Navigating a Navigating a Research TopicResearch Topic

Kathy ClarkeKathy ClarkeReference LibrarianReference Librarian

Carrier Library/clarkeke Carrier Library/clarkeke

What Makes a Question/Topic What Makes a Question/Topic Researchable?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 questionsFrom, Ballenger, The Curious Researcher, 4th Edition

What Makes a Topic What Makes a Topic InterestingInteresting

• 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 LensesResearch Lenses• People• Trends• Controversies• Impact• Relationships• Technology(ies)• History

• Ballenger, Curious Researcher 4th ed.

Developing Working Developing Working KnowledgeKnowledge

“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 How to Develop Working KnowledgeKnowledge

• 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 QuestionFinding 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 Imperative to the Research QuestionQuestion

If the writer asked no question worth pondering, he can ask no focused answer worth reading

Craft of Research, Booth, Colomb, Williams, 2004.

Research StrategiesResearch 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 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 Understanding the “Assignment Rules”“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 SourcesFinding Sources• Search languages

– Free text phrase searching– Controlled languages– Boolean operators

• I got too much vs. I got nothing!

Make Sure the Question fits Make Sure the Question fits the Sourcethe 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