I was first introduced to the idea and process of research when I was in middle school. It was a requirement to complete a basic National History Day project for my class in seventh and eighth grade. However, I wanted to go above and beyond. I participated twice in the National Competition for National History Day (embarrassing, right?) As a result of going the extra mile, my project had to look impressive and include almost twice as many sources. To this day, I still question why I decided to put so much extra effort into one of my least favorite subjects.
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In the end, my history project proved to be a huge benefit towards me. This long and tedious project not only taught me about our chosen historical figure, but forced me to enhance my research skills. It forced me to research online sources, books, magazines, pamphlets, and to occasionally visit the library from time to time. By competing in National History Day, it allowed me to practice my research skills and develop my own system for researching.
When I have to research for an assignment, I first start with Google and search my topic online. I like to scroll and breeze over the websites that pop up in order to see as many sources as possible. Once I have a broad sense of my idea, I like to narrow down my Google searches into more specific ideas; that way, I can find sources that are best suited for what I’m looking for. When I actually decide which sources to use, I check to make sure the resource is credible and make sure it effectively supports my research topic.
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BEAM made me think of my own research process. What exactly is BEAM? To put it simply, it’s an acronym that stands for background, exhibits, arguments, and methods. BEAM allows the researcher to recognize the different elements they should be looking out for when constructing a research-based paper. When I thought of BEAM in my own research process, I realized that I don’t properly address all of these important points. I hate to admit it, but I tend to find the minimum amount of sources required and pull just enough information from them to support my topic. Now that I’ve read about BEAM, I realize that I need to focus more on the success and strength of my project, rather than fitting the requirements. BEAM has encouraged me to reflect on my own research process and think about how I can change it in order to effectively create a great research paper. Here’s to hoping!
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