2.1 Introduction

Carrying out any worthwhile research project will involve a significant amount of reading. The purpose of research is to extend and develop knowledge and understanding. Reading is an integral part of this process.  Reading for research in guidance will probably involve reviewing or refreshing your current knowledge base (e.g. theories on which practice is based) as well as undertaking new reading. The types of skills required with reading for research (e.g. how to read, deciding what to read, how to interpret your reading) can be a source of anxiety, so the following sections have been designed to support and/or develop these skills.

2.2 Objective: stage 2 

By the end of the second stage of your research you will be able to:

• communicate effectively and clearly with others in the discipline area;
• develop information storage and retrieval strategies;
• develop skills relevant to library and resource use;
• develop skills relating to the organisation of reading, research time and tasks;
• use information to construct a rationale for your research project.

2.3 Information storage and retrieval strategies

For successful research, you will need to be familiar with the sound methods of keeping records and making notes. Whilst locating information for the first time can be difficult, re-locating it can be even more of a problem unless you have developed systematic record-keeping procedures.  As well as keeping a record of useful sources, you should also keep a record of sources that proved to be of no interest (and why) to save valuable time later if you come across the same reference again.  Remember that for all your sources, you need to record sufficient information for constructing your bibliography (see 2.7 below). 

A number of texts on research suggest adopting a card index system (e.g. Bell, 1993 and Cryer, 1996).  The merits of using different size cards are discussed (e.g. to contain more or less information) and the potential for keeping cards for various sources in different sections (e.g. cards on books in one section, cards on articles in another, etc.).  Other methods could include using part of your 'Research Diary' (see 2.3 above), or using a computer to develop systems of recording. 

Adopting a system may prove challenging because breaking off from reading an interesting report, article or chapter to record the necessary details requires a good deal of self-discipline – especially when you’re working under pressure.  It is, however, worth persevering since your recording system will undoubtedly be a key feature of producing a high quality research report.

2.4 Reading for research

You may already have been involved in research connected with your professional role and this may have been undertaken without much direct reading (e.g. if you have been involved in administering questionnaires on someone's behalf).  However, for research requiring more in-depth involvement, reading is essential since it will both be stimulated and informed by the knowledge acquired by your reading.  Blaxter et al (1996:94) usefully suggest that reading should be undertaken at different stages of your research and for different purposes, as follows:

• At the beginning of your research: to check what other research has been done, to focus your ideas and to explore the context for your project.
• During your research:  to keep you interested and up to date with developments, to help you better understand the methods you are using and the field you are researching, and as a source of data.
• After your research: to see what impact your own work has had and to help you develop ideas for further research projects.

Purposes of reading for your research are to familiarise yourself with:

• research which has been undertaken on topics similar to your own;
• research methods being applied in ways which are similar to your own plans;
• accounts of the context relating to your project

2.5 Potential difficulties

One common difficulty is getting hold of relevant books, reports or journal articles. The careers library which can be accessed through this website, is one obvious source of relevant materials.  However, remember that there is often competition for popular and scarce resources, so careful planning may be necessary to ensure you manage to access key texts for your research when you need them. It may also be necessary to negotiate access to libraries near to where you live. Local libraries can be very helpful - ordering specialist books on request – and you may be lucky enough to live near a University library, which often allow access to researchers. Wherever you access literature, you probably need to give some careful thought and planning to how and when you will access the material you wish to read.

Apart from libraries, you will need to use a wide variety of other sources for your reading.  Your employer, colleagues, supervisors, friends, relations - even clients and research subjects - can prove to be a rich source of relevant material. The Internet can also produce relevant information and can be invaluable for identifying and locating possible material.

Blaxter et al (1996) identify four common concerns about reading for research:

• the volume of literature: how do you get to grips with this?
• the variety of literature: how do you go about using the vast range of sources available?
• lack of boundaries: how do you decide which areas of literature are relevant?
• conflicting arguments: how do you assess and evaluate competing explanations?

If you can identify with any, or all, of these concerns it is probably worth spending some time developing strategies for reading for research.  Again, a number of texts that are readily available provide helpful hints on dealing with these sorts of problems. Some of these are summarised next.   

2.6 Basic reading strategies

What to read
Read as much as possible from as many sources as possible - books, journals, computer-based materials, reports, the popular media (daily and weekly press, magazines), memos, minutes, internal reports and even letters.

Remember that, even though it is important to be as up-to-date as possible, this does not preclude older sources like classic texts. Edited texts and literature reviews are also particularly useful for research purposes. The careers library accessed through this website is a rich source of this type of material since it contains historical collections of guidance materials. They can provide invaluable overviews of an area as well as excellent introductions to an area – though try to balance these with references to original materials where possible. Methodological accounts are also valuable sources.

Make sure you understand the extent to which the texts that you are using make use of original data:

• primary sources:  contain original data;
• secondary sources:  contain discussions and interpretations of data, in which the author typically argues for a particular point of view;
• tertiary sources:  presents information and references to the sources of that information.

It’s best to try to draw from a mix of sources for your research report.

