Research and Writing (RaW): 6. Absorb and Reflect

Now that you have sifted through your findings, go back to your assignment instructions to make sure that the resources that met your evaluation criteria align with your instructor’s requirements.

Consider the following questions:

• Do you have enough resources?
• Are the types of materials appropriate?
• Are the resources you have found sufficient in substantiating your claims/arguments? 

For books

• For print books, read the front and rear jackets of the book, including the book summary and the bio about the author. If you are reading an ebook, read the summary on its item record and look up information about the author. 
• Take a look at the title page, table of contents, and any preface or note from the author. Some books will have a foreword written by a different expert in the field that briefly touches upon the value of the book. Doing this will help you familiarize yourself with the content of the book and its overall goal.
  • If only certain chapters look relevant to your topic, plan to focus your attention on those. 
• Check the back of the book to see if a glossary or index is provided. If so, it may be useful to refer to that content while you are reading. 

For Scholarly Articles

• Familiarize yourself with the different parts of a scholarly article. Scholarly articles present research conducted by specialists in the field and usually contain detailed information about a study. The content in scholarly articles is usually composed of several sections including: abstract, introduction, literature review, methodology, discussion, and conclusion.
  • Read the abstract first. The abstract summarizes the entire article and it can give you an overall idea of its content and a sense of how relevant the article will be to you as a source.
  • Read the introduction and the conclusion and skim through any other sections (e.g. methodology and discussion) to get a better idea of the contents of that article.
• Re-read the article. This time, do so carefully from beginning to end. Try to determine how relevant it is to your research and how its content can help you advance your knowledge on the topic. Highlight text and/or take notes as needed. 
• Consider the purpose and origin of the information contained in the article and, if you are researching a topic for which current information is especially relevant, decide if the publication is up to date (published fairly recently) or if you will need additional more current information.
• Review the titles in the reference section at the end of the article. Oftentimes, this section includes related sources you can consult and include in your research.

Reading can feel overwhelming at times. It is important that you take your time to think carefully about what you read. Consider the following:

• What did you just read/learn about the topic?
  • Does that change what you think about the topic, or does it add new depth to certain positions you hold?
• What was the main point of the story/report/research?
• Are there any major themes or relationships you've been able to identify?
• How does it compare to what other sources say about the topic?
  • Is there a gap of knowledge/discussion about certain aspects of the topic? [hint: this is especially important when conducting a literature review!!]

Taking the time to consider these questions can help you to work toward a focused and thorough draft.