1.2.8Development of Practical Skills in Physics

Research and Citation Skills

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Lesson summary

1.2.8 Research and Citation Skills — OCR A Level Physics A notes: Find, evaluate and acknowledge scientific sources properly, and use secondary data and reference values with care.No experiment is done in isolation.

Primary sources
Secondary sources
Data books and databases
Bias and purpose
Consistency
bibliography

Section 1 of 9Why research matters in practical physics

No experiment is done in isolation.

Before and after a practical, a physicist looks up background theory, accepted values of constants, the methods other people have used and sources of error that are known to affect the technique.

Research

This is research.

Citation

Correct citation shows where each idea or data value came from, lets others check it, and respects the work of the original authors.

Section 2 of 9Types of source

Types of source

Primary sources

Primary sources your own raw data, or original papers reporting new experiments.

Secondary sources

Secondary sources textbooks, review articles, encyclopaedias and websites that summarise earlier work.

Data books and databases

Data books and databases collected reference values, such as the density of copper or the specific heat capacity of aluminium. Use the most authoritative source available and note the temperature and conditions to which the value applies.

Peer-reviewed journals, university and national standards laboratories, and established textbooks are generally the most reliable. Anonymous web pages, forums and social media posts need much more checking.

Section 3 of 9Evaluating a source

Ask the following about any source:

Authority

Authority who wrote it and are they an expert? Is there an institution behind it?

Accuracy

Accuracy are values given with units, uncertainty and method? Can they be cross-checked against at least one other independent source?

Currency

Currency is it up to date? Defined constants (such as the speed of light, or the SI definitions) have been revised and older tables may show out-of-date values.

Bias and purpose

Bias and purpose is it trying to sell something or promote a view?

Consistency

Consistency does it agree with fundamental physics? A claim that breaks conservation of energy is almost certainly wrong.

A single value from a single website is weak evidence. A value agreed by several independent, authoritative sources is strong.

Section 4 of 9Citing and referencing

Whenever you use someone else’s idea, data, equation or diagram, say where it came from.

A common structure is: author, year, title, publisher or journal, and a page or web address with the date accessed.

Bibliography

In text you refer to it by number or by author and year, for example [1] or (Smith, 2023), and list full details in a bibliography at the end.

Copying text or results without acknowledgement is plagiarism. Quotations must be in quotation marks and cited; otherwise, express ideas in your own words and still cite the source. Fabricating or adjusting data to match a source is scientific misconduct and is far more serious than disagreeing with it.

Section 5 of 9Using secondary data in an investigation

Secondary data are useful for comparison, but only if the conditions match.

If you measured the specific heat capacity of water at 20 °C and the data book value is for 25 °C, check that the difference is small.

When quoting a constant, state its source and the number of significant figures.

Report your own result with uncertainty and discuss whether it is consistent with the literature (see Evaluating Results and Drawing Conclusions, 1.2.4).

Research also guides the improvement of your method: reading how others reduce heat loss or friction can suggest a better set-up.

Section 6 of 9A short checklist for using references

For every external value or idea you use, tick off these questions: is it from an authoritative source, does a second independent source agree, are the units and conditions stated, and have I written down enough detail (author, date, title, address) to cite it?

A short checklist for using references

Keep notes as you go, because tracing a half-remembered source weeks later is hard.

In a report, put citations next to the claim, not only at the end.

When a reference value is used for a comparison, quote it with the same number of significant figures as in the source and say how large the difference from your own result is.

In practice, a good habit is to rank your sources: textbooks and standards-body tables first, then university or museum sites, with unattributed pages as a last resort that must be confirmed elsewhere. When two reliable sources disagree, say so openly, quote both, and explain which better matches your experimental conditions.

Section 7 of 9Worked examples

A student looks up the density of aluminium and finds 2700 kg m⁻³ in a data book and 2.9 g cm⁻³ on an unsigned website. Their measurement gives 2.65 × 10³ kg m⁻³. Which reference value should they use and how large is the difference?
Three independent sources give the specific heat capacity of copper as 385, 386 and 390 J kg⁻¹ K⁻¹. Give a best value with an estimate of its spread.
A student measures the speed of sound as 330 m s⁻¹ at 20 °C. A reference gives 343 m s⁻¹. Calculate the percentage difference and say what extra research would help.

Section 8 of 9Key terms

Term	Meaning
Primary source	An original record of data or an original report of an investigation.
Secondary source	A source that summarises or interprets primary work.
Citation	A reference showing the origin of an idea or data.
Bibliography	A list of all sources consulted at the end of a report.
Plagiarism	Presenting another person's work as one's own.
Peer review	Checking of a paper by independent experts before publication.

Section 9 of 9Exam technique

Treating any website result as reliable without checking authority or a second source.

Quoting a reference value without its units, temperature or conditions.

Copying a sentence or diagram without citation.

Listing a bibliography but never referring to it in the text.

Changing your own data to agree with a reference value.

Try it in the virtual labCircular motion: centripetal force \n

Section 1 of 9Why research matters in practical physics

Section 2 of 9Types of source

Section 3 of 9Evaluating a source

Section 4 of 9Citing and referencing

Section 5 of 9Using secondary data in an investigation

Section 6 of 9A short checklist for using references

Section 7 of 9Worked examples

A student looks up the density of aluminium and finds 2700 kg m−3 in a data book and 2.9 g cm−3 on an unsigned website. Their measurement gives 2.65 × 103 kg m−3. Which reference value should they use and how large is the difference?

Three independent sources give the specific heat capacity of copper as 385, 386 and 390 J kg−1 K−1. Give a best value with an estimate of its spread.

A student measures the speed of sound as 330 m s−1 at 20 °C. A reference gives 343 m s−1. Calculate the percentage difference and say what extra research would help.

Section 8 of 9Key terms

Section 9 of 9Exam technique

Marked practiceQuizzes for this lesson

A student looks up the density of aluminium and finds 2700 kg m⁻³ in a data book and 2.9 g cm⁻³ on an unsigned website. Their measurement gives 2.65 × 10³ kg m⁻³. Which reference value should they use and how large is the difference?

Three independent sources give the specific heat capacity of copper as 385, 386 and 390 J kg⁻¹ K⁻¹. Give a best value with an estimate of its spread.

A student measures the speed of sound as 330 m s⁻¹ at 20 °C. A reference gives 343 m s⁻¹. Calculate the percentage difference and say what extra research would help.