Making selections
Familiarise yourself with key texts relevant to your research topic and then supplement with a broader, but selective, reading around the topic. Develop a selective approach by, for example:

• Taking advice from available sources: for example from your colleagues or manager at work. Use the discussion section of this website under different section headings (e.g. Equal Opportunties; Improving Practice; Impact Analysis).
• Locating books or journals that appear relevant in a careers library by asking, browsing or using a catalogue.  Keyword searches on computer-based catalogues are very useful.
• Following up interesting references from your original sources.
• Identifying key texts by noting those that are referred to repeatedly.

Selective reading
If you haven’t already done so, you will need to develop the skill of selective reading because you will not have time to read thoroughly all the written sources with which you need to be familiar. The following tips can help develop this skill:

• record the author(s), title, publisher and date of the book, report or articles.  Keep this safely and any notes you make on the content;
• look for an introduction, concluding chapter, abstract or executive summary.   If it exists, read quickly, scanning the contents.  If the book or report has a cover, the information printed there can be useful;
• with books and reports, look for the contents page.  Identify any chapters that you think may be of particular relevance and focus on them, again starting from the introduction and/or conclusion.  You can find your way through a chapter or section by using the sub-headings;
• in the text itself, key points will often be highlighted, or in the first or last paragraphs.  Similarly, the first and last sentences of paragraphs are often used to indicate and summarise their contents.

Remember - you should be able to understand the key points of a book or article in no more than five minutes.  This should enable you to decide you need go no further, or decide which parts of the book or article you need to read in depth. 

Critical reading
This requires careful examination of what others have written (or said) on a particular subject. It is a difficult skill to develop but important for successful research.  The types of questions you will need to ask as you are reading: does the author present convincing arguments or evidence to support assertions?  Is information easy to find?  Are the views expressed consistent?  Are clear distinctions made between fact and opinion?

Blaxter  et al (1996:106) suggest that critically sound sources:

• go beyond mere descriptions by arguing their position - making a personal response to what has been written;
• relate different writings to each other, indicating their differences and contradictions, and highlighting what they are lacking;
• do not take what is written at face value;
• are explicit about the values and theories which inform and colour reading and writing;
• view research writing as contested terrain, within which alternative views and positions may be taken up;
• show an awareness of the power relations involved in research, and of where writers are coming from;
• use a particular language (e.g. the author asserts, argues, states, concludes or contends).

2.7 Referencing

There are several acceptable ways of recording sources and other information. The Harvard method is a common method that has various advantages. For example, it avoids footnotes and all sources mentioned appear at the end of your dissertation rather than at the end of each chapter. When sources are referred to in the text, only the name(s) of author(s) and year of publication appear. Even though there are different styles of referencing, they will probably contain the information identified below.
 
Books
For all books you wish to include in your Bibliography, you will need the following information:

Author's surname and initials
Year of publication (in brackets)
Title (underlined)
Edition, if relevant (in brackets)
Place of publication
Name of publisher

For example:
Hodkinson, P., Sparkes, A.C. & Hodkinson, H. (1996) Triumphs and Tears: young people, markets and the transition from school to work, London, David Fulton Publishers.

References in the text should be given as follows:

  Smith and Brown (1998:175) or (Smith and Brown, 1998:175)

Where there are three or more authors, only give the name of the first:
 
  Smith et al. (1997:203) or (Smith et al., 1997:203)

When an author has published two or more items in one year, the references should be distinguished by:

  Smith (1996a)
  Smith (1996b)
  and so on.

Where more than one reference has to be given at a single point in the text, they should be listed chronologically:
 
  Brown (1986:47), Jones (1992:106) and Kaput (1997:427)

Articles and Chapters in Books
quote the following:

Author's surname and initials
Year of publication (in brackets)
Title (in inverted commas or italics)
Source of journal or book, that is:
  ~ Title of journal or book (underlined)
  ~ Volume number, issue and page numbers in journals

For example:
Savickas, M.L. (1995) Current Theoretical Issues in Vocational Psychology: Convergence, Divergence, and Schism in Walsh, W.B. and Osipow, S.H. Handbook of Vocational Psychology: Theory, Research and Practice, (2nd ed) Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Articles in Journals
quote the following:

Author's surname and initials
Year of publication
Title (inverted commas or italics)
Title of journal (underlined)
Volume number, issue and page numbers

For example:
Betz, N.E., Harmon, L.W. & Borgen, F.H. (1996) The Relationships of Self-Efficacy for the Holland Themes to Gender, Occupational Group Membership, and Vocational Interests in Journal of Counseling Psychology, 43, 1, p90-98.

Citing Web Pages
As with printed references, the title should be either in Italics or underlined. Note that round brackets are used for (year) and (edition). Where there is no year given on the web material, your would record this as (no date).

Note also that square brackets are used for [medium] and [access date]. The access date is the date you last accessed that reference. This is important, given the volatility of web material, because it offers some indication of the currency of the reference. Without your access date, there might be no intention of how old the material is.

Author/editor. (Year). Title (edition).[Type of medium].Producer (optional). Available Protocol (if applicable):Site/Path/File[Access date].

For example:
Equal Opportunities Commission (2003) ‘The Development of Gender Roles in Young Children’. [Online]. Available: http://www.eoc.org.uk/PDF/gender_roles.pdf [2003, May 22].

Whichever method you select for your Bibliography and referencing, remember that it is important to be consistent.