Chapters 30 & 32 RR

Before we begin a research paper, we need to do two things: find sources and plan the project.  Chapter 30 is about planning research and Chapter 32 is about finding sources.

Source

Chapter 30 shows how to turn a topic into a question.  You start with a broad overview, refine it to a topic, and finally develop a specific question.  From that question, you need to determine if it is too broad.  If so, then you narrow it down, but if it becomes too narrow, then you have to broaden it a little.  When questions become too narrow, they become uninteresting because the reader would need to be interested in that very specific topic.  This chapter also talks about how to effectively use search engines and what keywords to use.

No longer are we restricted to just the books in a local library when researching a paper, the internet has broadened our reach, so knowing where to find sources is key.  Chapter 32 is all about that topic and starts out by looking at how to search the internet.  Beyond simple searches you can do through Google, there are peer-reviewed journals that can be queried.

Of course, there is the age old source for research data, the library.  Since libraries contain a wealth of information, one needs to know how to search for the info they need.  This chapter shows how to search a library database as well as describing the various types of resources available in library like encyclopedias, government documents, and bibliographies.

Finally, Chapter 32 discusses field sources such as interviews, observations and questionnaires.  For my paper, this is helpful because I've witnessed some of the things that I'm writing about.  I know how it made me feel and my own thoughts on the subject and I don't have to rely on someone else asking the right question to the right person.

Overall, both chapters would help writers write better papers.  In this day and age, we are all used to using Google to search for something we are interested in, but we need to discern which sources are scholarly and which are not.  There are also some things in the library that I wasn't aware of like bibliographies.  Those kinds of resources can give an idea of where to begin looking for sources for our research paper.

Dustan S