EVROPSKÁ UNIE
Evropské strukturální a investiční fondy Operační program Výzkum, vývoj a vzdělávání
MINISTERSTVO ŠKOLSTVÍ, MLADE2E A TĚLOVÝCHOVY
	Název projektu	Rozvoj vzdělávání na Slezské univerzitě v Opavě
Registrační číslo projektu		CZ.02.2.69/0.0./0.0/16_015/0002400
Studijní dovednosti
Distanční studijní text
Daniel Jedlička
Opava 2019
SLEZSKA UNIVERZITA
filozoficko-přírodovédeckA fakulta v opavě
Obor: 0231 Osvojování si jazyka
Klíčová slova:    academie environment, study skills, effective learning, time management, note-taking, study resources, reading, research, research skills
Anotace: Kurz Studijní dovednosti je koncipován tak, aby studenty vybavil zá-
klady potřebnými k úspěšnému zvládnutí studia na vysoké škole. Studenti se seznámí s akademickým prostředím a základními principy práce v rámci vysokoškolského studia. Představeny budou metody pro efektivní učení, plánování a řízení času a účelnou tvorbu poznámek. Důraz je kladen také na rozvoj znalostí a dovedností potřebných k osvojení základů vědecké práce v rámci humanitních studií.
Autor:
Mgr. Daniel Jedlička, M.A.
Daniel Jedlička - Studijní dovednosti
Obsah
ÚVODEM............................................................................................................................5
RYCHLÝ NÁHLED STUDIJNÍ OPORY...........................................................................6
1 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................7
1.1    The academie environment...................................................................................8
1.1.1 University study.............................................................................................8
1.1.2 Expectations...................................................................................................8
1.1.3 Contact and communication..........................................................................9
2 ORGANISING YOUR STUDIES.............................................................................12
2.1 Why get organised?.............................................................................................13
2.2 Time management basics....................................................................................13
2.2.1 Time eaters...................................................................................................13
2.2.2 Time-planning tools.....................................................................................15
2.2.3 The bigger picture........................................................................................16
2.2.4 Operational planning....................................................................................16
3 LEARNING EFFECTIVELY....................................................................................18
3.1 Learning styles....................................................................................................19
3.1.1 Visual learning.............................................................................................19
3.1.2 Auditory learning.........................................................................................20
3.1.3 Kinaesthetic learning...................................................................................20
3.2 Note-taking..........................................................................................................21
3.2.1 What do we take notes of?...........................................................................22
3.2.2 Organising your notes..................................................................................22
3.2.3 Note-taking applications..............................................................................23
3.3 Useful study resources................................. .......................................................24
4 FROM READING TO RESEARCH.........................................................................27
4.1 What is research?................................................................................................28
4.1.1     Key research skills.......................................................................................28
4.2 Reading critically................................................................................................29
4.2.1     How to become a critical reader?.................................................................29
4.3 Getting started with research...............................................................................31
4.3.1     The topic......................................................................................................31
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Daniel Jedlička - Studijní dovednosti
A3.2    The research questions.................................................................................32
4.3.3    The reading..................................................................................................32
4.4    Research ethics....................................................................................................34
4.4.1 Plagiarism....................................................................................................34
4.4.2 Forms of plagiarism.....................................................................................35
4.4.3 How to avoid plagiarism..............................................................................35
LITERATURA..................................................................................................................38
ODKAZ NA ONLINE LMS KURZ..................................................................................39
SHRNUTÍ STUDIJNÍ OPORY.........................................................................................40
PŘEHLED DOSTUPNÝCH IKON...................................................................................41
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Daniel Jedlička - Študijní dovednosti
ÚVODEM
Tato studijní opora je určena studentům bakalářského programu Angličtina pro odbornou praxi jako podpůrný materiál ke kurzu Studijní dovednosti.
Studijní opora obsahuje:
• teoretický základ probíraného tématu s konkrétními příklady,
• definice probíraných pojmů,
• kontrolní otázky a samostatné úkoly,
• seznam použité literatury,
• odkaz na online LMS kurz.
Student nastuduje dané téma, zodpoví kontrolní otázky a vypracuje případné samostatné úkoly.
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Daniel Jedlička - Studijní dovednosti
RÝCHLY NÁHLED STUDIJNÍ OPORY
Kurz je koncipován tak, aby účastníky vybavil základy potřebnými k úspěšnému zvládnutí studia na vysoké škole. Poněvadž se akademické prostředí výrazně liší od prostředí středoškolského, studenti prvního ročníku VS jsou v krátkém časovém horizontu vystaveni poměrně vysoké zátěži související s požadavky, jež jsou na ně náhle kladeny. Tato zátěž může být podstatně nižší, pokud si osvojí náležité přístupy a metody pro efektivnější studium.
Studenti se seznámí s akademickým prostředím a organizací vysokoškolského studia. Představeny budou základní principy efektivního učení, metody pro plánování a řízení času a účelnou tvorbu poznámek. Doporučeno bude několik užitečných a osvědčených výukových zdrojů (klasických i elektronických). Důraz je kladen též na rozvoj potřebných výzkumných dovedností: zdůrazněna je schopnost kritického čtení, kritického myšlení a kritického psaní, jež jsou základními předpoklady práce v oblasti humanitních věd. V závěru kurzu bude představen vysoce aktuální problém plagiátorství, jeho příčiny a způsoby, jak mu předcházet.
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Daniel Jedlička - Studijní dovednosti
1 INTRODUCTION
QUICK OVERVIEW
The first chapter introduces the academic environment, university study and its general organisation. We will discuss how university students are expected to work, what particular qualities are seen as desirable, and which fundamental values students should embrace. We will also give a few useful tips as regards communication with your teachers and other members of staff.
AIMS
In this chapter you will learn:
• about the academic environment and the main differences between university studies and secondary-level education;
• how university studies are organised in general;
• about the qualities and attitude university students are expected to demonstrate during their studies;
• about proper ways to contact academic staff.
