Last updated: September 2025
INTRODUCTION
This guide has been created for Year 8 HASS on the topic of
Geomorphic Hazards
Use the Information Process to help you manage this research task.
Make sure you read through the whole page before starting your search for information.
Step 1 – Defining
DEFINING
This step asks you to think about:
- What exactly do I need to do?
- What do I need to find out?
You can answer these questions by:
- Underlining important keywords in the task – these are the most important words in the assignment
- Making sure you understand the instructional words on the sheet
- Making sure you understand any unfamilar words on the sheet using an online dictionary
Step 2 – Locating
LOCATING
This step asks you to think about:
- Where can I find the information I need?
- What search tools, sources and equipment can I use?
- Which sources best suit my needs?
The pages listed below in this pathfinder have resources that we recommend you use. If you need more information, make sure you look in the following places in this order:
- Use the sources of information provided in your chosen topic pathfinder below
- Use your keywords to search the Library catalogue
- See if there are any eResources that might be useful
- Search the free Internet
Step 3 – Selecting
SELECTING
This step asks you to think about:
- Which of these resources will be of use to me?
- Which information will I really use?
- Can I understand the information I have found?
- How credible/ reliable is the information I have found?
- How relevant is the information I have found to my current information need?
Step 4 – Organising
ORGANISING
This step asks you to think about:
- How can I organise this information to solve my problem/ complete my task?
- Have I:
- made notes under my focus questions or organised my notes to match them?
- recorded details of my sources of information for my Reference List/ Bibliography?
- Do I have enough information?
MAKING NOTES
To handwrite your notes, try one of our Notemaking Templates to help you organise your notes.
To type your notes, try OneNote which is one of the Office 365 apps.
Remember, when making notes you should:
- use your own words
- use dot points – not full sentences
- use abbreviations and symbols to save you time
- record where you got your information from for your reference list
REFERENCING/ BIBLIOGRAPHY
The referencing system used at MLC is APA 7.
Referencing is an important part of research. Check your marking guide to see if marks are being given to your bibliography.
To reference correctly use:
- The MLC Referencing Guide OR
- Citefast – sign in to your account (or create a free account if you haven’t already done so) and begin a new bibliography to save your reference list as your go (make sure it is set to APA 7)
Step 5 – Presenting
PRESENTING
This step asks you to think about:
- How can I best present this information to communicate it with other people?
- Who will be my audience?
- Which would be the best format? (Have I been given instructions about this?)
- Have I included everything I need to communicate?
Watch this for some tips on how to create an excellent PowerPoint or KeyNote presentation.
Daisery Gila. (2016, Sepetmber 4 ). DO’s and DON’Ts in making your presentation more effective [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X50StnWVh9I
Watch this for some tips on how to create a great speech.
McTaggart, M. (Director), & De Robbio, M. (Producer). (2015). Presentation basics [Video file]. Retrieved from ClickView database.
Step 5 – Assessing
ASSESSING
How did you go, what have you learned, are there areas you could improve on for next time?
1. Reflect on your research process:
Take the time to reflect on what you did well and identify areas for improvement rather than focusing solely on mistakes.
2. Ask yourself important questions:
What new knowledge and skills have you gained? How can this be applied in other subjects or in the future? How well did you address all focus questions? What were your strengths and areas for improvement in the research process?
3. Use resources for evaluation:
Utilise marking keys, rubrics provided by your teacher, or other evaluation resources to assess your research process and identify areas for improvement and set some goals.
References
- Caution [Image]. (n.d.). http://worldartsme.com
- Haiti earthquake [Image]. (n.d.). https://www.emaze.com/@AWRIWIZZ/Haiti-Earthquake
- Information Process [Image]. (n.d.). https://macfields-h.schools.nsw.gov.au/learning-at-our-school/information-resource-centre.html
- OneNote icon [Image]. (n.d.). https://www.utdallas.edu/oit/o365/
- Think clipart [Image]. (n.d.). http://clipart-library.com/clipart/106635.htm