Researching the topic

Whatever the topic you have chosen you need to research it to make your presentation mature and to have a good basis for your own findings and conclusions.

The strategic aims when researching a topic are:

• Determine how thoroughly the phenomenon or problem has been studied,

study the conclusions drawn and different opinions on the subject.

• Study the history of the problem.

• Determine the urgency and the practical value (usefulness) of the problem.

• Determine similarities and differences of various approaches to the problem.

• Study and reveal the difference between the new facts (either discovered by you or well-known) and the traditionally held opinions.

• Compare the ways the problem is tackled in different regions and countries or by different sides.(e.g.: Taxation may be viewed differently by governments and taxpayers)

• Find how this problem is related to other spheres of knowledge or activity.

Your research should be creative, so, do not be afraid to revise, criticize or even doubt the commonly held opinions when some facts contradict them. Gathering information for your research

To make your research valuable you should find the information which will help you to fully investigate the problem.

First of all, take advantage of published written sources: scientific monographs, specialized articles, encyclopedias, reference-books, and specialized dictionaries. You may use up-to-date as well as older sources, periodicals and publications in specialized journals. You may also refer to oral or oral-written sources of information such as interviews, questionnaires, tests. The Internet enables you to find the most recent data in different spheres of knowledge. Comparing all these sources you will be able to find not only the required material, but also its interpretation (which is what you really need).

If you have decided to take part in a conference where the English language is the working one you will face the question what sources to use: in English or in Russian. Surely, from the linguistic point of view authentic materials would be a better choice. Moreover, you will avoid the problem of translating. However, in case you think you cannot do without Russian sources be sure that your translation is relevant and sounds English.

Processing the gathered material

This stage of your work is a transition from its receptive part to the productive one. A number of important activities should be done by you here, though you may have done some part of them during the stage of gathering the data. These activities are:

1. Determining the aspects of the phenomenon or problem you are going to consider. For example, speaking about taxes you could mention their history, taxation systems in different countries, ways of evading taxes either together or independently. It’s necessary to determine the relations between these aspects and their importance.

2. Classifying the information into classes, categories, groups and types on the basis of their common and diverse features.

3. Working out your position, i.e. the main, fundamental idea. You should decide upon the central idea which will determine the content and the form of your presentation. You can adopt somebody else’s idea (then do not forget to mention it) if you have analysed it and find no flaws in it. You can take a well-known idea as a basis and modify it, or you may develop your own conception. This central idea, either adopted or developed, is to be followed throughout your work.