Referencing, the Harvard way

Now that you're all starting to make notes and write sections of your literature review, you should give some careful thought to the issue of referencing. As nit-picky as it seems, referencing is a vital component of academic writing. You need to get it right!

Here are some sites which will be useful. Leeds Metropolitan University has (very usefully) produced an accessible on-line guide to the Harvard Referencing system. Have a look.

If you are using loads of online references, you might find the University of Southern Queensland site a useful addition -- it has lots of examples and covers most of the kinds of online referencing you will find you need to do.

Remember, referencing is important and you need to make sure you've been as accurate as possible, both in the way you reference and what you reference.

Research diaries

Keeping a research diary is an effective method of keeping track of where you've been and where you're going next. Each diary should be as individual as the person who keeps it, and can include:

• ideas
• feelings (and changes in feeling)
• facts, concepts
• names of people, organizations
• guesses, hunches, thoughts and dreams
• concept maps, diagrams, maps, photos
  
• observations and field notes
• clippings, notes
  
• reflections on previous entries
• plans for what to do next

Research questions

Ahhhhh -- the reality of having to do some research is starting to hit home!

Don't panic... there is a GREAT site which will help you refine your research question and support your search for appropriate literature review sources.

Research 101 has been developed by the University of Washington libraries and provides a step-by-step overview of the research process, from identifying a topic and refining a question through to searching and evaluating high-end information sources. For the really dedicated, there are even a series of review quizes!

Literature reviews

Hi all,
One of the first things you're going to work towards in this module is a draft of your literature review. There are some really useful sites around in relation to literature reviews -- explaining their purpose, outlining key sections, giving advice on how to approach them. You will find it useful to have a look at some of them.

One of my favourites, from the University of Toronto, notes that "A literature review is a piece of discursive prose, not a list describing or summarizing one piece of literature after another. It's usually a bad sign to see every paragraph beginning with the name of a researcher. Instead, organize the literature review into sections that present themes or identify trends, including relevant theory". Keep this in mind as you begin to think and write.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison also has some useful information about writing literature reviews.

Technology and girls

A couple of interesting sites to visit (if you haven't seen them already) that focus specifically on girls and technology.

GirlGeeks is a general site with information and links for women and girls interested in technology, either as a career, hobby or just for the cool gadgets.

GirlTECH is a site (and professional development programme) developed to support girls to move into the computer sciences. I've seen a branch of this spring up in Australia and it does good work with young girls.