RESEARCH SKILLS AND RESEARCH STRATEGIES OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE STUDENTS: QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS

Abstract

One of the first steps in academic writing, besides formulating a research question, is definitely finding references and relevant sources of information which will be used as a basis of new research. This is one of the most necessary skills, especially in the 21^st century, when the amount of information available online leads to saturation as well as a certain degree of impossibility to choose a good, relevant and reliable source. This paper tackles the issue of students’ research skills and is based on the content analysis of 73 project reports of fourth year students of English Language and Literature. Relying on the qualitative approach to the narration in project reports, the paper will try to ascertain what problems students are faced with when researching for projects, what strategies they use while researching, and what solutions can be implemented in order to solve the problems established. The results of the research suggest that the majority of fourth-year students show a high level of awareness of the deficiencies they have regarding the research process, whereas a minority seems overly confident, which seems to be more a consequence of the lack of knowledge than of real training and skills. Furthermore, the major source for all students seems to be the internet, which can be explained partly by the fact that these students belong to the digital generation and using the internet is natural for them, while a much less frequently used source of information is the library. Finally, the solution for this situation, proposed both by the students and by the author of the paper, is the introduction of an obligatory Academic Writing course to the first year of studies so students can be trained in research skills and strategies, and so they can develop a critical attitude towards a variety of sources they find in the process of academic research.