{"id":1834,"date":"2019-03-08T15:26:28","date_gmt":"2019-03-08T15:26:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/sagestudents\/?p=1834"},"modified":"2022-02-01T19:11:06","modified_gmt":"2022-02-01T19:11:06","slug":"sages-little-quick-fix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/sagestudents\/2019\/03\/08\/sages-little-quick-fix\/","title":{"rendered":"SAGE\u2019s Little Quick Fix Series"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Looks Can Be Deceiving <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

From first contact with SAGE\u2019s Little Quick Fix series, I\nwas immediately drawn in. I had previously seen a picture of the books, and\nhonestly I rolled my eyes at the thought of having to look over four books when\nI can barely get my own readings done. But when I opened the package for them,\nI was pleasantly surprised by their size (I guess they don\u2019t call it a mini\nseries for no reason). As a third year student who works and plays sport, you\ncan imagine that free time isn\u2019t currently a luxury I have at my disposal, so\nreading usually comes down to skipping past the fluff to get to the good bits.\nThese books however have already done this for you; they\u2019re designed to be read\nin about an hour and are perfect for anyone undertaking research, looking for some\nguidance or even to refine their skills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Layout<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The design and structure inside the cover of these books couldn\u2019t be more refined if you put it through a steel mill. The page following the contents gives you a two-minute summary of all the sections covered in the book so you can decide which chapters are the most relevant to you before you dive in. At no point in the book could I find an unnecessarily long piece of text, there’s even 10 second summaries of their 1 minute summaries! Every bit of information was concise, informative and easy to read. And what\u2019s more is that each book is bright ad full of colour thorough. Which is a nice change from the constant black and white of research articles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Summaries on Summaries <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Content<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I must admit I did not read all of the Little Quick Fix (LQF) books, but only because my presentation standard is way up there (tooting my own horn), and I already have a research question. But when I skimmed over the books I did spot some really helpful nuggets of information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The LQF \u2013 Research Question<\/em> book will really come in handy for anybody struggling to get started with their topic, and how to build on a strong question that will help you produce some good quality research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The LQF \u2013 Present Your Research<\/em> book covers some really important aspects of improving your presentation skills, similar to what I covered in my vlog on presentations, such as knowing your audience, getting your point across and confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other two books in the LQF mini series Write A Questionnaire<\/em> and Do Your Interviews<\/em>, are really going to come in handy for me over the next few weeks, as I gather my research for my dissertation. What I like the most is about these books is they get you actively thinking about how you are going to go about completing those respective tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An example of this which I really liked, is in Section 3 of\nthe Write a Questionnaire book. This section helps you identify what makes a\ngood question by having you pick apart what is wrong or what can be improved by\nthe questions they have asked, this sort of active learning is engaging because\nit allows the reader to apply the information in the book, which I think helps\nit be remembered. These books are more than just a mini textbook, they\u2019re\nworkbooks too that are designed to develop your skills and help develop your\nresearch, with check points that support the consolidation of your learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As you learn what is required to generate good quality\nresearch data the book encourages you to implement the information its giving\nyou into the design of your research, leaving you with a draft of what you plan\nto create at the end of it. What a way to kill two birds with one stone!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I have to say, I am a big fan of these books. They\u2019re manageable, to the point and exactly what they say on the cover. Little Quick Fixes.<\/p>\n

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