Getting Started: Basic Library Writing and Research Process
This page is based on Writing Analytically by Muhlenberg Professors David Rosenwasser and Jill Stephen. This book is used in many courses in this College. You can purchase a copy at the Bookstore, or find one here.
In order to begin a fruitful research process, you need to formulate a claim about the meaning of some feature or characteristic of your subject --a claim that will become your thesis. Your thesis will help you:
- focus your questions by providing a principle of selection that makes some evidence more relevant than other;
- develop your ideas, leading you to greater precision.
An evolving thesis will both prompt and organize your thinking. It wil not appear to you ready-made. It will be only relatively adequate, and your should expect to find evidence that will complicate your thesis. The "problems" you encounter offer you a chance to modify your thesis rather than abandon it. Evolving a thesis can take these steps:
STEP 1 Formulate an idea about your subject. This working thesis should be come claim about the meaning of the evidence you have so far --enough to get you started.
STEP 2 See how far you can make your thesis go in accounting for your evidence. How accurate are your key terms? Are there words you need to look up? If you need more information at this point, consider a good "signed" encyclopedia article in a source such as
- Academic American Encyclopedia [in print] or
- Encyclopaedia Britannica [online]. Ask a librarian for help!
You probably cannot cite an encyclopedia article as a scholarly source, but a good article can orient you to crucial features of your subject.
STEP 3 Locate more evidence -especially evidence that is not adequately account for by your thesis. In the library, gather bibliographic references for scholarly books, articles, literary works, and biographies:
- Trexler Library Catalog
- Articles in periodicals and newspapers: Check Periodical Databases & Indexes
- Essays and other evidence: Check Reference Databases & Indexes
- Statistics: See the statistics page, or ask a Reference Librarian for relevant sources.
- What doesn't fit?
- What doesn't matter after you explain it?
Evaluate the point of view of your scholarly sources, whether they seem authoritative, timely, sufficient, or relevant. The Evaluating Resources handout lists questions to help guide your assessment of sources.
STEP 5 What doesn't fit?
- Have other writers encountered this evidence? How did they accommodate it?
- Do a more focused keyword search of the library catalog and other online databases.
STEP 6 Repeat steps 2, 3, 4, and 5 several times. Keep asking, "So what?" You will have to cover your ground and re-examine your evidence-several times.
STEP 7 Cite your sources and evidence. Be sure to give credit where credit is due! Keep careful track of where you found your ideas, phrases, and key concepts. No professor expects you to present your own ideas only --be clear about where your ideas, phrases, and special words come from. Find out what style of scholarly citation your professors wants you to use, and see the citations page.