I think I also have trouble kind of referencing to sources whilst writing because we've never had to do these types of writing before?
Hey there,
When you say referencing, do you mean the system of referencing (e.g. in-text, footnotes) or how to include primary and secondary research when analysing? If you mean system of referencing, you should be using footnotes and your footnotes should look something like this:
Surname, first letter of first name of author (year of publication)., "Title", publication company/website name, accessed at (insert link if website), viewed on (insert date you viewed- only for websites)
If you mean including primary and secondary research, it depends on how you've structured your sentences and the type of research you're referring to. For primary research, you should be saying something along the lines of "This is shown in my primary research where..." and then at the end of the sentence, you include a footnote. Your footnote for primary research should be structured like this: "(type of primary research, e.g. content analysis), year you conducted primary research). For secondary research, you don't need to say "This is shown in secondary research..." You can just jump in and throw in a statistic or if you're quoting, make sure you say who's saying that quote (plus it looks better if you include the person's title e.g. Dr ___ to really emphasise that your secondary research is valid).
Like of course we'd be required to use sources, but not to this extent, and it's a bit overwhelming trying to analyse so many sources when half of them I can't even understand the language used. Do you have any advice on how to analyse sources efficiently? I find myself just copying and pasting nearly all of the information since I find them ALL to be useful
It does get a bit overwhelming. When I did research, I usually took down any statistic that looks relevant to my topic. For example, my PIP was on the impacts on interracial marriage on racial identity, and in a TV series, they mentioned a statistic that 1/3 of the 300 marriages that occur everyday in Australia are mixed marriages, so I definitely wrote that one down. Be careful that you're not referring to too many statistics. For example, if you're using Census data, don't use every single piece of data recorded- you're overloading your marker with statistics and it loses its value.
When it comes to the actual content, if you're finding the academic articles difficult to understand, try easing yourself into your topic rather than jumping straight into the journal articles. The first few sources I analysed were Youtube videos and podcasts so I can get a more personal understanding on my topic and then slowly migrated into news articles and eventually journal articles. To be honest, I didn't use a lot of journal articles. The only times I referred to journal articles was if it was a new concept (e.g. stigma consciousness, racial fetishisation). The best way to approach academic sources is to read the summary first before jumping into the actual article. The summary should give you at least a definition of a concept that they're exploring. Most of the time, they say something along the lines of "(insert concept) is when..." Take down any definitions they give you. When it comes to the actual findings, I wouldn't worry too much about most of their data. Maybe one or two pieces of data might be worthwhile but you shouldn't have to go into too much depth with the data. Honestly, I ignored most of their data.
(I'm really bad at cutting down AHAH)
Then the PIP will be the best time for you to practice cutting down. One of the many challenges you face in your PIP journey is having to cut out so many things. My teachers roasted all of my pieces of writing to the point where during the holidays before the PIP was due, I deleted my log and re-wrote it after re-submitting it 5 times. In fact, I submitted approximately 3-5 drafts per piece (i.e. chapter, intro, conclusion) because there was always something to nitpick. It is painful to delete big chunks of paragraph but remember you need to adhere to the word limit!
Hope this helps!