Conducting Secondary Research for Research Report

This workshop provides instructions on how to conduct secondary research for a research report. It includes brainstorming keywords, creating search statements, finding sources in LRC databases, paraphrasing key points, and citing using APA@Conestoga. The scenario involves researching the impact of student election programs. The output includes article information, APA@Conestoga references, and ratings for credibility and relevance.

Workshop 5
Overview
This workshop provides you with the opportunity to find relevant secondary research on the
topic that you have chosen to write your research report, paraphrase the key points and
reference and cite them using in APA@Conestoga.
Instructions
 Select one of the 4 research topics and indicate what type of information you are
looking for in relation to the topic. The research topics are
 Student Elections
 The Venue
 Athletic Centre
 Transportation-Environment
 Complete the Database Search Worksheet
 Brainstorm different variations of keyword concepts from your Topic / Research
Objective
 Document different combinations of keywords and search tools for your search
 Conduct a searching for periodical, magazines or journals using different combinations
of keywords and search tools
 Record the results in the worksheet
 Find three sources of information from the LRC databases for the topic you have chosen
and indicate
 the search statement that retrieved the article
 the name of the database where the source was found.
 the name of the author(s)
 the title of the article
 the name of the journal
 the pages where the article is located
 reference for the source using APA@Conestoga
 Paraphrase (in your own words) what the articleis about
 Cite explanation with an in-text citation following APA@Conestoga format
 Rate the credibility and relevance of each source and explain the reason for your rating.
 Submit this completed Worksheep
Scenario
You are required to conduct research and write a report on one of the 4 topics for your Research Report.
Using the periodical databases available through Conestoga College, complete the Workshop 5
template.

2
Workshop 5
Database Search Worksheet:
(A) Search Objective/Topic:
 Impact of Student Election Program
(B) Keyword Brainstorm
 Keywords: Student Voting Program (SVP), assistance ship in voting,
 Identifyrelevant specific and general terms
 Impact on the election> Student voting program> impact of the program on the
situation> recommendations and improvement.
Key Concepts > Keyword(s)
1(Who)
Keyword(s) 2
(What)
Keyword(s) 3
(Where)
Keyword(s) 4
(Where)
Keyword(s) 5
Main Keywords
Similar words >
Student
voting
program
Participation
in the
election
Canada
Evaluation improvemen
t
Canada
Gender Inclined
towards
election
Voting
process
(C) Search Tools
Create search statements using search tools with keywords
Operators Exact Phrases /Nesting Truncation /Wild Card
 OR > either
word
(expand)
 AND > both
words
(narrow)
 NOT >
 “exact phrase”
< not separate
words
 (brackets to
group)
 Truncate: e.g.
employ*
 Wild Card: e.g.
wom?n
COMM1380 - Communications Dept. 2

3
Workshop 5
exclude
(narrow)
Use a combination of general searches and search strategies that use different search tools
 Broaden: student election OR voting program
Narrow: AND
 Voting system or participation
AND
 Gender
AND
 Boys or girls
AND
 Canada OR any other country
(Student election OR Voting Program) AND (Voting system Participation) AND (Gender) AND (Boys OR
Girls) AND (Canada OR any other country)
COMM1380 - Communications Dept. 3

4
Workshop 5
(D) Database Search Statements
General Search: Start search using general keywords with no or limited search tools
Search Statements Number of
Results
Relevant
H, M, L
(Student election OR Voting Program) AND (Voting system Participation) AND
(Gender) AND (Boys OR Girls) AND (Canada OR any other country)
Search Strategies: Use different combinations of search tools with keyword groupings
Search Statements Number of
Results
Relevant
H, M, L
Student voting
Enhancing civic sense
SVP
Student voting program
COMM1380 - Communications Dept. 4

5
Workshop 5
Article 1
Indicate the search statement
that retrieved the article:
Student voting
Name of database where the
article was retrieved:
Google Scholar
Author(s) of the article: Elevate Consulting
Title of article: STUDENT VOTE PROGRAM EVALUATION
Publication in which the
article was found:
Elevate Consulting
Pageswhere article is located 6,12,15
APA@Conestoga reference
for the artcle:
Elevate Consulting (2014). Public program evaluation: A statistical guide.
Routledge.
Paraphrase (in your own
words) what the article is
about (a few sentences) –
provide an APA@Conestoga
in-text citation:
The report is about the participation of the students in federal general
election of Canada. The main objective of this paper is to find out the
effectiveness of the student voting program in the election. On the
other hand the paper also discusses about enhancement of the civic
sense among the elementary and high school level students (Elevate
Consulting ,2014). The main adjective of the Student Voting program is
to establish the fact that this kind of program will increase the
participation of the students in the election and will results in the
enhancement of the civic sense among the students.
Rating Excellent3 Good2 Weak1
Credibility
(Credibility is determined by
the quality of the source and
the age of the article)
Source is credible,
and up-to-date.
Source is reasonably
credible.
The source does not seem
credible.
Explain your credibility
rating for this source:
The article is excellent as it directly contributes about the findings of the
mentioned research topic.
Relevance
(Rate the relevance to your
topic or research objective)
Relevant and
appropriate.
Somewhat relevant. Not very relevant.
Explain your relevance rating
for this source:
The rating for this article is excellent as it can be cited for the context of
the relevant article. The information regarding survey have been
presented in correct manner.
COMM1380 - Communications Dept. 5

