Work Together to Collect and Work with Information
You might be asked — by an instructor or by another writer — to work together to collect, critically read, evaluate, and take notes on information from sources. Common collaborative activities for collecting and working with information include the following:
- Develop a search strategy for published sources. Depending on the scope of a writing project, creating a plan for finding sources can be quite challenging. Working with other writers can improve the odds of developing an effective and appropriate plan. Learn more about developing a search plan.
- Assign responsibility for locating sources. When a group is working on a shared topic, instructors often encourage the group to collaboratively compile a collection of sources. For example, one member of the group might search for sources through a library catalog, another through full-text databases, and still another through searches on the Web. Each person locates promising sources and makes copies for other members of the group. See Chapter 12 for more information about locating sources.
- Assign responsibility for field research. In writing projects that involve surveys, interviews, observation, or correspondence, a group might develop a plan to conduct a particular type of field research. After reviewing the plan, each member of the group carries out his or her assigned research task and shares it with the group.
- Create shared annotated bibliographies. Members of a group working on a shared topic can create citations and annotations (brief summaries) for each source they collect. Learn more about creating annotated bibliographies.
- Share evaluations of sources. Writers working on a shared topic meet to discuss the merits of the sources they’ve collected and read. Learn more about evaluating sources.
- Share notes on sources. Writers working on a shared topic compile their notes on the sources they have read. Learn more about taking notes.
Need a refresher on evaluating sources? See Chapter 3.