Research and time management advice?

Parents Forum
1

<p>Hi there,</p>

<p>I am currently undergoing two research projects (one for class and one independently for an upcoming conference), and I'd like some concrete tips on how to go about this. I feel very frazzled, and I don't want to fall behind and come up with nothing for both of them. I've been swamped with homework all week and have been generally slacking, so I would appreciate some suggestions on how to stay on-track for this and to maybe hear how you all do/have done professional research.</p>

<p>I have a little over two weeks to complete my class research project (it isn't anything TOO thorough, and I have group members), and I have almost exactly two weeks to do enough research and thinking to get a proposal together for a spring conference (and then do more research and write a paper over the next few months). Both projects deal with the field of Writing and Rhetoric and the notion of a Writing Studies major, so while they're inter-connected and are things that I'm passionate about, they're also topics that aren't fully-developed and are constantly changing and evolving, thus requiring more legwork to find a definite connection to what I'm researching.</p>

<p>So far I've been gathering articles from my university's library database and skimming through them, and I eventually plan to print out and thoroughly read the more prominent and direct ones to get a true sense of their content. But after this, I'm stuck on how to proceed, and I'm struggling with how to transition from "read-and-understand-information" to "now-come-up-with-ideas-to-further-this-information."</p>

<p>I'm meeting with my professors next week to discuss things in more detail, but for this weekend, how I can prep myself and my research to be in a position to elaborate more on MY ideas? I've really never done "real" research before, and I don't want to let my professors down.</p>

<p>Thanks for reading, and I'm sorry if this is silly or if I can find information about it elsewhere. I've read a lot of things online already, but if there's anything else out there that gives a practical approach to juggling research projects, I'd love to read it!</p>

2

<p>Here’s one way that has worked for my students (and for me as well!):</p>

<p>One way to get started is to copy and paste–or even better, paraphrase–those sections of each article you find particularly interesting and useful. (Of course, keep meticulous track of your sources so you don’t commit plagiarism.) Place them roughly in the order in which you hope to use them in your paper.</p>

<p>Then, cluster these into paper sections and paragraphs, and draft topic sentences. </p>

<p>From here you should see a central argument/thesis statement emerging, based on the kind of examples and evidence you’re choosing to pull from the articles. Write a draft thesis statement.</p>

<p>In each paragraph, explain in your own words how each cited idea relates to/supports your thesis statement, and perform analysis/critique of these passages when and where appropriate.</p>

<p>Write transitions between paragraphs.</p>

<p>What you’ll have at this point isn’t a paper, but you’ll have the bones of a good paper because you’ll have a central idea and evidence to support it–all arranged in roughly the order in which you plan to write about it.</p>

3

<p>That’s really good, practical advice! Thank you! </p>

<p>I like the idea of paraphrasing the main/interesting arguments. Some of my articles are from academic journals and so can be upwards of 20 pages, so that seems useful for summarizing/keeping track of them as well.</p>

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<p>Write something absolutely every day.</p>