliable and of poor quality

Who has written it?
Is the information reliable?
Is there an author and is he/she an expert?
Where did their information come from?
Is the author linked to an organisation/ institution/ government body etc?
Can the author be contacted if necessary?
Who is it for and what is it about?
How much information is given?
Is the information factual or opinion?
How in depth is the information?
Can you tell who the information is aimed at?
Are there any links and are they useful and up-to-date?
When was it written?
How old is the information?
Can you tell when it was last updated?
Is it biased?
Is the site factual or is it just one person’s opinion?
Is it trying to persuade you about something or advertise?
Does it give you information to help you in your research or just give you one point of view?
How can you check the information?
Can you check who the author is?
Can you follow links to other resources which say the same thing?

Just because it looks good,
it doesn’t mean it’s right!