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Building the Picture

Build on what you know about the community already, by adding more detailed information and thinking about the community in new ways.

As you collect information you should keep it in a way which helps you find and use it when you want to. It is worth thinking about this. Keep all your information sorted so you can find it again. Do not throw information away after you have written your community profile. You might need it to refer back to, or use it next year or in another subject.

Every time you collect information from a book, magazine or paper make a note of the author, date, title, city and publisher (or equivalent information). When some one tells you something note the person, date, event and place. Keep this bibliographic information with the information so you know your sources, and can cite them properly in your community profile.

Collect, file and organise information under the headings you are going to use in your community profile, so you can see which areas you have plenty of information on, and which you need to search for. You will need to build the picture of the community up over time, adding and taking away information to balance the picture as a whole. Follow the outline community profile as you build information up.