Читать книгу How to Write Brilliant Psychology Essays - Paul Dickerson - Страница 63

Databases: Google Scholar only

Initial search term: ‘Persuasion’

Variations: None

Parameters: Default – limited options are available with this search tool, but even these (e.g. date) are not used

Follow-on strategy: None

Selection of articles: Four are taken from the first page of results.

Verdict on Sophie’s search strategy: Sophie has been reactive and restrictive in her search. She has turned to one database, used one search term and then used whatever emerges from that – rather than really thinking about the title – to shape her essay. This is like essay writing by Yahtzee – whatever turns up shapes the essay (even if it’s a brief summary of an article irrelevant to the title). Whatever Sophie does next in terms of her introduction and conclusion, her structure and critical evaluation, her essay is like a boat with a large hole in the hull. It’s flawed, compromised and likely to sink. The good news is that it is quite easy to improve this situation, as Olivia demonstrates.