KEYWORDS
degree programme, credit, credit system, lecture, seminar, LMS, e-learning, blended learning, contact
REQUIRED TIME
90 minutes
Introduction
1.1 The academic environment
The academic world is in many ways different from the study environment at the lower levels of education. This means that the learning experience and working habits you have acquired during your primary and secondary school studies do not fully translate into the requirements and expectations of the university. For the unprepared, some of the differences may even come as a sort of "culture shock".
Coming out of secondary school you will soon have to get used to the following key differences:
1.1.1 University study
At the university level, studies are organised into degree programmes, as part of which you study various courses. Similar to most European countries, universities in the Czech Republic have adopted what is referred to as the credit system. This means that your academic performance will be measured not only in traditional course marks but also in credits, points that you receive for completing each course. The actual credit value of a course is determined by the particular degree programme.
A typical degree programme consists of:
• required courses (mandatory for all students in the programme),
• required optional courses (you have to take a certain number of courses choosing from a given list),
• optional courses (you can study these if you are interested in them).
It is your responsibility to enrol in all the necessary courses and to organise your study efforts in such a way that you acquire the prescribed number of credits to present at the end of your final year. (Taking up one extra course just to be on the safe side certainly does not hurt.)
1.1.2 expectations
A much greater degree of independence and self-direction is expected on the part of the university student. You will keep receiving instructions from your teachers but in many of the assigned tasks you will have to demonstrate a pro-active approach, initiative, and self-reliance.
A typical university course takes the form of a lecture (a more teacher-centred lesson format based on presentation and with limited student participation) or a seminar (based on class discussion, task solving and group work). In both, it is assumed that students will take notes independently and as they find appropriate/useful. Do not wait for your teacher to tell you which particular piece of information is important and should be taken down.
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Daniel Jedlička - Studijní dovednosti
In comparison with the secondary level, university teachers act more like facilitators or guides taking you through the learning process. Listen to what they have to say but do not expect the information given in the classroom to be the only information required to pass your exams.
There are comparably fewer hours of in-class teaching, and much more time is devoted to completing homework assignments and reading. These activities make an inherent part of your study just like the in-class sessions, so it does not pay to cut corners.
The library will become your regular hangout. Early on in your studies, make sure that you take a tour of the university library: most departments organise such a tour for their first-year students. Learn how to use the library catalogue effectively in order to make the most of the resources available to you.
Remember that you, and only you, are responsible for your study performance and results.
1.1.3 Contact and communication
In general, there is less personal contact with your teachers and tutors. Outside classroom time they often hold office hours each week for students to come and ask questions or get feedback. External or visiting members of staff may require you to make a prior appointment.
Some of the courses may be taught using a Learning Management System (LMS), which is a modern-day, web-based form of distance learning. In such a setting there is even less direct contact between the teacher and his or her students. Course participants are assigned reading, exercises and tasks to do using the LMS (such as Moodle or another e-learning system).
Advantages of online learning include flexibility in choosing the time and place of study, meaning that such a course can be easily combined with other activities or work. On the other hand, as the actual amount of content is comparable to regularly taught, in-class courses, you will have to establish and stick to a good learning plan so as to complete your tasks, assignments and tests in due time. Another disadvantage of e-learning is the relatively limited feedback you get on your coursework (unless the LMS course is complemented with tutored in-class sessions; this form of study is referred to as blended learning).
A good deal of communication at the university takes place via e-mail. Upon enrolling in their degree programme, students are given a dedicated university e-mail address, which they are required to check regularly. Remember that apart from in-class communication, e-mail is the only way for your teacher to reach you, so make sure you visit your inbox often. Some information may be given at a relatively short notice.
If you e-mail your teachers or any other members of staff, do so only from your university e-mail account. Write in a professional, polite style, and remember to use an appropriate greeting and sign-off in all mails. When sending your coursework in an at-
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Introduction
tachment, always include a message: never leave the body of the e-mail empty, this feels extremely rude!
University staff will not normally reply to e-mails outside of standard office hours. This means that you should not expect a reply to your e-mail in the evenings, at the weekend, or during holidays.
It is not common that teachers and tutors communicate with their students using social media, so trying to befriend your teacher on Facebook is not the kind of initiative that is expected of you. However, individual university departments or institutes often establish their official social media presence (such as a Facebook page) to ease the dissemination of information. Feel free to join in to get the latest news and announcements.
Df DEFINITIONS
Credit - A specific point value that university students receive for each successfully completed course.
Credit system - A widely adopted system of academic recognition within which students more or less freely choose courses to take, with a view to collecting a prescribed minimum amount of credits towards the end of their study.
Lecture - A lesson format based on presentation given by the teacher, with relatively limited student participation.
Seminar - A more interactive lesson format based on class discussion, task solving and group work, in which active student participation is expected.
LMS (Learning Management System) - A type of web-based computer software in which text, audio, images, animation or streaming video are presented for the purposes of learning.
E-learning - The use of computer technology (typically through an LMS; see above) in the learning process, outside of a traditional classroom.
Blended learning - A type of e-learning in which online study is combined with tutored in-class sessions.
???|    COMPREHENSION CHECK
1. What is the difference between a required, a required optional, and an optional course?
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2.
3.
Daniel Jedlička - Studijní dovednosti
What is the difference between a lecture and a semináři
What is the difference between e-learning and blended-learningl
TASK
Visit your department's website, locate the section related to your particular degree programme, and have a look at the current list of courses.
• Which required courses will you have to take in your first year?
• Which required optional courses are on offer?
• Will you be able to also choose any optional courses?
SUMMARY
This chapter focused on introducing the university environment and its general organisation. We discussed the expectations regarding students' conduct and performance, and identified qualities that are considered desirable in the academic world. We also presented a number of useful tips for improving communication between students and university staff.
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Organising your studies
2 ORGANISING YOUR STUDIES
QUICK OVERVIEW
This chapter explains why it is a good idea to keep your study efforts organised and focused, and outlines how to go about it. We will discuss time as a factor contributing to stress, introduce the basic principles of time management, and identify common "time eaters" that represent a major hindrance to using one's time effectively. We will also mention how time-planning tools can help organise your life at the university.
AIMS
In this chapter you will learn:
• about things that contribute to psychological stress;
• the basics of time management;
• about time eaters;
• about useful planning techniques and time-management tools.
