Research Process Part 1 Steps 1 + 2

What is research? Why do we do it? While we all know we need it—for papers, to win arguments, to be better people—how to do it, and where to even start, is often difficult.

The problem is so often we are just told, “do research.” We know there’s a library and some fancy databases, but that doesn’t always help us. For most us, we don’t sit down with a thesis statement ready to go, we just have a vague idea of something we are interested in (which is why we do research to begin with).

The first goal of any researcher is to become familiar with the topic. This means doing background research and building our expertise on the subject. We may not know what we want to write about, but we are interested in food production. Our background research will help define what under the subject of food production we are interested in. The following is more of a guide than a science, but here are some ideas on process:

Step 1:

Find a good, meaty topic. You need something you can sink your teeth into, but this is easier said than done. There are plenty of places to turn for ideas. Use these to peruse what we argue about:
• CQ Researcher
• Google, “controversial topics” see what turns up
• Nytimes.com—op eds, et.
• Procon.org
• Yahoo Issues and Causes
• Where are some places you turn to find topics?

WRITE--FOR YOUR TOPIC PROPOSAL: AFTER PERUSING THESE TOPICS, NARROW IT DOWN TO YOUR TOP THREE OR FOUR THEN PROCEED TO STEP 2.

Step 2:
Turn your topics into a series of questions for each. For example, if you are interested in finding out about food production, pose the question, “What are the effects of food production?” However, just these questions won’t suffice. What are some other questions you need to ask? “What effect do food additives have on nutrition?” “How is food produced and delivered to consumers?” Already, we are spinning our wheels. Depending on your topic, you may need to develop a list of questions you want answered. Just by doing this we are getting into the topic further. As you look around, more questions will pop up.

WRITE--Develop 4-5 questions for your own topic. TYPE THIS (with the above) UP AND BRING IT TO OUR LIBRARY CLASS ON MONDAY.