If you’ve chosen a topic that appeals to more than a few individuals, it is almost certainly the subject of several ongoing conversations. Listening in on these conversations allows you to become familiar with various aspects of the topic. Written conversations about the broad topic of federal regulation of new drugs, for example, might focus on issues such as childhood vaccination, prevention of birth defects, and the treatment of diseases such as AIDS and Alzheimer’s. Each of these issues, in turn, might be addressed by different groups of people, often for quite different purposes. Childhood vaccination, for instance, might draw the attention of parents worried about potential side effects, health officials concerned about epidemics, and researchers interested in the growth of drug-resistant diseases. In other words, not only do conversations focus on different aspects of a topic, but the same aspect of a topic can also be discussed by different groups of people.

Listening in on these conversations allows you to determine which group you want to join. To make that decision, you don’t have to engage in a full-blown research project. You simply have to invest enough time to determine whether you want to learn more. At this early stage in your writing project, you are essentially eavesdropping in order to find the conversation you want to join.

To learn more about each of the conversations you’ve identified and to figure out what — or whether — you might contribute to it, “listen in” by discussing your ideas with others, observing a situation firsthand, and finding and reviewing published sources.