KEYWORDS
time, time management, time eaters, stress, personal information manager, priority
-
REQUIRED TIME
90 minutes
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Daniel Jedlička - Studijní dovednosti
2.1 Why get organised?
Some people are natural-born students. They clearly demonstrate a devotion to learning, they learn fast, and things seem to come to them as if by a sixth sense or a special power. In reality, however, such students are quite rare. Many young people enter the university unprepared for the challenges and expectations that we have outlined in the introductory chapter.
As a result, more often than not they find themselves under considerable stress or in a state of despair resulting from the many pressures of the academic environment. Common university stressors include:
• lack of time,
• feeling of inadequacy,
• fear of failure,
• academic overload,
• in-class competition,
• bad relationships with staff or fellow students,
• homesickness,
• financial problems.
In order to prevent falling under stress, it is necessary to get organised!
2.2 Time management basics
Time is an important factor for human beings. A lot of stress in life originates from a perceived lack of time; in fact, some of the "academic stressors" mentioned above are more related to time than to anything else. For example, the feeling of overload in students often comes from poor time planning rather than from getting too much work to do. Also, students are afraid of failure not because they are slow-witted but because they feel that they have not spent enough time preparing for exams.
In this study material we will give you a few general tips how to organise your time at the university. If you want to delve deeper, we encourage you to read one of the many books on time management and planning. The bibliography at the end of this material will be your guide.
2.2.1 Time eaters
The first thing you should do is identify your time eaters: things that waste your time, destroy your productivity, slow down your progress, and deprive you of energy for work
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Organising your studies
or study. While it is true that people often mention the same time eaters when asked, the actual degree to which they consume one's precious time can be highly individual. Some obvious time eaters include:
• social networks (how many times have you taken a break to read something on Facebook, only to find yourself still scrolling through the news feed an hour later?)
• computer games (they can be extremely immersive: some people apparently play them for days, if not weeks on end)
• web surfing (it's easy to lose your sense of time on the Internet: imagine visiting a street market that has everything!)
• the television (despite losing a lot of ground in recent years due to pressure from new media, some people still consider flipping between 100 channels a pastime worth their while)
• commuting (we regularly waste considerable amounts of time on our way to work or school)
Some time eaters are less conspicuous, and people often do not realize they might cause a problem:
• lack of self-discipline
• lack of priorities
• aimlessness, lack of plan
• inability to say no
TASK
Determine how many hours a week you spend doing the following activities:
Activity	Hours spent weekly
Sleeping and relaxation	
Personal care	
Shopping	
Meal preparation & eating	
Socializing, visiting people	
Online communication, using social media	
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Daniel Jedlička - Studijní dovednosti
Watching TV or videos	
Computer games / other hobbies	
Sports & exercise	
Commuting to school	
Part-time work	
In-class and online learning	
Doing homework, reading for school	
• Which of the activities take up the most of your time?
• Do they bring any real benefit to your life and study, or have you just identified some of your potential time eaters?
2.2.2 Time-planning tools
We live in an information age: we produce, look for, and consume information every day. In such a setting it has become obvious that the human brain - highly sophisticated as it may be - is no longer capable of absorbing so much information. Many people are unable to remember the birthdays of their nearest and dearest, let alone the dates of their appointments, exams, and deadlines.
Apart from the learning content, university studies impose on you a great number of dates and times to remember. It is highly recommended that you use a modern tool to keep track of your assignments, tasks, submission deadlines, exam dates, and other events. A traditional diary is not very suitable, not because it would quite likely look un-cool to your fellow students but because it would become yet another thing to put in your bag. What you need is a software application that runs on your smartphone, tablet, or laptop: something you carry with you every day.
Applications designed to organise your working life are referred to as personal information managers (PIMs). They very often take the form of integrated solutions that include:
• an e-mail client (which you can configure to use your personal as well as your university e-mail account from a single place);
• a to-do list (to keep track of tasks to complete within a specific time);
• a calendar (for various events: regular or irregular);
• a contact manager (to store and edit your contacts).
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Organising your studies
Popular PIM solutions include Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird (with the Lightning extension), EssentialPIM, and Google Calendar.
2.2.3 the bigger picture
Do not live for the day: always have a good overview of the things to come in your university life!
Early on in your first year, have a look at the full curriculum for your degree programme to see how many courses you will have to take each semester. It is likely that the first few semesters will be quite busy, with some heavy lifting to be done in courses that represent the core of your programme. Do not slacken your efforts until you have the main, required courses off your back.
At the beginning of each academic year, download or pick up a copy of your faculty's calendar to see how the year is going to be organised. Transfer all important dates and deadlines into your PIM application.
At some point you may be given the opportunity to study abroad as part of a student exchange programme (such as Erasmus+). If you consider spending a semester or even a full year on such a programme, make sure that your stay abroad does not complicate your studies at home.
2.2.4 Operational planning
During the semester, keep your PIM busy. Inform it of all your study obligations: tests, papers, projects, readings, coursework submission deadlines, and exams. Also make plans for holidays, breaks, part-time jobs, etc.
Make sure that you set reminders for all key deadlines and events. This way the PIM application will keep nagging you that an important date is approaching.
It can get very frustrating when there is a lot of work to do within a relatively short time frame. Go through the individual tasks and give them priorities, starting from the most pressing or difficult ones. These are the tasks to start with.
More heads are better than one. With your fellow students, establish a way to inform each other about important school matters. A good idea is to set up a closed group on social media (such as Facebook) to remind the members of assignments and upcoming deadlines.
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Daniel Jedlička - Studijní dovednosti
DEFINITIONS
Stressor - A factor that causes psychological stress.
Time eater - An activity that takes up a considerable amount of your time without bringing a real benefit to your life, work or study.
Personal information manager (PIM) - A software application for organising your work and time.
COMPREHENSION CHECK
1. In what way does time work as a factor contributing to stress? Give more than one example.
2. Can you name three common time eaters that are not related to technology?
3. Where will you find information about the organisation of the academic year at your university?
SUMMARY
In this chapter we focused on methods, techniques and tools that help to keep your studies organised. We discussed time as an important factor contributing to stress, introduced the basic principles of time management, and identified common "time eaters", i.e. activities that prevent people from using their time effectively. We also mentioned and recommended the use of time-planning tools.
