|
|
Article List
| Ten Top Research Tips |
- Plan your research before starting so that you are not flitting about all over the place and wasting time. This might not matter too much on the Internet, but it will if you have to drive distances to interview people or visit a specific museum or collection.
- Go back to primary sources – old documents, archived letters, government archives, specialist libraries and diaries. Also, don’t forget to talk to/interview people.
- But also make the most of secondary sources – books, articles and websites that other people have written on the topic. In other words, don’t re-invent the wheel. But don’t get yourself in the position where you can be accused of plagiarism and always check your facts.
- Wherever you’ve got your information from, don’t forget to acknowledge your sources and, more importantly, thank the people who have helped you.
- Don’t let yourself get sidetracked and spend so long on research that you don’t get round to writing your book or article.
- But if you do come across something fascinating, but unrelated to your current project, bookmark it ready for the next.
- Be organised and methodical. Make sure you have a proper filing system for documents and photos, whether it’s electronic or in a box. And if you’ve made notes, ensure that you can read them!
- If you’ve interviewed someone to get information, type up your notes as soon as possible and, if feasible, get the person to read through the transcript for accuracy. (This is why conducting interviews by email can be so useful – you already have everything written down.)
- Always make a note of your sources of information as you might want to go back for further research and you will certainly want to acknowledge them if you’re working on a non-fiction book. Bookmark pages on the Internet – or even print off relevant pages in case links get broken.
- Work on the iceberg principle. You might have done lots of research but most of it should be ‘under the water’, not on display. Remember, your aim is not only to get your facts right and inform – it’s also to entertain. So don’t bore your readers!
|
|
|
|
|
|