Navigating a Research Topic Kathy Clarke Reference Librarian Carrier Library/clarkeke

What Makes a Question/Topic Researchable? Not too big or too small Question focuses on something that has been discussed It’s interesting and it matters It’s in some way answerable There is a method to answering the question It raises more questions From, Ballenger, The Curious Researcher, 4 th Edition

What Makes a Topic Interesting You have some previous knowledge of it You want to become more knowledgeable about it You have some commitment to it You want to become an expert about it

Research Lenses People Trends Controversies Impact Relationships Technology(ies) History Ballenger, Curious Researcher 4 th ed.

Developing Working Knowledge “The ability to talk about a subject for one minute without repeating yourself.” – Badke Where your topic “fits” in the published literature Finds areas of discussion, debate, controversy Ballenger, p. 36.

How to Develop Working Knowledge Ask a Librarian WikiPedia (start here, but don’t stop) Consult a Subject specific encyclopedia Find the subject heading in the catalog Try an “all purpose” database

Finding a Focusing Question It’s more efficient It’s easier to research It’s easier to know when you are off topic It makes it ok for you to learn about your topic as you go Thinking about a thesis… Ballenger, p. 56

Imperative to the Research Question If the writer asked no question worth pondering, he can ask no focused answer worth reading Craft of Research, Booth, Colomb, Williams, 2004.

Research Strategies Move from general to specific Assume there are sources for you to find Keep a record of where you’ve been and how you got there Create your bibliography as you take your notes

Remember Keep asking, so what? Articulate what you are doing –I’m trying to learn about ______ Make it a question –I’m trying to learn about _____ because I want to know _________ Now, motivate your question –I’m trying to learn about __ in order to know _____ so that I might help my reader understand ________ Booth, Colomb, Williams p. 51

Understanding the “Assignment Rules” Scholarly vs. popular sources Primary vs. secondary sources Argument, persuasive, informative or other? Web sources, ok or no? Are all electronic material web sources?

Finding Sources Search languages –Free text phrase searching –Controlled languages –Boolean operators I got too much vs. I got nothing!

Make Sure the Question fits the Source Big subjects are covered by encyclopedias (Encyclopedia of Hair) Books cover time periods and big questions and give overview and background in depth Scholarly journal articles are narrow in focus Newspapers cover timely events