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Learning effectively
3 LEARNING EFFECTIVELY
QUICK OVERVIEW
In this chapter we will have a look at how to boost your studies and improve your learning. Based on the concept of generalised learning styles we will recommend techniques for various types of learner. We will also devote our attention to note-taking as a way to make the most of your lessons and reading. Last but not least, we will recommend a number of resources that a university student of English will surely find useful.
AIMS
In this chapter you will learn:
• about learner styles;
• about the difference between visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learning;
• how to take notes effectively;
• about note-taking software;
• about useful study resources.
KEYWORDS
learning, learner style, visual learning, auditory learning, kinaesthetic learning, note-taking, note-taking software, study resources
REQUIRED TIME
180 minut
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Daniel Jedlička - Studijní dovednosti
3.1 Learning styles
The key factor influencing the efficiency and effectiveness of learning is how people learn, rather than how much time and effort they devote to learning or how often they sit down to study.
Different people learn in different ways: what works for one student does not necessarily have to work well for others. The methods, strategies and preferences that a person consistently applies in acquiring knowledge, experience and skills constitute his or her learning style.
One traditional classification of learning styles is based on the degree to which the individual human senses participate in acquiring information and experience. From the viewpoint of this classification, there exist three types of learning (and consequently, three types of learner): visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic.
3.1.1 Visual learning
Visual learners learn best when information is presented to them in the form of written language (verbal visual learning) or in picture form (non-verbal visual learning). In
educational contexts, visual learners typically benefit from:
• teachers who use the whiteboard or slide presentations to list the main points of their lecture;
• teachers who make a regular use of visual aids such as film, video, photos, pictures, maps, diagrams and charts;
• information and visual material in textbooks;
• class notes;
• their ability to establish mental connections between ideas/concepts and colours;
• their ability to picture things in their mind's eye.
If you know that you are a predominantly visual learner, try adopting some of the following methods and strategies to improve your studying performance:
• Get into the habit of taking notes from your classes and reading. If you use note-taking software, bring it to its full potential as regards text styling and formatting.
• Develop your own system of colour coding: highlight information of a particular kind in a particular colour. Use highlighter pens or coloured pencils.
• Write key words and important concepts on sticky notes, and put them in places that you regularly set your eyes on.
• Prefer studying alone in a quiet room.
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Learning effectively
3.1.2 Auditory learning
Auditory learners learn best when information is presented to them in the form of spoken language. In educational contexts, auditory learners typically benefit from:
• teachers who are experienced, impressive speakers;
• lectures and oral presentations;
• group discussions;
• talking to others in order to check understanding;
• educational radio programmes, podcasts, and audiobooks.
If you know that you are a predominantly auditory learner, try adopting some of the following methods and strategies to improve your studying performance:
• Find a fellow student to regularly discuss class material and prepare for exams together.
• When preparing for your seminars and revising for exams, read your textbook and class notes out loud. (That of course means you need to find a room where you won't be bothering anyone.)
• Ask your teachers if you can make an audio recording of their lectures, using your smartphone. (Most teachers will be fine with that but you really need to ask for permission first.)
• Complement traditional reading with listening to audiobooks. Go through your reading list and see which items are available in audiobook form. Download them into your smartphone or MP3 player so that you can make a convenient use of "dead time" when you walk or commute to school.
3.1.3 KlNAESTHETIC LEARNING
Kinaesthetic (also referred to as tactile) learners learn best when they are physically engaged in activities; they "learn by doing". In educational contexts, kinaesthetic learners typically benefit from:
• lessons that provide "hands-on" experience;
• teachers who encourage in-class demonstrations;
• simulations, role-play and other experiential techniques;
• field research outside the classroom;
• using learning equipment and manipulating study materials.
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Daniel Jedlička - Studijní dovednosti
If you know that you are a predominantly kinaesthetic learner, try adopting some of the following methods and strategies to improve your studying performance:
• Think about how you could make your learning tangible: use something you can put your hands on, for example cards, pictures, worksheets, grammar reference charts etc.
• Do your research in the library, do not borrow books to take home. Take a book from the shelf, do your reading, take notes, and return the book to the shelf.
• Take opportunities to do research in the field. Visit museums, writers' homes, locations in which books on your reading list take place, etc.
• Use a computer or tablet to reinforce learning through the sense of touch.
• Should you need to skip classes due to time pressure, prefer to sacrifice a lecture rather than a seminar, as seminars tend to be more interactive and present much greater opportunity for your involvement.
COMPREHENSION CHECK
1. What is the difference between visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learning?
2. How can colours be utilized to improve the study performance of visual learners? Think of a few specific examples.
3. What can a predominantly kinaesthetic learner do to make his/her studies more "tactile" and experiential? Think of a few specific examples.
3.2 Note-taking
Taking notes is an important part of the learning process, regardless of the type of school. There are several reasons why you should take notes from your lectures, seminars, and reading.
First of all, notes provide a simple and useful way to record information, and as such they help your memory. Considering the typical reading list of a student of English, much of your reading would quite likely be wasted without effective note-taking because the amount of information is simply overwhelming. Second, taking notes helps understanding because in order to write something meaningful, you need to interpret and understand what you read or hear. Last but not least, taking notes helps your writing because good notes can become solid building blocks to use in writing your essays or final thesis.
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Learning effectively
3.2.1 What do we take notes of?
Note taking can be highly individual but there are some general things we commonly take down:
• main (i.e. the most interesting, helpful or inspiring) ideas
• key words or phrases (these tend to be relatively easy to identify because they reoccur in the text, or - in case you take notes of a lecture - they are repeatedly mentioned in the teacher's presentation)
• names of people, places, dates, etc. (when taking notes from your reading, don't forget the main characters, story locations, narration timeline, etc.)
• quotations (remember to also take down the respective page number!)
