Finding and developing materials

find information

Once you have settled on a research topic and thesis, plan to spend time gathering data. You can start with reference works such as dictionaries and encyclopedias, but you need to move quickly to resources created or used by experts in the field, including scholarly books published by university presses, articles in academic journals, government reports (also known as white papers), oral histories, and so on. Look for materials that push you well beyond what you knew at the outset of the project. Such works may intimidate you at first, but that’s a signal that you are learning something new — an outcome your instructor probably intended.

To get reports right, follow these basic principles.

Base reports on the best available sources. You will embarrass yourself quickly if you don’t develop procedures and instincts for evaluating sources. Look for materials — including data such as statistics and photographic reproductions — presented by reliable authors and experts and supported by major institutions in government, business, and the media. For academic papers, take your information whenever possible from journals and books published by university presses and professional organizations. (find reliable sources)

With Web materials, track them back to their original sources and then assess them. Use the Google search engine for “Korean War,” for instance, and you might find an item that seems generic — except that its URL indicates a military location (.mil). Opening the URL, you discover that a government institution — the Naval Historical Center — supports the site. So its information is likely to be credible but will reflect the perspectives of the Department of the Navy. That’s information you need to know as you read material from the site.

Base reports on multiple sources. Don’t rely on a limited or biased selection of material. You need not give equal weight to all ideas or points of view, but neither should you ignore important perspectives you disagree with. Above all, avoid the temptation to base a report on a single source, even one that is genuinely excellent. You may find yourself merely paraphrasing the material, not writing a report of your own. (restate ideas)

Fact-check your report. It’s a shame to get the big picture in focus in a report and then lose credibility because you slip up on a few easily verifiable facts. In a lengthy project, these errors might seem inevitable or just a nuisance. But misstatements can take on a life of their own and become lore — like the initial and exaggerated reports of crime and mayhem during Hurricane Katrina. So take the extra few minutes required to get the details right.