www.le.ac.uk

Traditional and untraditional research methodsfor the A level Extended Project

Terese BirdLearning Technologist and SCORE Research FellowFor Queen Elizabeth I College EPQ seminar 2 July 2014

Photo by slimlibrary on Flickr

What will we talk about?• Go to the libraries

• Wikipedia

• Is Google evil?

• What’s ‘good’ online info?

• Excellent online ‘libraries’

• How to reference YouTube, iTunes U, Flickr

• Online surveys and interviews

Photo by Ed Yourdon on Flickr

University of Leicester Library/Public library

• http://www.le.ac.uk/library

• Only print books

• Open late!

• Public libraries

• eBooks at public libraries!

University of Leicester DWL on Flickr

Wikipedia: good or bad?

References at the end of articles are handy!

The truth about Google

• Google is a business, not a service

• When you Google something, the results are different from when your friend Googles it

• Examine the website carefully

Websites can have excellent information but…• Consider the motive of the writer

• Advert?

• Look at the small print

What’s ‘good’?

• ‘Peer reviewed‘

• ‘Primary source’

• Examine the motivation for writing

• Examine who paid for it

• Educational authorities

• BBC, Government

Blog post by an expert

Open Educational Resources

New online ‘libraries’: YouTube.eduyoutube.com/education

New online ‘libraries’: iTunes U

New online ‘libraries’: iTunes U

Vimeo – vimeo.com

Flickr – research involving images

Research spark question:Why does Leicester have a Statue of

Liberty on a roundabout?

Photo by Wyrmworld on Flickr

It was on a building once…

Photo: Myleicestershire.org.uk

Why do the old factories burn?

http://myleicestershire.org.uk

How to reference a YouTube video?

How to reference a blog post

Internet power for surveys

• SurveyMonkey

Internet power for interviews

• Skype

• Google Hangout

• Ask permission to record or quote

Internet Power: Twitter

Internet Power: Twitter

Use old and new wisely

Photo by ocean.flynn on Flickr