Research skills Advanced Higher History requires a lot of independent research. You will have been developing your research skills throughout secondary school and this course will give you the opportunity to develop them further. However, many learners find this extremely difficult and what good research involves. The following don’t understand pages give some advice and tips on what constitutes good research and how to go about researching a topic, theme or issue. As an Advanced Higher student you will probably find yourself in a situation where staff introduce a topic of study during class and then ask you to find out the answer to an issue or to create an essay through research. Do not panic! This is an achievable task once you know what to do and look for. Using the internet and electronic resources As we live in a digital age it is more than likely that you will be most comfortable carrying out research using the internet. The internet is more than useful for research but due to the staggering amount of information out there it can be an overwhelming experience. The trick is to first of all understand what it is that you are looking for. Many learners type a topic title into their search engine and when they find anything they give don’t up. It is imperative that you are very specific and focused on what you are trying to find a good idea to jot down four or five specific questions that you want out. It’s answers to before embarking on your research. If your search brings back a huge number of sources then you will need to make a decision and use only two or three of the best sources. There are two types of search that you can do: a simple search or an advanced search. Simple search In a simple search you type a key word or question into the search field. You can also add phrases to narrow your search but these must be encased in inverted commas. A list of hits (websites) will appear.
Research skills Advanced Higher History requires a lot of independent research. You will have been developing your research skills throughout secondary school and this course will give you the opportunity to develop them further. However, many learners find this extremely difficult and don’t understand what good research involves. The following pages give some advice and tips on what constitutes good research and how to go about researching a topic, theme or issue. As an Advanced Higher student you will probably find yourself in a situation where staff introduce a topic of study during class and then ask you to find out the answer to an issue or to create an essay through research. Do not panic! This is an achievable task once you know what to do and look for. Using the internet and electronic resources As we live in a digital age it is more than likely that you will be most comfortable carrying out research using the internet. The internet is more than useful for research but due to the staggering amount of information out there it can be an overwhelming experience. The trick is to first of all understand what it is that you are looking for. Many learners type a topic title into their search engine and when they don’t find anything they give up. It is imperative that you are very specific and focused on what you are trying to find out. It’s a good idea to jot down four or five specific questions that you want answers to before embarking on your research. If your search brings back a huge number of sources then you will need to make a decision and use only two or three of the best sources. There are two types of search that you can do: a simple search or an advanced search. Simple search In a simple search you type a key word or question into the search field. You can also add phrases to narrow your search but these must be encased in inverted commas. A list of hits (websites) will appear.
Advanced-Higher-History-dissertation-guide.docx