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- 2. Research is Building your Knowledge
Introduction to Research
Developing Your Research Question
As you saw in the last video, part of the research challenge is choosing an interesting and manageable topic. This is the where background research becomes key! Background research will help you to find a question about your topic to explore.
Background research means reading about your topic to learn background and context about your topic to better understand it. The more you learn, the more focused your research question will be.
You can find background information in sources such as encyclopedias, handbooks, dictionaries, or special reports (such as those in CQ Researcher). These "reference" sources will provide historical, contextual, and overview information.
Your topic might change as you read about it during your initial research, and you may find a different but related topic that interests you more. Openness and patience are key to developing a research topic and question.
The Scholarly Conversation
When researchers ask questions concerning topics that intrigue them, they are entering into what is called the "scholarly conversation." As you learn about your topic, you are "listening" to this conversation. As you "listen," be open to new ideas, differing points of view, and feelings of uncertainty. When you write your paper, give your speech or presentation, you are contributing to the conversation. Let's learn more...
Research is a Conversation courtesy of UNLV Libraries on Vimeo.
Hey have you walked into a party fashionably late you show up and the conversation has already started.
What's everybody talking about?
There are two types of people in this world
- the uniformed loudmouth who jumps in without looking at multiple points of view and just says whatever he thinks without considering the conversation that’s been going on or...
- the person who listens first, then questions and engages research is a conversation and you are part of that conversation as a student.
But. it's important to note that this party has been going for quite awhile long before you got here.
As you begin your research, with a question or an idea in mind, you'll want to see what's being said you need to catch up on the conversation in order to participate and add something new.
These conversations are going on in
- the humanities
- Architecture
- Business
- social sciences
- and the sciences
In a conversation, first you listen.
When doing research, first you read by reading the work of scholars in your field.
You're listening to the conversation and getting ready to ask your own questions.
In a conversation you ask clarifying questions.
When doing research you ask questions and then see if you can find answers in previously published books and articles.
In a conversation you engage and respond with your informed point of view.
When doing research, interacting or joining the conversation might be you writing a paper, creating a poster, designing a study, making art, getting a patent, or just giving a presentation.
This video was created by the University of Nevada-Las Vegas Libraries in July 2016. It is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 United States license.