• images, diagrams or other useful visuals
But remember that you are a student, not a tape recorder or a secretary! You need to distil the source material into a practical gist. There is no point in copying out large chunks of text, unless you are going to quote them directly.
Try to find a balance. If you write down too much, chances are that you will get bogged down in unnecessary detail and your notes will lose focus. If you write down too little, your notes will be sketchy and you won't be able to make full use of them.
3.2.2 Organising your notes
Remember the Second Law of Thermodynamics: "All systems tend toward disorder." Your notes are no exception, therefore you will need to impose some kind of order upon them.
Take notes with a view to (re)using them in your written assignments and other coursework. Choose a filing system that works for you. Taking handwritten notes in a notebook is fine for keeping a record of in-class lectures and seminars, but if your notes are supposed to serve later as building material for an essay or a thesis (typically: notes from your reading and research), you really want to go for an electronic form. Retyping notes from the notebook pages into a text editor is very impractical: it means extra work, and is prone to spelling errors and omissions.
Keeping notes in an electronic document, or in several documents stored on your computer's hard drive, is a better solution (the notes can then be easily copied and pasted), but there, too, are a few inherent drawbacks. First of all, the document can grow very long, as a result of which you may lose track of what you have in there. Storing notes across several documents can help prevent the excessive length problem, but only at the cost of complicating information search and retrieval: you may need to open and search through several files to find the information you are looking for.
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If you really want to collect, access and manipulate your notes efficiently, you will have to go for a dedicated note-taking application to use on your laptop, tablet or smartphone.
3.2.3 Note-taking applications
Note-taking applications help you keep track of where everything is. Regardless of the actual implementation, device or operating system they run on, these applications are built on the following principles:
• Free-form information gathering. You can store text, freehand drawings, photos, screenshots, audio and video recordings, and even entire web pages (saved as offline content).
• Non-linear note taking. Notes can be organised hierarchically, and hypertext links can be established between them even if the notes are kept as separate items.
• Rich text formatting. Notes can be formatted using text styles (bold, italic, underlined, highlighted), bullet points, numbered lists etc.
• Cloud-based storage. Notes are not stored locally on your device but rather "in the cloud", i.e. in a remote data repository that the application accesses over the Internet. Notes can still be taken offline, without a working Internet connection; as soon as the device comes back online, the local data gets synchronised with the existing data in the cloud. Cloud storage also means that your notes are fully backed up: better safe than sorry!
• Tagging. Each note can be assigned one or more tags or keywords, which means that information can easily be searched for using various criteria, and quickly retrieved.
Popular note-taking solutions include Evernote (www.evernote.com) and microsoft OneNote (available from the Microsoft Store, or as part of the Microsoft Office suite). Download them for your device and try them out!
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Learning effectively
mka    Formát   Nástroje Nápověda
reu-
51
Christopher Log u e
britain, jail poetry, loguť Christophe r Logue: Red Bird Recorded on 29 ...
American jazz poetry
Langston Hughe?' essay 'lazz as Commu presented in 1956 at the Newport Jazz Fes
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Poetry on record
Poetry recordings (with or without music) The new generation's belief in "the importance of the poet's.
Bebop: On the political' nature of bebop, see Lott, "Double V, Double-Time; Bebop's Politics of Style"....
Poetry and music
Aristotle From the beginning of Chapter I of Poetics "Now epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, dithyrambic p..
Notes, excerpts and lints
Recorded on 29 May ft-e. about a month ater the first performance of Jazzetn^
.aiz critic Charles Fcx. who wrote the =leeve note for tie Red Bird LP, writes in his Letter to the Editor in the Times Literary Supplement:
"Now rt is true that I believe the best results in this particular medium come about through planning rather than by fortuity, but I also think that successful use can be made of an improvised jazz background, indeed, one of the items in "Red Bird Dancing on Ivory" - a "chase chorus", as jazz musicians would say, between trombone and voice - was actually devised at the last moment in the B.B.C. studio. What I object to is jazz - arranged or improvised - that fairs to operate on its own terms: jazz that neglects, in fact, to be musk as unreservedly as the poem is a poem". Fox. Charles. "Jazz and Poetry.'" Times Literary Supplement [London, England] 18 Sept. 1959: 531. Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive, Web. 31 May 2014.
Poems on the Red Bird E^ come from Red Bird Dancing On Ivory, originally broadcast in the BBC's Third Programme during the spring of 1959, music specially composed by Tony Kinsey and Bill Le Sage the poems drawn from the "Twenty Love Poems based on the Spanish of Pablo Neruda" section of Christopher Logue's
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Fig. 1 - EVERNOTE showing a note consisting of formatted text and graphics.
3.3 Useful study resources
In this section we will introduce and recommend several resources (both printed and electronic) that a student of English may find useful in his/her study, research, writing, and exam preparation. Visit your library to see which of these resources are available to you.
Dictionaries			
	est 1		Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (OALD) Oxford University Press, 2015 9th edition A free online version of this dictionary is available at www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com
			Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's Dictionary 9th edition HarperCollins Publishers, 2018 Other Collins dictionaries can be used online at www.collinsdictionarv.com
			Lexicon 7 Velký slovník anglicko český/česko anglický Lingea, 2019 An electronic dictionary (software application) available for the Windows, Linux and MacOS operating systems.
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Daniel Jedlička - Studijní dovednosti
Grammar reference			
Practical M Usage H   Crommor tor ^^^^^H H  English Language Teocriers l l			Practical English Usage Michael Swan Oxford University Press, 2016 4th edition
			Grammar for English Language Teachers Martin Parrott Cambridge University Press, 2010 2nd edition
Grammar practice			
H   ENGLISH 1 ■ GRAMMAR■ Murphy			English Grammar in Use Raymond Murphy Cambridge University Press, 2019 5th edition
			Oxford Practice Grammar: Advanced George Yule Oxford University Press, 2019 2nd edition
Vocabulary practice			
	ENGLISH IN USE		English Vocabulary in Use: Advanced Michael McCarthy, Felicity O'Dell Cambridge University Press, 2017 3rd edition
	BUSINESS == IN USE		Business English Vocabulary in Use: Advanced Bill Mascull Cambridge University Press, 2017 3rd edition
Testing			
mm W/ Verbs E and			Test It, Fix It Kenna Bourke, Amanda Maris Multi-level book series by Oxford University Press. Covers various areas including vocabulary, grammar, use of English, FCE exam preparation, and business English.
