Mapping and Brainstorming 
Brainstorming is a way of creating a network of related concepts or ideas which expand upon your topic. It can be in the form of charts or diagrams and is an important initial stage of research where you can explore your own thoughts about a topic. Brainstorming provides the opportunity to list:
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keywords that describe your topic
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alternative terms for your concepts or ideas
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sources of information most appropriate to your assignment
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what you do not know
Define Your Topic and Formulate Your Question
A good way to begin an investigation is to ask questions. These can be The five W's, Who, What, Where, Why and How:
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What sort of information do I want?
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Where shall I start to find material?
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How good is my information?
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How will I use the information?
Clearly identify your topic and the key concepts and formulate your question, for example:
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1. Broad topic
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Banking
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What aspect of banking are you interested in?
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2. Narrowed topic
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Internet and banking
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What aspect of the internet are you interested in?
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3. Focused topic
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Electronic commerce and banking
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What aspect of electronic commerce are you interested in?
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4. Research question
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The effect of electronic transactions on banks?
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Create a Concept Map
The ability to identify concepts will help in selecting words and terms to use when starting an investigation. A concept is an idea that represents a part of the research question. Concepts can be synonyms.
Research question: What is the effect of electronic transactions on the banking industry?
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Concept 1
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Concept 2
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Concept 3
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effect
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electronic commerce
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Bank*
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influence
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Internet
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Financ*
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impact
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electronic transaction*
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Devise the Search Strategy - use Boolean Logic and Truncation
Boolean Logic
It is import to understand the principles of boolean logic which you can then use to search any database, library catalogue or the Internet.
- Boolean logic is a method of symbolically representing relationships between sets or concepts using the operators AND, OR and NOT:
BOOLEAN "AND" BOOLEAN "OR" BOOLEAN "NOT"
  
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When using AND in a search strategy, the results retrieved will be those containing BOTH blue and yellow material together. The results will not include material that contains only blue or only yellow. The green coloured material will be retrieved by using this search strategy.
EXAMPLE: effect AND internet
This will retrieve all records containing both keywords effect and Internet.
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When using OR in a search strategy, the results retrieved will be blue material, yellow material, and blue and yellow material together. In the diagram the documents retrieved by using this search strategy are contained within all the colour areas.
EXAMPLE: electronic commerce OR Internet
This will retrieve all records containing the keywords electronic commerce or Internet, as well as those containing both.
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When using NOT in a search strategy, the results will contain only blue material. The NOT operator will exclude yellow completely and any green material will be excluded also.
EXAMPLE: Internet NOT Electronic commerce
This will retrieve records containing the keyword Internet and NOT any records that include electronic commerce. |
Truncation
Truncation uses symbols such as * or ? to allow for variations in word endings to widen a search.
- It is a useful tool for finding the singular and plural forms of words in the one search
- It can also be used within a word to allow for variations in spelling
Examples:
- bank* will retrieve banking, banks, banker
- organi?ation will find "organization" and "organisation"
TIP: To find out which truncation symbol to use check the database's online help
Formulate the Search Strategy
Using a Concept Map we can now formulate the question using Boolean logic and truncation:
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Concept 1
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AND
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Concept 2
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AND
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Concept 3
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effect
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electronic commerce
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Bank*
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OR
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OR
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OR
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influence
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Internet
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Financ*
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Use the Search Strategy in a Database
When you come to entering your search strategy into a database such as ABI/Inform it would look like this:
Locate Information
To locate and identify relevant information you need to use:
The University of Auckland Library gateway to electronic resources such as databases and electronic journals.
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full-text databases, which deliver the content or full text of journals, magazines or newspaper articles, to your desktop
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index databases which deliver references to journal articles, i.e. author, article title, journal title, volume, issue, page numbers and abstract
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e-book databases, which allow you to access and read books online
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numerical data such as the statistical databases
TIP: For more information on library databases refer to the Electronic Resources guide
The University of Auckland online Library catalogue, accessed via Voyager or the new Catalogue :
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This tells you whether the Library holds an item (book, journal etc.)
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How to locate the item, i.e. where you can find it on the shelf or if it is available via an e-resource link
TIP: Learn more about searching Voyager using Te Punga, the online tutorial and refer to the Electronic Resources guide
Evaluate Your Sources
Print resources
Sometimes, we have the tendency to believe anything we see in print. Critical thinking is a necessary skill to develop as you read through all the information you've found on your topic.
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Most research publications go through an external editing or peer review process that helps verify the authority and accuracy of the information presented
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Reputable newspapers and magazines also check their facts, but you will need to consider such issues as objectivity, currency of information, and how thoroughly your topic is covered
Internet Resources
The majority of Internet resources lack this kind of peer review or even simple fact checking, which means that you, the user, must thoroughly evaluate anything you encounter on the Internet before deciding whether you should use it in your research.
TIP: For further information refer to Evaluating Web resources
Organise and Write
Effective writing methods include:
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Clearly addressing the question or topic
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Adhering to the Faculty writing guidelines
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Editing writing for grammar, spelling and mechanics
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Developing an argument or opinion logically
TIP: Refer to the Student Learning Centre's resources on essay writing
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Reference using APA
The University of Auckland School of Business uses APA (American Psychological Society) style of referencing
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