Research is a confusing and complicated process. That's okay. It is supposed to be that way.
I know. I know. WHY? Why is research complicated and confusing? Why can't you just go from point a to point b with a few words typed into a search box? We want the research process to be like an arrow. We want to shoot it from the bull and have it land as close to the bull's eye as possible. Nice and straight. One shot. A better way to think of the research process is to liken it to a tree. For a healthy tree to grow, it needs roots and different forms of nutrients to grow. Let me break it down a little bit more for you. You begin with a seed. A seed is your idea. It is the thing that you want to learn more about. Then you have your roots. The roots are the background information you need to create a stable base. If you don't know anything about your topic, or idea, then your research won't be able to flourish. So, just like a tree needs roots to stabilize itself, you need general information to stabilize yourself. A tree needs sunlight, and water, and nutrients from the soil. These are your different tools for information seeking. A good researcher knows that they need all sorts of sources for their work to be complete. They need to be able to search the web, search through books, search through media, and maybe even do an interview or two. If you are only conducting interviews, or looking at information in books, you are not getting the right nutrients for your research process. As the tree grows, so does your research. At first, you and your tree are going to be going pretty straight. You have a goal - move up towards the sun. During this process though, you need to branch out. You need to brainstorm new keywords, use different search tools (like search engines or databases), and ask for help from professionals. Some of these branches will bear fruit and others will not. Regardless, you need to grow these branches to produce a healthy tree. If you approach the idea of research in this manner, you will succeed. You may be lucky and hit the bull's eye every once in a while, but wouldn't you rather grow a beautiful tree?
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AuthorI have worked in Education my entire life moving from K-12, to a community college, to my current position at a four year. I am fascinated by weird things and information in general. Archives
November 2017
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