If you were to ask a bunch of university student were they look up to get information, majority of them would say GOOGLE. And since google is the most used research tool, there are many introduced research styles. Just a key word or a normal sentence wouldn't help, well it would but it surely more time consuming there would be a result of more than thousand searches. A few styles and tips in reducing the amount of search results is as below :
.. ( The two dots are used to show a time range)
- ( Exclusions )
~ ( Wild card)
"......." ( The inverted comas are used to indicate a Important word or phrase)
Search Techniques
1. Key word search
2. Boolean operators
3. Natural Language
4. Forms based on searches.
Similarly there are many more in the site given below.
According to the Student Learning development services of Massey University (2007), "Writing is a skill that is required in many contexts throughout life". Academic writing is not as easy as you think, it has its complications, but if looked into properly it is noticed that proper writing skills is essential throughout. Usually a message or information is sent through writing, and if one's writing skills are bad, then the message would be understood in a absolutely different manner, similarly if information is not understood correctly then the whole purpose of conveying information is lost. There are a whole lot more effects of bad writing skills and this could be improved with practice.
Given below is a video on academic writing:
There are a few important points to academic writing:
Clear language
Researched and referenced material
Analysis
Arguments
Solid evidence
Avoiding uncertianinty, overly long sentences, repetition or repeating data and overly elaborated language.
By observing and working on the above points with practice, anyone could be a creative writer.
Team working is again, a essential and important part of an individuals career. Whether it's formal or informal, group work is a powerful factor in terms of motivation, and improvement of skills. “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success-Henry Ford” Not everything in life could be done individually, and hence, working with people around you in a understandable manner in the only effective way in which you could reach success with the help of those around you. Finding the right people or the right method seems hard if it's not done properly, on the other hand if properly observed, the correct people are always available. Most students have problems with team work, but it could be fixed by taking the Belbin test. The Belbin test determines a persons charter and roles in terms of team working and the below picture explains it in a more deep manner.
www.bigdifference.co.uk Taking the test, I obtained the highest results for " Coordinator" and I will have to agree with the fact that I am mature, confident and a good chairperson, my second and third highest scores were "resource investigator and team worker", the results of the rest were fairly true and it does help identify what group an individual belongs in. In order to reach success, teams, group work and unity is needed. It's nothing to hate, but something to work on. Other than the Belbin test there are a few other team working tests (including the link below) that could help identify and improve your team working skills. Team Roles Test
Knowing how to reference is far by one of the most important factors of writing a project or a report or anything that includes receiving information from somewhere other than your self. obtaining information from a source and copying it without the acknowledgement of the source is called PLAGIARIZING. Being a university student I learnt that referencing is essential in making a proper report or project. Referencing is not only helpful in terms of acknowledging the source of your information but in terms of recording your work, in a way that not only you but the others who read your work could refer to the original source for more information or further reference.
(http://aoy-kornkamon.blogspot.com/)
There are a several ways for proper referencing and citations, but the commonly used method between me and my colleagues, is the Harvard style of referencing, and the method is briefly shown in the above image.
As for my experience with referencing, I must say that it is a useful and respected method used and that should always be used in the future too.
Note taking is an effective way for a student to remember what was learnt and it is far by noted as one of the most essential things to do while at a lecture, a class or anywhere important. In fact there are several ways of note taking that could help: 1. Cornell's Note The Cornell system was introduced by Walter Park and it is a effective way of using a page to arrange your work in a methodical and understandable manner.
As mentioned in the diagram above, the page is divided into three sections. The Cues section, were the main ideas are jotted down after class or during review. The notes section which is the main body were the lecture notes, using symbols or abbreviations are noted down during a lecture. And the Summary section at the bottom of the page were the summarized version of the notes are written down for furthur reference.
The notes section could be further divided into sections that would help making note taking easier.
Outlining method
This is a method of separating your work under headings and subheadings accordingly.
The layout of such is as mentioned below:
Title or Topic I. Main topics will be the main headings ( to the left side of the paper near the margin) A. Major sub-topics (indented and subordinate to the preceding heading) 1. Minor sub-topic (indented under A) 2. Minor sub-topic (indented under A) a. Detail (under 2) b. Detail B. Major sub-topic (indented the same as major sub-topic A) 1. Minor sub-topic a. Detail (under 1) b. Detail And this could be further continued under the mentioned layout.
Charting method
Furthermore the charting could also be used in order to gain an effective outcome of note taking. This is a method of jotting down important information for reports, articles, journals and other areas were a wide range of information could be found, under rows and columns. Below is an example of a used charting method:
1. Read texts diagonally and find the most relevant, theories or concepts
2. Make a matrix of the most relevant theories and concepts found in step 1
3. Sort the theories and concepts from the most important to the least important and remove those unnecessary details.
4. Write.
(http://edutechWiki.unige.ch/en/Note_taking)
The Sentence Method could also be used to take down notes, this is a method of listening to the lecturer and noting down essential information in sentences for further reference. 2. The Mind mapping method This is a effective rather attractive way of note-taking and most students prefer this method since it is more enjoyable. It is the method of using diagrams, shapes and colors to record information. The below video shows how mind mapping is done. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRFn1U3jvCw
Overall, all methods are effectively used, but as for my liking I find mind mapping and Cornell's note more interesting and effective
" I Think self-awareness is the most important thing towards being a champion"
-Billie Jean King Most people in the current society lack self-awareness and this is due to the poorly scheduled way of handling things. People tend to ignore the reality of themselves unintentionally and this has caused a lot of people to break down. Self-awareness is essential and it does help make life simpler. In order to help keep yourself aware about yourself, spend some more time realizing and paying attention to yourself. Your practices, your personality and everything that has to be done with yourself. I have taken a few test to monitor my self-awareness, the tests were as follows:
What is Your Personality Type test - In which i received a Type A
Are you a high self monitor test - in which i received a " 42" , which shows that my self monitoring needs improvements.
Hows your self esteem test - in which i received a "72" Showing i have a high ego.
How Machiavellian are you test - in which i received a "37" showing i need improvements there as well.
Though most people find these tests inaccurate, it is a rather easy way of helping yourself actually decide when and were you really need improvements.
Time, is something so important that once wasted it could never be renewed. Time should be used wisely and it's better to do things early than to do them late. Time is narrow and in order to make maximum use of the time that is given to us, proper ordering of work and allocating a proper schedule to everything that is done is a major plus point. Most people (Including me) have problems with managing time, which also could be referred to as procrastination. This is when important tasks are postponed and not so important tasks are done instead, or rather not being able to spend time on what is really important. In order to prevent procrastination the following methods could be followed.
Break your work into little steps
Change the environment
Create a detailed timeline with specific deadlines
Eliminate procrastination pit-stops
Hang out with the people who inspire you to take action
Get a buddy
Tell others about your goal ( someone you could trust)
Seek out someone who has already achieved the outcome
