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1. Getting the most out of Secondary Research
Some useful tips and hints for getting the most out of your
material
• Quote use
Make sure you get down as many useful quotes form the text
as possible these can be taken into the exam and makes you
look like you’ve read. Often you can argue against or for the
quote. Make sure you mention who said it and highlight it in
“speech marks”
• Referencing (Harvard)
Keep a log of the books you have used and reference them
using the Harvard method
Author’s SURNAME, INITIALS. Year of publication. Title.
Edition (if not the first). Place of publication: Publisher.
e.g. MERCER, P.A. AND SMITH, G., 1993. Private viewdata in
the UK. 2nd ed. London: Longman.
• Key words
Build up a glossary of key words that you’ve came across all
ready in your study these can be topics or writers.
• Contents and Indexing
DO NOT start at the beginning of the book and read through.
When researching you don’t have the time, this is what you
need to do
1. Check the contents section
Scan through for entire sections or chapters that will be
useful to you.

2. 2. Check through the index
If this provides no information then go to the back to the
index and look up your KEYWORDS. Then go and scan through
those pages.
Using this method will ensure that you will get the most out
of your texts in the shortest amount of time.
• Reading and scanning
Don’t waste time reading entire text scan through the
document looking for KEYWORDS, then read around that
section.
Research on the Internet (Qualititative and Quantitative)
Look for:
• Trends and statistics
• Company reports and financial information
• Conference proceedings
• Research centres and university libraries.
• Government announcements and legal or parliamentary
debates.
• News and current affairs sites e.g. www.guardian.co.uk
• Databases of reference material
Look for QUALITY on the Internet (also cite an example of
MISLEADING or INCORRECT information). A great deal of
information is on the Net, but a great deal is not there.
• The Net can be slow - books and magazines can be quicker.
• Use both search engines and subject directory.

3. • Keep your search questions simple,
• Experiment, and find a tool which suits you. Report your
findings.
SEARCH ENGINES. Computers are constantly searching. The
information goes to a single database. Some issues around
search engines: (EXAMPLES: Google, AltaVista, HotBot.)
• Wide coverage.
• Refine or enhance options.
• Links to other material.
• Directories of popular sites.
• AGAINST: Too much material. Minimal sorting. Not
everything is searched - use more than one engine.
SUBJECT GATEWAYS. Have already been sorted or selected
by people (EXAMPLES: Yahoo, LookSmart, Snap.)
• FOR: Easier. More relevant information.
• AGAINST: Smaller web coverage. Fewer new sites.
Organisation not always clear. Maintenance is variable.#
• FORTUNATELY - despite the flood of data: Relevant pages
may top the list.
Information may be helpful. You have refine option.
IMPROVE YOUR RESEARCH IN THIS WAY:
• Use more search terms
• Use words in a specified order
• Use engines with 'refine' option.

4. EVALUATE INTERESTING SITES.- Web sites require
caution. Many statements may not be true. CRITICAL USERS
(that means you) will consider and record:
• Who is responsible for the site
• Organisation which provides it
• Its rationale and purpose
• Last update
• Slot in the archive
• Has it won awards?
DOMAIN NAMES. The bit on the site before 'uk'. Look for
'org' or non-profit organisations, 'edu' or 'ac' are education or
academic. 'gov' is the Government. 'Mil' is Military, 'net' are
net providers and 'com' or 'co' are commercial sites.