TIPS for INDIVIDUAL TASKS

How to search for relevant academic texts

● How to conduct specific searches using keywords
● How to locate relevant texts
● How to read texts and write notes to build your literature reviews

How to recall lessons and reflect on your

teaching
 3) Reading tasks: main focus in the first month

Once you have written your (working) title and objectives, explore the topic and
subtopics in academic literature in order to

• Place your research project within an existing knowledge base.

• Trace the conceptual threads, themes, debates, and questions related to your
topic.
• Identify the need for your research.
• Choose possible procedures, techniques, approaches, lesson schemes, tasks
& activities, etc. that you will implement in your context.
• Narrow and further refine your titles and objectives.

Action research in education: A Practical Guide, Sara Efrat Efron and Ruth Ravid, 2013, p. 19
 How to search for relevant academic texts? Where to start?

Recommended steps:

1) Highlight the keywords in your title and objectives.

2) Review relevant module(s) in Unit 1 ---> study key texts & authors.
3) Read relevant chapters in Harmer and/or Scrivener to get the global
picture of your topic and subtopics.
4) Search the keywords that best describe your subtopics to locate
sources ---> use a variety of search engines (and create a “library” of
texts in your Unit 2 portfolio if you wish).
 Tips for conducting searches

The database search is conducted by using keywords or descriptors. (Keywords and

descriptors refer to the main words and terms that describe your topic.) To increase the
likelihood of accessing desired sources, it is helpful to ensure that the terms you use are
identical to the keywords used in the educational databases.

Following are suggested steps for your online search:

1. Identify the central terms and concepts in your topic. Write a list of keywords
based on these terms and concepts.
2. Develop a list of synonyms for your keywords. Most databases have a thesaurus that you
can use to find synonyms.
3. Create a list of keywords in order of importance to your research.
4. Conduct a database search by starting with the most important keyword. If there are too
many results, add a second or third term to narrow your results.
5. Narrow or broaden the search as needed. Almost all databases use basic Boolean
commands to narrow or broaden searches. The command “and” between two search
keywords narrows the search and the command “or” broadens the search by allowing
synonyms.

Action research in education: A Practical Guide, Sara Efrat Efron and Ruth Ravid, 2013, p. 20
 Why are keywords important?

Highlight the key words in each title.

1. How can I develop listening skills in my Trinity ISE I class?

1. Improving the way I use collaborative learning and/or technology to engage teenage upper-intermediate
exam class learners in writing activities in a private education centre in Greece

1. Strategies for conducting language feedback after speaking activities in adult ESL classes

1. Developing my ability to implement effective and relevant peer feedback practices for university students

1. Developing my teacher talk to boost learner interaction and engagement

1. Promoting learner autonomy in adolescence ESL classes

1. What activities and strategies based on, or utilising, Adrian Underhill’s phonemic chart can effectively
support and develop pronunciation comprehension and production for mixed-L1, adult General English
and IELTS students studying in the UK?
 Why the keywords shouldn’t be too general?

If the key words are too general and broad (e.g. titles 5 and 6), the search engines will generate too
many texts on a wide range of subtopics make sure your title and objectives are narrow and
address more than just the general topic (teacher talk, learner autonomy).

1. How can I develop listening skills in my Trinity ISE I class?

1. Improving the way I use collaborative learning and/or technology to engage teenage upper-intermediate
exam class learners in writing activities in a private education centre in Greece

1. Strategies for conducting language feedback after speaking activities in adult ESL classes

1. Developing my ability to implement effective and relevant peer feedback practices for university students

1. Developing my teacher talk to boost learner interaction and engagement

1. Promoting learner autonomy in adolescent ESL classes

1. What activities and strategies based on, or utilising, Adrian Underhill’s phonemic chart can effectively
support and develop pronunciation comprehension and production for mixed-L1, adult General English
and IELTS students studying in the UK?
 The articles you are looking for should

• Be related to your topic of interest.

• Be published in a “peer-reviewed” research journal.
• Be published within the last 10 years. (However, you may choose to include older
references that are highly relevant to your study, have greatly impacted the field,
can provide a historical perspective, or are landmark studies.
• Include articles that discuss the theoretical framework, as well as articles that
describe research studies on your topic.
• Present different positions or viewpoints when the issue you study is controversial.

At times, the articles you find do not exactly address your particular research
focus. For example, the article may not discuss children of the same ages, research
strategies, or methods you are planning to investigate. Don’t despair; in these situations,
you can use those articles that are most related to your topic. For example,
Leslie, a student teacher, wants to explore the benefits of teaching a foreign language
in the primary grades; however, she could only locate articles that describe research
conducted with middle school students. Her solution is to review the articles that
she found for the literature review, and in her own study, she plans to explore which
findings from the middle school studies also apply to younger students.

Action research in education: A Practical Guide, Sara Efrat Efron and Ruth Ravid, 2013, pp. 20-21
 Tips for reading strategies (to build your literature
review)

You may find it helpful to create a map or a matrix to keep track of your sources and link them by using
software packages such as Endnote®. The following are steps that we’ve found useful for identifying themes
to be discussed in the literature review:

1. Begin by skimming quickly through each article (or other documents) to get a general idea of its content. Identify
and mark the paragraphs or sections that are specifically meaningful for your research.
2. Read the marked sections again, this time slowly and in depth, paying attention to the themes that emerge. In the
margin, write down these themes.
3. Take notes on each article as soon as you finish reading it and write a narrative summary of each relevant theme.
We suggest that for each reference you use an electronic “index card” (article thematic review template).
4. Include the complete citation on the “index card.” If you obtained the source via the Internet, note when the record
was retrieved and the web address.
5. Summarize each theme on the card. The length and details of the description depend on the importance of the
information for your study; the more relevant the content is to your topic, the more detailed the summary should
be. You may make notes about the different ways a theme is perceived by different authors. For example, note
agreement, disagreement, and contrasting or complementary findings.
6. Note whether the theme was already discussed by another author. Feel free to add any other information that you
find useful.
7. Read each article critically and record your response, agreement, or criticism of each source. Consider the following
issues: How was the research paradigm identified? Were terms adequately defined? Was there sufficient
information about the research setting, participants, data collection procedures, and findings?
8. Be meticulous! If you identify a very strong or unique statement that you want to quote, quote it precisely and don’t
forget to include the page number(s) and other publication information.

Action research in education: A Practical Guide, Sara Efrat Efron and Ruth Ravid, 2013, p. 22
The DR: Guiding questions for lesson self-assessment (recalling and
reflecting on your lessons)

Jim Scrivener, Learning Teaching, 2nd ed, pp. 378-9

 The DR: Stages of the research process in the first
month

Choose a general area for the experiment

Do background reading and research

Week 1: Plan What you learn
can feed into
Decide the specific focus of the experiment your choice of
the next
experiment.
Decide how you can assess the results

Week 2: Experiment
Do it

Week 3: Reflect Analyse and reflect on the outcomes

Jim Scrivener, Learning Teaching, 2nd ed, p. 379