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Learning effectively
	Wtokl C VL?.:;üM'.il,-iry tor FCF		Test Your... Peter Watcyn-Jones and other authors Multi-level book series by Penguin. Covers various areas including vocabulary, grammar, use of English, reading, FCE exam preparation, and professional English.
Research			
Google Scholar			When searching for academic material to use in your research and writing, prefer to use the Google Scholar search engine (scholar.google.com). Unlike the regular Google engine, the Scholar is specifically designed to find scholarly material such as journal articles or book reviews.
	»um		JSTOR (www.istor.org) is the No. 1 repository of research material, covering numerous academic journals across various fields. It works based on paid subscription but most universities provide free access for their students and teachers.
-
TASK
Visit the university library and using one of its computers, locate the JSTOR repository at www.jstor.org. In the search box on the main page, type in the key phrase "business English" (including the quotation marks).
•    How many articles dealing with business English has JSTOR found for you?
SUMMARY
This chapter focused on methods, tools and resources you can use to improve your learning and get to speed with your university studies. We mentioned techniques suitable for various types of learner, based on learning styles (visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic). We also devoted out attention to note-taking as a way to make the most of your lectures, seminars, and reading. Finally, we recommended a number of useful study resources such as dictionaries, grammar reference books, test banks etc.
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Daniel Jedlička - Studijní dovednosti
4 FROM READING TO RESEARCH
QUICK OVERVIEW
The last chapter will be your guide to the activity that takes up an important part of university studies: research. We will focus on critical reading and thinking as prerequisites for critical writing, which is at the core of research in the arts and humanities. We will give a few tips to help you get started with your writing assignments, using reading material as a starting point and reference. We will also discuss research ethics, specifically focusing on the problem of plagiarism.
AIMS
In this chapter you will learn:
• about research and key research skills;
• about the kind of research university students do as part of their study;
• how to become a critical reader;
• how to get started with your writing;
• about plagiarism and how to avoid it.
KEYWORDS
research, research skills, critical reading, writing, plagiarism
REQUIRED TIME
180 minut
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From reading to research
4.1 What is research?
Research is an inherent part of academic work; in fact, it constitutes a significant portion of what we do at the university. The word research has strong scientific connotations: most people will picture laboratories, experiments and high-tech equipment in their minds. But what kind of research takes place in the arts and humanities? And more specifically, what kind of research will you be expected to do as a student of English?
In a general sense, research is:
• a contribution to knowledge;
• a contribution to critical debate;
• an objective re-evaluation of what we already know;
• an investigation of our own critical practices.
As a student of English enrolled in a university degree programme, sooner or later you will find yourself engaged in the following particular types of research activity:
• doing your coursework assignments;
• writing essays;
• writing your final thesis.
4.1.1 Key research skills
In order to meet the academic standards and requirements, you will need to develop and make use of three key research skills: critical reading, critical thinking and critical writing. Most typically, we apply critical reading and thinking to arrive at critical writing.
Critical thinking
Critical reading
Critical writing
Fig. 2 - Key research skills.
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Daniel Jedlička - Studijní dovednosti
4.2 Reading critically
Studying English at the university involves a good deal of reading: depending on the particular degree programme, the list of required or recommended reading can be quite long. Daunting as it may look at the first sight, reading is actually something that provides you with useful material for your research. Yes - a lot of research in the arts and humanities is based on reading somebody else's works!
In order to turn your reading experience into research material you need to start reading critically. Let's now have a look at the main differences between critical and non-critical reading:
Non-critical reading	Critical reading
for information, enjoyment, relaxation	for information, opinions, arguments
passive, superficial	active, analytical
focuses mainly on what the text says	focuses also on how and why the text says it, where the text comes from, and who wrote it
tends to accept the argument or fact	tends to evaluate and sometimes even challenge the validity of the argument or fact
has a tendency to believe	has a tendency to be sceptical
does not consider it necessary to take down notes	encourages and sees particular benefit in note-taking
4.2.1  how to become a critical reader?
When evaluating the quality - i.e. the validity, strength and relevance - of the information gathered from your reading, try to apply the following steps in order to arrive at a more critical and objective assessment:
1. Think about the source of the information. Does it come from:
• a print book? If so, who is the publisher? Have they established any reputation in the publishing world? Do they sell internationally?
• a magazine? What kind? Does it aim at the serious reader? Or does it have flashy graphics and many photos, hinting at being more lifestyle-oriented?
• a scholarly journal? Is it peer-reviewed? Does it have an international editorial board? Do its articles appear on JSTOR (see chapter 3.3)?
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From reading to research
• an Internet website or a blog? Does it have good reputation? Who are the contributors? Do they sign their articles using their real names, or do they hide behind nicknames?
2. Think about the author of the text.
• Who is he/she? Is the author well known? Has he/she established any reputation in the particular field?
• Where does the author publish his/her work? Remember that serious authors tend to cooperate with serious media and publishers.
• Does the author work for or cooperate with an established institution?
• In what kind of relation is the author with the subject matter of the text?
3. Think about the function of the text. Does it primarily try to:
• provide information and present facts?
• analyse or compare?
• persuade, promote, manipulate?
• entertain?
4. Think about how the argument is built in the text:
• Is the text logical, well-structured, and generally convincing?
• Is it clear what the main points and central claims are?
• How does the author support his/her claims? Does he/she provide any evidence and/or examples?
• Does the author engage with or refer to other authors and texts? Does he/she use any citations and/or references?
• Do any other sources confirm or interact with what the text says?
5. Think about possible bias in the text.
• Does it appear to promote ideas with a noticeable political, social, national, racial etc. bias?
• Does it demonstrate personal bias by using, for example, ad hominem arguments (i.e. arguments attacking another person's character rather than challenging their ideas)? Does the author appear to treat other people as enemies rather than intellectual opponents?