6
Workshop 5
Article 2
Indicate the search statement
that retrieved the article:
Barriers in student voting
Name of database where the
article was retrieved:
Google Scholar
Author(s) of the article: DJ Neri, Jess Leifer, and Anthony Barrows
Title of article: Graduating Students into Voters
Publication in which the
article was found:
Ideas42
Pages where article is located 5,6,8,12
APA@Conestoga reference
for the artcle:
Neri, D. J., Leifer, J., & Barrows, A. (2016). Graduating Students into
Voters.
Paraphrase (in your own
words) what the article is
about (a few sentences) –
provide an APA@Conestoga
in-text citation:
The paper is more inclined towards the psychological aspect of the
student voting. There are various behaviour and psychological aspects
those influence the participation of the students in the voting process.
The paper is divided into two parts- the decision by the students
regarding the participation in the voting system and the design
principles for the entire system. In the first part eight behavioural
factors has been discussed ( Neri, Leifer & Barrows,2016). These eight
factors have been categorized into three categories- new voters,
identification of the self expression, psychological distance. In the
second part of the discussion nine behavioural designs have been
discussed those were helpful in overcoming the difficulties in the
communication and behavioural barrier of the students in participation
of the election program.
COMM1380 - Communications Dept. 6

7
Workshop 5
Rating Excellent 3 Good 2 Weak 1
Credibility
(Credibility is determined by
the quality of the source and
the age of the article)
Source is credible,
and up-to-date.
Source is reasonably
credible.
The source does not seem
credible.
Explain your credibility rating
for this source:
The article is good as it provides the behavioural aspects of student
voting. This paper sees the system from different aspect or attribute
which is important.
Relevance
(Rate the relevance to your
topic or research objective)
Relevant and
appropriate.
Somewhat relevant. Not very relevant.
Explain your relevance rating
for this source:
The article is good as the source has explained behavioural and
psychological aspects behind the participation of the students in the
voting system.
Article 3
Indicate the search
statement that
retrieved the
article:
Student voting
Name of database
where the article
was retrieved:
Online access of UCLA website
Author(s) of the
article:
Higher Education Research Institution at UCLA
Title of article: Voting Behavior Among College Students
Publication in
which the article
was found:
Higher Education Research Institution at UCLA
Pages where
article is located
1,3,4
APA@Conestoga
reference for the
artcle:
Retrieved from
https://heri.ucla.edu/PDFs/pubs/briefs/HERI_ResearchBrief_Politics_Oct_2010.pdf
Paraphrase (in
your own words)
what the article is
about (a few
sentences) –
provide an
The paper is concerned about the student involvement in the presidential election
of 2008. The findings indicates that the involvement of the student was high at
2008 election. The survey had done on the students of UCLA. It has been found
out that the voting percentage was high among the Asian students in the
university. The paper indicates that the sense and responsibility for giving vote
COMM1380 - Communications Dept. 7

8
Workshop 5
APA@Conestoga
in-text citation:
enhance the civic responsibility of the student.
COMM1380 - Communications Dept. 8

9
Workshop 5
Rating Excellent 3 Good 2 Weak 1
Credibility
(Credibility is determined by
the quality of the source and
the age of the article)
Source is credible,
and up-to-date.
Source is reasonably
credible.
The source does not seem
credible.
Explain your credibility
rating for this source:
The article is good as it provides reasonable information about
involvement of the students in the voting system.
Relevance
(Rate the relevance to your
topic or research objective)
Relevant and
appropriate.
Somewhat relevant. Not very relevant.
Explain your relevance rating
for this source:
The article is good as it shows the voting tendency and participation of
the students in the presidential election of 2008. The article is important
as it provides information regarding the number of active participation of
the students and drives the conclusion from those information.
COMM1380 - Communications Dept. 9