Education: EDUC 5217: Evidence-Informed Practice in Education (2021)

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EDUC 5127 - Assessment 1 & 2

   Assignment help

You have two different types of assignments for Evidence-Informed Practice in Education:

  • an essay (1800 words)
  • a report (2700 words)

This page will help you learn skills to help you succeed in both types of assignment.

Before you begin each assignment, it is strongly recommended that you read the assessment instructions available on your learnonline course site.

  • read the assessment instructions available on your learnonline course site.
  • read the resources available on the Study Help site.
     
   Read: Study Helps

Plan your search strategy

   Key points from the video (2:26min)
  • Searching for your whole assignment is not very effective
  • Identify the key concepts in your question or topic
  • Think about what other words (similar words or alternative terms) might be used to describe the key concepts
  • Connect your concepts using AND and OR
  • You can change your search as you find more information
  • Searching for your whole assignment is not very effective
  • Identify the key concepts in your question or topic
  • Think about what other words (similar words or alternative terms) might be used to describe the key concepts
  • Connect your concepts using AND and OR
  • You can change your search as you find more information.
     
   Read: How to plan your search

Step 1: Identify keywords

   Identify keywords

Typing your question into Google or the Library Catalogue is not the best way to search.

Mapping out your search can be a good place to start:

  • Identify the keywords (also known as key concepts) in the assignment question 
  • Remove task words (also known as instruction words) from your assignment question

Step 2

   Consider alternative keywords

Now you've identified the keywords find similar or alternative keywords to use in your search.

Use course readings, encyclopedias, dictionaries or reliable websites to assist.

Step 3

   Connect your keywords

Once you have identified your keywords and found alternative keywords, you need to connect these to put your search together.

Use the following boolean operator words and truncation symbols to save time and target your search.

Combine keywords using OR, AND or NOT
OR

Combines similar keywords:

Using OR will broaden your search to find items containing either or both of your keywords

e.g. organisations OR programs
AND

Combines different keywords:

Using AND will narrow your search to find items containing both of your keywords

e.g. strengths AND limitations
NOT

Excludes words from the search:

Be very cautious about using NOT as you may exclude potentially useful items

e.g. youth NOT adults
Save time searching using Truncation, Wildcard and Phrase searching
Truncation

Asterisk *

 finds any word ending eg. learn* finds learn, learners, learning
Wildcards Question mark ? finds different word spellings eg. organi?ation finds organisation, organization
Phrase search Double qoutation marks " " keeps 2 or more words together as a phrase eg. "higher education"

Where to search

   Key points from the video (2:14min)
  • Searching for your whole assignment is not very effective
  • Identify the key concepts in your question or topic
  • Think about what other words (similar words or alternative terms) might be used to describe the key concepts
  • Connect your concepts using AND and OR
  • You can change your search as you find more information
  • Not all search tools will give you access to the same information.
  • Understanding why and when to use different search tools will save you time.
  • Some types of specific information are best found using a search engine or specific website.
  • All resources need to be evaluated before using them.
   How to find scholarly sources

Option: Library Collection

   Search the Library Collection

The Library Collection is a good place to start your search for scholarly material. Use the "Refine my results" menu to refine your search to find exactly what you need.

?

Option: Databases

   Search databases

Databases are online collections of resources including articles, papers, book chapters and reports.

Databases have advanced search options, helping to focus your search and find more relevant, scholarly references quickly.

Click on the Find Information tab in this guide to find some of the key databases that the library has identified for Education.

Option: Google Scholar

   Search Google Scholar

Google Scholar searches only within academic or scholarly sites. By accessing Google Scholar from within the library website, you will be able to link directly to articles that the library has access to by clicking on the Full-text at UniSA link.

Use the Google Scholar search box (next to Library Collection search) on the Library website for the best access to full-text references.

   More information
  • Click on the Find Information and other tabs on this guide to find more places to search.
  • Visit this Library online resource to teach you how to search Google Scholar, the Library Collection and databases successfully.

Final Step: Choose what to use

   Evaluate your resources

You should evaluate all resources before including them in your assignment - even if you found them through the Library Collection or Databases.

   Key points from the video (3:16min)
  • Searching for your whole assignment is not very effective
  • Identify the key concepts in your question or topic
  • Think about what other words (similar words or alternative terms) might be used to describe the key concepts
  • Connect your concepts using AND and OR
  • You can change your search as you find more information
Currency How current does the information need to be? Do you need to use information published in the last five years or are older, seminal works fine to use?
Relevance Does the information found answer your question? Do you understand the content and is it at the right level for your purpose?
Authority What are the author's qualifications? Are they linked to a particular organisation such as a university, research institute or government department
Accuracy Is evidence given for the research undertaken? Can you verify the information presented by using other sources? Is there a bibliography or references given?
Purpose Is it trying to communicate research, persuade you or sell you something? It is expressing an opinion, or is it balanced and objective?

Academic integrity

   Academic Integrity

Academic integrity means 'a commitment to act with honesty, trustworthiness, fairness, respect and responsibility in all academic work' (UniSA 2020).

When completing your work at university, you need to:

  • Acknowledge the sources of information and knowledge in your assignments by using a referencing system.
  • Paraphrase other people's work and ideas into your own words while still referencing the source.
  • Complete your own work independently.
  • Behave honestly in exams, assignments, and other forms of academic work.

Copyright

   Key points from the video (2:52min)
  • Explains who is protected by copyright
  • Copyright holders rights
  • What is plagiarism?
  • Referencing at University
  • Copyright law during your studies

Copyright infringement is a criminal offence punishable by law. The University takes its copyright obligations seriously and staff and students who breach copyright may face disciplinary action.

Remember to reference as per your program area’s preferred citation style.

Referencing help

   Referencing
   What do you do with all those references you have found?

Use a bibliographic management software to store, organise and cite your references. The Library supports the bibliographic management tool EndNote, although there are many free systems available.

More information on EndNote can be found in the EndNote guide.

navigate to the EndNote guide

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More help

 

For more help with this assignment please contact Ask the Library or the Student Engagement Unit.