Research.......

I really enjoyed Badke's approach to research in his book Research Strategies. He takes research from being an impossible task to a task that anyone can do. Research has always been a daunting task for me. Badke shows that research should not just be about gathering date, but there should be a point. Writing a research paper that consists of only other people's opinions is just plain boring and that is certainly not the point of research.

Badke suggest that you choose to research a narrow project rather then a broad one. His uses the example of a gallon of water in a sink as opposed to a bath tub. The sink is deeper. This applies to research papers as well. The narrower the topic the more in depth you can go. I like this idea as the point of research papers ought to be interesting and informative. If you are dealing on a shallow level with a broad topic you have less of a chance that it will either. If, on the other hand, you choose a narrow topic you are more likely to hit upon something that not every one knows therefore interesting your reader.

Another idea Badke present is that off gaining a working knowledge of your subject before you research. I thought that this was a really good idea. If you sit down and skim your subject before research you are much more likely to see if this is the right topic. It always better to be sure of that at the beginning rather then find out half way through that the subject is terrible. By understanding your topic before hand, research is made much easier.