When given the task of any essay or assignment that requires research, my heart is immediately filled with dread.
The thought of combing through sources, wondering if they are reliable or not, is not my ideal day.
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However, after the plethora of research assignments given to me in high school, I have a strategy of how I start.
First, I go on Wikipedia. I know, Wikipedia! The horror! This site is such a taboo site for research. I think every teacher I’ve had has said “Don’t use Wikipedia as a source”. BUT Wikipedia is extremely helpful for background information. If I am given a topic that I know nothing about, I use Wikipedia to understand what my topic is.
After I have a good sense of my topic, I then go an research different sub-topics, finding reliable sources that are not Wikipedia.
BEAM (Background Sources, Exhibits, Arguments and Methods) are the different sources that a writer can use. In an article by Joseph Bizup, he says
Writers rely on background sources, interpret or analyze exhibits, engage arguments, and follow methods.
Bizup agrees that writers must have sufficient background knowledge, but then go from there and analyze different sources.
While research is not always fun, if you change your mindset, the research can be better. Think of it as actually wanting to learn. Then, every book you read will actually interest you, instead of bore you to sleep.