• Does the text feel ego-centric?
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Daniel Jedlička - Studijní dovednosti
• Does the author appear to have a hidden agenda, concealing his/her real intentions beneath substitute argumentation or topic?
• Does the text appear to be influenced by nostalgia, seeing the world through rose-tinted glasses of the past? Many autobiographies and memoirs tend to suffer from this kind of bias.
COMPREHENSION CHECK
1. In what way is reading important for research in the arts and humanities?
2. Explain the difference between critical and non-critical reading.
3. Give examples of how you typically approach your reading. Have you developed any traits of a critical reader?
4.3 Getting started with research
As we have mentioned above, the research you will do as part of your studies will quite likely boil down to completing coursework assignments, writing essays, and - towards the end of your degree programme - writing your final thesis.
Although some of the assignments may be based on a closed set of topics available for the taking, very often students are provided the opportunity to demonstrate independence and come up with their own ideas and topics. Below you will find a few hints and tips showing how to get started with your research.
4.3.1 The topic
Do not passively rely on your teachers to give you something to think and write about! Remember that what comes in influences what goes out: students showing initiative and interest are likely to get maximum support from their tutor, and consequently, achieve better results.
There is nothing more boring and tiresome than doing research on a topic you are indifferent to. Instead, find a topic based on your interests. Ask yourself the following questions:
• "What do I enjoy reading or talking about?"
• "Does anything I have read present an interesting problem to discuss?"
• "Can I possibly add something to the debate?"
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From reading to research
4.3.2 The research questions
Apart from choosing a topic you will also need to formulate a few research questions to specify the goals you are going to aim for. What particular problems or areas would you like to explore within the chosen topic?
For an essay, try to think of at least two research questions; you will need more for your thesis. The questions will become your points of departure; your research will provide the answer.
The research questions will also give direction to your reading and gathering of evidence. As you have probably found out while completing the task in chapter 3.3 above, the number of books and articles written on general topics such as "business English" can be overwhelming. You really need quite specific research questions to narrow down your searches and arrive at a manageable reading list.
An example of a topic and associated research questions:
Topic	Research questions	
English as the language of business	1.	How can a common language contribute to overcoming language barriers and cultural differences?
	2.	To what extent has English been adopted as a common language in today's international business?
	3.	Which particular multi-national companies have benefited from adopting English as their corporate language?
4.3.3 the reading
Begin your research by writing up a tentative list of sources related to your topic and research questions. Focus on sources that may actually be available to you, and discard those that will likely be hard to get. Use the search facilities of the Google Scholar and JSTOR (see chapter 3.3 for links).
You can also use Wikipedia as a starting point. Wikipedia articles tend to have a list of works related to the particular topic; look for the "References" section at the end of the article. However, do not put actual Wikipedia articles on your reading list: in the academic world, Wikipedia is not considered reliable, and most universities do not accept its articles as research material. In short, only use Wikipedia as a way to discover other sources.
Do not read everything you have put on your list, there is no need (or time). Go through each particular source briefly and ask yourself: "Will this book (article, chapter etc.) help me answer my questions?" If it looks like it will, read it; if not, move on to something else.
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Daniel Jedlička - Studijní dovednosti
Always take notes from your reading (refer to chapter 3.2 for useful information and tips). Remember that when you are taking notes, you already are writing - even if not everything will necessarily end up in the finished "product."
Take advantage of your teacher's office hours to regularly drop in and get feedback on your progress. A meeting in person is much better than an e-mail. Present yourself as a student with attitude and interest.
TASK
Think of your favourite course on the degree programme you study. Now imagine that you have been given an assignment to write an essay as part of the course.
Based on your interests or preference, think of a topic for your essay, and formulate three related research questions to direct your hypothetical research and writing.
Write them all in the table below:
Topic	Research questions	
	1.	
	2.	
	3.	
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From reading to research
4.4 Research ethics
One of the assumptions made about research is that it is carried out with integrity, i.e. in line with ethical standards the academic environment subscribes to and promotes. Among other things, it is expected that your work demonstrates a clear distinction between the use of existing knowledge ("borrowed" ideas, findings and methods) and your own contribution - regardless of the kind of research you do.
4.4.1 Plagiarism
Unfortunately, the problem of plagiarism - "the practice of using or copying someone else's idea or work and pretending that you thought of it or created it" (definition by the Collins COBUILD dictionary) - has become very serious since the wide adoption of the Internet as a source of information. Numerous acts of plagiarism have been identified in research works done by students as well as by members of academic staff.
There are two general types of plagiarism:
• Intentional (deliberate): the person knows very well that he/she is presenting somebody else's work as their own.
• Unintentional (inadvertent): the person is unaware that he/she is doing something wrong; there is no clear intention to deceive.
While the former represents a clear example of dishonest academic practice, unintentional plagiarism is often the result of poor study skills. As such it can relatively easily be prevented. If you look at the following pie chart, you will see that poor study skills constitute 74% of the total, the remaining 26% being attributed to "lack of time" (which is very often the result of poor time management skills):
Whystudents plagiarize
■ Lackof research skills
■ Lackof thre
■ Careless notetaking
■ Confusion on how to cite sources
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Fig. 3 - Reasons why students plagiarize.
(Source: http://hubpages.corn/educatioiVThe-problem-of-plagiarism-among-students)
Daniel Jedlička - Studijní dovednosti
4.4.2 Forms of plagiarism
Plagiarism can take many forms, the most common are the following:
• Downloading an essay (or significant amounts of material) from an Internet source, and submitting it as your own.
• Copying a significant passage or a key sentence from a source that has not been properly identified or referenced.
• Using someone else's ideas or argument, and presenting it as if it were your own.
• Close paraphrasing: borrowing heavily from sources, identified or unidentified, and simply changing some of the words or the sentence order.
• Self-plagiarism: using a significant part of an older work of yours to create a new work, without acknowledging it.
4.4.3 how to avoid plagiarism
It is actually quite easy to avoid plagiarism if you keep a few important things in mind:
• Remember that university studies are not about achieving results with minimum effort. The fact that people in the Czech Republic are entitled to free education does not mean that they are entitled to free degrees. You need to invest your time and effort.
