realifefairy

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how to grow the fuck up

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A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) dir. Elia Kazan

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How does research even work?

As you all know, one of the mantras I repeat all the time on this blog is: "Do your research!". To which some may respond with: But how?

Well, buckle up, friends! Because I tutor first semester students at my university to teach them about academic research and writing research works pretty much the same (at least for me). So here are some basic steps to take while researching:

I. Determine your prior knowledge and its gaps

Let's do a brainstorming session: What do you already know about this topic? Take it all down in your writing tool of choice. Flashcards, notebook, digital document, whatever you work well with. Organize your thoughts in a way that makes sense to you. A mindmap, columns, bullet points...

Furthermore, think about what you don't know and try to formulate specific questions. Those will help you later with your research.

II. Determine where to look for knowledge

There are several types of literature to get into: articles, monographs, anthologies... You can find access to those via your local and/or university library (if you go to uni), online archives, academic databases including google scholar, etc. Look for trustworthy, peer reviewed, established sources (especially online). You should also prioritize own voices sources when it comes to writing about a specific community or identity.

Tip: Wikipedia is not a source, but a great starting point, since it often features a bibliography with great sources.

I shall not give you specific archives/websites to use in this post, because access varies widely depending on your location and the languages you speak.

III. How to look for knowledge

Let's go back to the notes you took at the beginning: Look for keywords that relate to your topic and help you in answering your questions. Look for synonyms, hyperonyms and hyponyms to use individually and/or combined in your database.

Whenever possible use Boolean operators. Those are used in most databases to establish logical relations between your search terms, such as AND, OR and NOT.

AND: Both terms have to be present in all results

OR: either one or the other term has to be present in all results

NOT: exclude this term from the results

Usually, typing in two terms in one search field automatically constitutes an AND.

Look at the bibliographies of your results to find even more helpfull sources but be aware not to snowball into oblivion by doing this.

Good research is determined by a variety of databases, sources and keywords. Although quality is always better than quantity.

IV. Evaluate the results

Look at your results to assess and sort them by relevance to your search. You can do this by taking your list of keywords and seeing how prominent they are featured in the results. Are they in the title, in the abstract, in the table of contents? Do they seem to be very relevant in the topic of the source or are they just mentioned in a half-sentence?

How accessible is the source for you? Can you easily read it online, can you borrow it from the library, is it behind a paywall, do you have to buy it from some obscure seller? The less accessible it is, the more you have to evaluate the importance of the source. Do you really need it or can you get the information elsewhere?

Is there prominent criticism of the source, by peers, by the community it talks about (if you are doing research about a specific community or identity that is) or by yourself? Does this criticism render this source untrustworthy? How recent is the source? Is it old research, maybe even obsolete or harmfull?

Good research is determined by the critical evaluation and comparison of sources.

V. Time to read, read, read

Yes, it's at this point you actually start to read! And read. And read. And read some more. Like at the researching stage, be carefull not to snowball into the abyss while reading. Determine how relevant the topic you research is for your writing (e.g. you don't have to spend weeks researching penguins because you have a scene at the zoo) and spend time accordingly.

How you take notes and organize your research is up to you, everyone works differntly here. I, for example, do excel spreadsheets and write down WAY too much detail. Try and see what works for you.

While reading, always keep in mind to think critically, compare, cross-reference and evaluate.

Have fun researching!

[realifefairy]

I need everyone’s best character advice. STAT.

[realifefairy]

unstoppable force (staying home and worsening my depression) vs immovable object (going outside and worsening my social anxiety)

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people think sex is good because it's pleasurable but it's really because it replicates the phenomenology of avant garde film

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Athena Nassar, from "Love Is Not Always Song, but the Swelling"

[realifefairy]

people are saying do it scared, but you also gotta do it alone. you'll miss out on so much you want to do if you wait til someone will do it with you. do it scared and do it alone.

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head not empty, head full of countless scenarios that will never happen

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me and the girlies discussing motifs and themes

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Sex is actually a myth created by classic Russian lit authors as a plot device to stir up drama

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Angst vor der Angst (Fear of Fear), Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1975