Whether you love it or hate it, research is a fundamental part of education, from your early school days through to any further education you may undertake.
Some find the prospect of research daunting, largely due to the perceived enormity of the task but, luckily for them, there are ways to make research more efficient and effective without wasting hours.
Create a Research Plan
An important first step of any undertaking is to go into it with a clear plan. Without a plan in place, it’s easy to let the hours roll by without any reference point for how much should have been accomplished.
To create your plan, break down your research into achievable steps and set aside time for each part of the plan. From this, you should be able to determine how long the total research portion of your study should take.
Set a Schedule
Once your plan has been created, determine the deadlines needed for your research and tasks. Once you have this, divide your research into small chunks of time and stick to the,. If you find yourself going well over your allocated time, perhaps your research plan needs slight adjustments.
An example would be to break your research into time slots, such as allocating a full day to each topic, or breaking a topic into smaller hourly time slots.
It’s also important to allow extra time for checking your sources and organising any research material you may need.
Focussed Research and Reading
A key component of any research project is selecting the best sources, as it would not be possible to read every book, paper or article on a particular subject.
A good method is to skim read a few relevant sources and choose the few that offer the most informative research. We also suggest thoroughly checking the references given in sources.
Take Notes Effectively
Note Taking is a skill in itself, and effective research relies heavily on strong and effective note taking skills. It may seem as simple as writing down your learnings, but you’ll need to ensure that your notes are easily understood in a week or a month.
Practice striking a key balance between speed and accuracy by using shorthand and common abbreviations, summarising key passages and making thorough notes of author names and sources for later reference.
Organisation is Key
The final piece of the puzzle is great organisation. Once you’ve written your study notes, spent hours coding them and making notes of all sources, the next step is to create an efficient filing system and stick to it. We recommend using coloured labels and folders, organising your notes alphabetically or by topic and labeling digital folders accurately.
It’s also essential that your research space - be it in your home study or a library - is tidy and organised to help you avoid distractions.