Research 101*^
Being in graduate school, I have learned a few things about conducting research that I feel I should share with the masses. In order to really give you a sense of the front lines, I offer you the following itemized list concerning my research for the day.
1) Wake up at noon. Research should be conducted when one is fully rested. Besides, there isn’t really a lot of good TV on at noon, so you’ll have a better chance of making it to step two.
2) Look up potential library resources in Online Catalog. It’s great to know what you’re looking for before you even arrive at the brick-and-mortar library building. For example, I needed to return a book today that I received through Emory’s Interlibrary Loan System. ILL lets you borrow books from other libraries. The fine for an unreturned ILL book is 50 cents a day. Seven dollars later, I really needed to return “The Dionnes” by Ellie Teshler. But I found a copy in the Decatur Public Library! Yay!
3) Ensure that the online library catalogs you search are not from the wrong brick and mortar building. Upon arriving at the Decatur Public Library, I could not locate the book I had earlier found online. As it turns out, there is indeed a copy of “The Dionnes” in the collection of the Decatur, ILLINOIS public library.
4) Coffee is imperative for research success. Today, I chose Dancing Goats Coffee Bar in Decatur. Partly because of it’s proximity to the public library (although not the one in Illionis.) As an added, unexpected bonus, I ran in to one of my classmates in line waiting for coffee. We briefly discussed my paper, so I ended up doing research while ordering coffee! Multi-tasking is an excellent way to increase productivity.
5) Organize your materials. After a visit to the Emory Library, I have about thirty excellent books to use in writing my final papers. However, I need a system for organizing these books so that I’ll know which ones work with which paper at a glance. In order to find the space for this, I will probably need to clean my entire room, do all my laundry, watch an organizational design show on HGTV and walk the dog. You know, just in case the dog gets anxious and chews on a pile of carefully organized books.
6) Talk with friends and colleagues. In about ten minutes, I’ll be on my way to Sunday dinner, where I will talk with my friends about my papers. Or, you know, about other stuff. All information can be useful if you have the right mindset.
7) Blog. Blogs are a good way to organize your research. Or to procrastinate. Which can also be productive. Just encourage your brain to cordon off a little section that will think constructively about [Insert Research Topic Here] while also browsing TMZ and Bored.com.
Happy Researching!
*This blog post is only appropriate for people who have an ability to read and recognize sarcasm in print.
^Hi, Michelle!
April 26th, 2009 at 17:45
I don’t know what you meant with that “sarcasm” at the end there. This is just about my research method too.
Except, in my case, you can safely exchange the cleaning and organizing for baking.
Whatever! We get things done!
April 26th, 2009 at 21:31
When I was a girl, we had to do research without the Internet. Fortunately, we did have coffee.
April 27th, 2009 at 12:29
I miss card catalogs.