Researching Projects

From time to time I get enquiries from pupils at local schools seeking information to support a study project that they have been set. On this page I provide two sets of information which I hope you will find useful:

  1. some specific information about where to find out about Bagshot
  2. some general advice about researching for a project.

Finding out about Bagshot

By looking through my site you will find various bits of information about Bagshot.  The search facility could be useful if you are looking for something specific, or else just surf the various pages that are linked from the home page.

If you are researching the history of Bagshot or Windlesham I can particularly recommend the book "A History of Bagshot and Windlesham" by Marie de G Eedle (Phillimore & Co Ltd, Chichester, 1977, ISBN 0 85033 276 1).  The book is no longer in print but the Bagshot library (in the old part of High Street) has several copies. The book can also be obtained via second hand book sellers

The library has local information and historical material including some leaflets produced by the Bagshot Society - for example "The Duke of Connaught's Bagshot".

Libraries are an obvious place to do research, and as well as the Bagshot library there is the bigger library in Knoll Road, Camberley.

Museums are another source of information.  You [probably won't see what you want to know about on display so ask the curator - museums have a more material than they are able to put on display at any one time.  The Surrey Heath museum is in Camberley.  Check opening times before making a special visit.

Many old records are kept by the Surrey History Centre in Woking. Their website is at www.surreycc.gov.uk/surreyhistoryservice where you can find out about the services they offer and how to access those services.

 

General advice about researching for a project

Today, web searches are an obvious way to find information - that is probably how you found my pages.  In many respects web search engines are pretty stupid machines, they are not intelligent and cannot guess what you want to know.  So try putting in your query using different words and see what you get.  Use more than one search engine, especially try the ones that do what is called a meta-search.

Most search engines provide a page giving tips on how to get the best out of their search capability.  It is well worth tracking that down and reading it.  Particularly useful features on many search engines is the ability to put in 'wild cards' that can substitute for one or more letters, to put text in quotes to require it to appear as a phrase, and to be able to use Boolean logic (for example searching for bagshot +surrey would give only pages that contain both the words bagshot and surrey, and bagshot -barbados would exclude the Caribbean Bagshot.  You can construct quite complex requests - try lots.

Asking people for information can work.  It is such requests that triggered me to write this.  Before you write to people you don't know, whether on the Internet or by snail mail, discuss with your parent or teacher what precautions you should take for your personal safety.  

Think carefully about what you ask for, try to put yourself in the shoes of the recipient and think how they will see the request.  To write "i am doing a prject on the history of bagshot can you tell tell me everythin i need to no" is likely to go straight into the trash can.  For a start, make sure your English is correct, spellings are correct, and the right words capitalised.  I don't want to sound like a teacher - but the truth is that first impressions count and you want to encourage the recipient to spend some of their time doing something specially for you.  For the same reasons, make sure you follow all the conventions of courtesy.  Most of your readers won't be into the "language" of texting or emoticons.  If you find typing properly on-screen to be difficult (and many people do, there is a good scientific reason for it) then write your message out on paper first, or perhaps compose it in a word processor, use the spell check and grammar check, and then copy and paste into your email.

Poor English is not the only reason why the request above will ignored.  The question is too wide open for anybody to be able to give you a simple answer.  

It also reads as "Can you provide me with the answer to my project so that I don't have to do any work myself".  To which anybody's gut reaction is "You are supposed to be learning from doing this project, I'm not going to hand you the answer on a plate".  This is not just a personal reaction - I am a member of one of the Engineering Institutions and we have a web based forum.  While most issues and questions posted to the forum get an answer there is a constant trickle of undergraduates postings questions not too dissimilar to that illustration - and none gets a reply.

A specific question to which an answer can be given in a few sentences stands the best chance of getting a response.  Don't forget to say "thank you" for any replies you do get.

When writing up your project report, remember the issue of copyright before you copy text or images from someone else's work.  You could discuss that with your teacher.  

Information sources should always be acknowledged.

I wish you well in your studies.

 


This page is part of the Bagshot village web site. Questions and answers index.

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