Evidencing your research
You have been given a topic to research or write about, you begin to write some notes and then you
question ; “How much do I really know about this?”
Researching is the skill behind finding information that can make your essay or report an interesting
and informative piece of writing. Getting the content to back up your theory from primary or
secondary sources can give your work credibility.
Watch this clip to get a clearer understanding of what these are. This clip from the Hartness Library
clearly shows the difference between the two.
http://youtu.be/g0plq2E9ZjQ
Task: Once you have done this, follow up by researching one of the following topics. You may use
the internet, the library or interview to gain the information required.
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Our native bush
Our native wildlife
Tourism in Northland
Places of local historical interest
People of local historical interest
Skills, trades and crafts in NZ
This might include indigenous medicinal plant use, flax weaving, horticulture,
fishing, and boatbuilding
Forestry
Make sure you keep a record of where the information came from.
We have discussed intellectual property and referencing already, but to make sure you are clear,
here are some hints to assist you
APA format is basically a template to make sure you have given your audience the information they
need to find the article, book or source that you have used to back up your theories.
There are other formats of referencing, which are used in different fields of study, or by differing
organisations.
Here at NorthTec we use APA, and this guide
NorthTec APA Referencing Guide
2nd edition
can help you create your own references. At Level 2 we want you to make sure you give enough
information so we know what source you used. How correct you get it in terms of the format is not
as important as the fact that you remember to include relevant details.
Name (Last name and Initial(s))
FS_L2_BOI
JS_ Literacy
8/02/2016
Date of publication
Title of source: what name is on the cover of the book at the top of the website? This is usually
shown in italics if you are word processing your document.
Where was it published? This is usually given in terms of the city and country.
Who published the source? This might be an organisation or a publishing house
Here is an example of an APA reference for a book
http://www.fishpond.co.nz/Books/Ikawai-R-M-McDowall/9781877257865
Name (Last name and Initial(s))
McDowall, R.M.
Date of publication
2011
Title of source:
Where was it published?
Ikawai: Freshwater Fishes in Maori Culture and Economy
Christchurch, New Zealand
Who published the source?
Canterbury University Press
Put together my APA will look like this
McDowell, R.M. (2011). Ikawai : Freshwater fishes in Maori culture and economy. Christchurch, New
Zealand: Canterbury University Press
The title is written like a sentence – only the first word, any proper nouns and the first word of the
subtitle are capitalised.
FS_L2_BOI
JS_ Literacy
8/02/2016
Task :
Author: ______________________________________________________________________
Date:
_____________________________________________________________________
Title:
______________________________________________________________________
Country of publication:__________________________________________________________
Publisher: ____________________________________________________________________
Who is the target audience: _________________________________________________________
Is it written: to introduce a topic? for people who already know a lot about the subject – for example, studying
the subject: to people who are working in the field?
Does the author write on a variety of topics, or do they specialise in this field? ______________
Why I think this is a credible source:
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Key information found about this subject:
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
FS_L2_BOI
JS_ Literacy
8/02/2016