• Remember that intentional plagiarism is theft, and theft is wrong. (Ask your parents.)
• Remember that information on the Internet is not common property, and does not constitute common knowledge. A piece of text on the Internet always has an author.
• Acknowledge your sources properly and fully.
• Learn how to organise your time (refer back to chapter 2.2). Time pressure is one of the most common reasons why students end up copying somebody else's written work.
• Develop and continuously improve your research skills. This study material is designed to help you with the fundamentals. You will find many other resources if you want to learn more.
• Before you hand in your written coursework, test it using an online plagiarism-checking system such as odevzdej.cz.
• Consult your teacher(s) whenever you are in doubt.
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From reading to research
TASK
Read this original passage from Hamlet in Purgatory by Stephen Greenblatt:
The issue is not, I think, simply random inconsistency. There is, rather, a pervasive pattern, a deliberate forcing together of radically incompatible accounts of almost everything that matters in Hamlet. Is Hamlet mad or only feigning madness? Does he delay in the pursuit of revenge or only berate himself for delaying? Is Gertrude innocent or was she complicit in the murder of her husband? Is the strange account of the old king's murder accurate or distorted? Does the Ghost come from Purgatory or from Hell? For many generations now audiences and readers have risen to the challenge and found that each of the questions may be powerfully and convincingly answered on both sides. What is at stake is more than a multiplicity of answers. The opposing positions challenge one another, clashing and sending shock waves through the play.
Now read what four students had to say about Hamlet in their essays:
1. The problem we face in reading Hamlet is that it is often difficult to fathom what is really going on. Is Gertrude innocent, or has she helped to murder her husband? Is Hamlet really mad, or only pretending? Does he really hesitate in his revenge, or does he just berate himself for not doing it sooner? Readers and audiences have struggled with these questions for generations.
2. What is at stake in Hamlet is more than just a multiplicity of answers to the questions it raises: Is Hamlet mad or only feigning madness? Where does the Ghost come from? Is Gertrude innocent? A deliberate forcing together of radically incompatible accounts of almost everything that happens pervades Hamlet. The issue is not simply random inconsistency.
3. One literary critic has noted that rather than finding any 'random inconsistency' in Hamlet, a 'pervasive pattern' is evident, one of forcing together radically incompatible accounts, such as whether Hamlet is really mad, or only feigning, and whether Gertrude is really innocent of the king's murder or not? Clearly, opposing positions challenge one another in the play, clashing and sending shocks throughout.
4. In his book-length study of the play, Stephen Greenblatt has usefully drawn attention to the way that the drama of Hamlet is structured to mirror the protagonist's own doubts and uncertainties - so much so, in fact, that the audience is forced to agonise with Hamlet over whether he really is insane or only 'feigning madness', whether his mother is guilty of murder or not, and whether his father's Ghost is demonic in both nature and purpose? Such questions are not simply matters of 'random inconsistency', according to Greenblatt, but provide a 'pervasive pattern' in Hamlet, as these 'opposing positions challenge one another, clashing and sending shock waves through the play' (Greenblatt, p. 242).
• Which of the four passages above constitutes plagiarism, in relation to the original quoted above? And why? Please note your reasons, underlining any significant evidence of plagiarism, as you see it.
Daniel Jedlička - Studijní dovednosti
SUMMARY
In the concluding chapter we focused on research and research skills. We introduced critical reading and thinking as prerequisites for critical writing, which is at the core of research in the arts and humanities. We also demonstrated how to get started with your writing assignments, using reading material as a starting point and reference. In the final section we took a closer look at plagiarism, reasons that lead (not only) students to appropriating somebody else's work, and ways to avoid this particular kind of dishonest academic practice.
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LITERATURA
COTTRELL, S. The Study Skills Handbook. 4th ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan,
2013.
GLENDINNING, E. FL, HOLMSTRÖM, B. Study Reading: A Course in Reading Skills for Academic Purposes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
GODFREY, J. Reading and Making Notes. 2nd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan,
2014.
GRIX, J. The Foundations of Research. 2nd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.
LEVIN, P. Skilful Time Management (Student-Friendly Guides). Maidenhead: Open University Press, 2007.
WALLACE, M. J. Study Skills in English. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
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Daniel Jedlička - Študijní dovednosti
ODKAZ NA ONLINE LMS KURZ
Tuto studijní oporu najdete také ve formě interaktivního online LMS kurzu pod odkazem: https://elearning.fpf. slu.cz/course/view .php?id= 1401
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Daniel Jedlička - Studijní dovednosti
SHRNUTÍ STUDIJNÍ OPORY
Cílem této studijní opory bylo vybavit účastníky kurzu Studijní dovednosti základy potřebnými k úspěšnému zvládnutí studia na vysoké škole. Studenti se seznámili s akademickým prostředím a organizací vysokoškolského studia. Prostřednictvím výkladu, samostatných úkolů a kontrolních otázek byly představeny základní principy efektivního učení a metody pro plánování a řízení času a účelnou tvorbu poznámek. S ohledem na konkrétní potřeby bakalářského programu Angličtina pro firemní praxi bylo doporučeno několik užitečných a osvědčených výukových zdrojů, jako jsou slovníky, gramatické příručky, jazykové cvičebnice a další.
Důraz byl kladen též na rozvoj potřebných výzkumných dovedností: zdůraznili jsme schopnost kritického čtení, kritického myšlení a kritického psaní, jež jsou základními předpoklady práce v oblasti humanitních věd. V závěru kurzu byl představen problém plagiátorství, jeho příčiny a způsoby, jak mu předcházet.
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Daniel Jedlička - Studijní dovednosti
PŘEHLED DOSTUPNÝCH IKON
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Čas potřebný ke studiu
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<3> I   Rychlý náhled
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Název: Studijní dovednosti
Autor: Mgr. Daniel Jedlička, M.A.
Vydavatel: Slezská univerzita v Opavě
Filozoficko-přírodovědecká fakulta v Opavě Určeno: studentům SU FPF Opava
Počet stran: 42
Tato publikace neprošla jazykovou úpravou.