Developing a line of inquiry
Your line of inquiry will develop throughout the first part of your inquiry, starting with a vague unfocussed idea of which subject and topic you may be interested in, and ending up as a clear and focused research question which guides the rest of your inquiry and shapes your final essay.
Don't be tempted to fix your question too early - often it is only as you undertake your initial research that you begin to understand how to shape your question so that it is narrow enough to focus your inquiry but broad enough to allow a balanced discussion.
If you haven't already worked through the Planning tab, you should do that now. Connecting with your topic means both making sure you are familiar with the requirements of the EPQ (and Ethical Guidelines, where appropriate) and developing a broad overview of your topic.
You cannot begin to seriously investigate your topic and to decide on your question until you have undertaken some significant background reading (print, online, or both). Don't forget to keep a note of what you are reading in your Annotated Bibliography - it's so frustrating when you remember that you came across a really good book or website during this 'browsing' stage, but you can't find it again!
One of the most important features of this 'getting to know your topic' stage, is developing a list of key terms that will help you to search for the resources you need. Most of the time, if you find yourself complaining that "there isn't any information on my topic" in a database of journals, or on the Library catalogue it is because you haven't developed a broad enough list of search terms. Equally, if you are finding too many resources but none of them is really focused enough on the topic you need, this will be because your search terms are too narrow.
This keywording resource will allow you to build your own set of keywords as you get to know your topic. This will save you a great deal of time in the long run as you will refine your search strategy and not find yourself doing the same searches over and over again. It will also help your supervisor and the Library staff to help you if you are struggling to find suitable resources.
This resource will help you to keep track of all the different sources you find. Once you start working with each source in more detail, you will also need a tool like the Investigative Journal to organise your notes.
Normal term-time Library opening hours:
Mon-Fri: 08:30-21:15
Sat: 08:00-16:00
Sun: 14:00-18:00 (Summer Term only)
