The OCA Library course - available via your 'My Courses' page OCA Learn - provides several resources that aim to improve and expand upon your research and critical thinking skills.

Library Skills Development Course

Within the OCA Library course, you will find a Library Skills Development Course that offers an introduction to information and research skills.

The course covers three key themes:

• Find - An introduction to using the OU Library for undergraduate study. 
• Evaluate - An introduction to applying critical thinking skills to your research and evaluating your sources.
• Use - An introduction to copyright, plagiarism and Harvard Referencing.

Search Skills

You can also find further guidance on library search skills via the Search section of the OCA Library course. The guide covers: Keywords & Subjects; Synonyms, Related Terms and Specific Phrases; Boolean Operators and Searching the Library.

Critical Thinking

Within the Critical Thinking section of the OCA Library course, you can find an introduction to getting started with thinking critically about the sources you use.

You may also find it helpful to consult the pages available below:

• Presentation Skills - Provides insight on how to improve your presentation skills, alongside best practice for creating presentation slides and how to prepare for answering a Q&A session.
• Where can I learn more about academic writing? article - Provides guidance on the skills needed to write about your subject in essay and assignment format.