Research for me has always been a daunting task because I don’t think I was ever formally taught how to do it, I was just expected to know how to do it. Apart from the organization and formatting that goes along with research, the part of Badke chapter 2 which stood out to me the most is the one on finding a narrow topic. This made perfect sense to me because I have always done research when I wanted to by something or figure out which item is better than another. When I had a situation like that I always had a narrow question and a goal to find out what was best and why I should by something over another thing. It goes the same way for a research assignment, you need to have an objective when you start your research and base your research trying to solve a narrow question. Badke says that we should “focus on one aspect” (Badke, pg 24). This for me is the biggest answer to my problem in the world of research issues.
The other section of the chapter that tied into this same idea is the part on making an outline. If you have a good outline made up before you start your research it is much easier to get a focused topic so that you don’t research all over the place. Focusing on the narrow idea for me is one of the biggest key to having an organized paper.
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Coming up with a thorough outline is something I need to work on. Usually when I`m narrowing down a topic I will have already started research. That way I can make an informed decision on what I should shave off of a broad topic.
ReplyDeleteI love pen and paper because I remember things better that way and my flow of thoughts is, for some reason, less restricted than when I use a computer, because I can jot things down where ever I want. Maybe that's the reason I always end up outlining before I start my paper. It never is a very good outline, but it always helps me to narrow down my topic and cut things out that are not as relevant as I thought they were. Although, my outline usually comes after I do my research, so I usually end up with too much research than I need. I'll have to work on that.
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