6 Quick and Easy Tips to Make You an Instantly Better Researcher
Being a content writer, I’ve spent my fair share of hours scouring the internet (and beyond) for interesting, credible information.
So, the other day when I was asked to provide some “tips and tricks” to students tasked with writing their first research paper, I started brainstorming...
What do I wish someone would have told me when I was gathering information for my first research paper?
Well, probably that as useful as the Internet is, the thousands of articles, essays, opinions, etc. one receives in response to a single question can be a bit overwhelming. Like, a never-ending rabbit hole of information kind of overwhelming.
Over the years, my research tactics have changed since when I first began as a content writer (thank goodness). My efforts are more directed, less time-consuming, and the process of tracking down information isn’t nearly as overwhelming.
When thinking up what advice I could pass on regarding researching, I came up with the following 6 quick and easy tips that help me stay organized, find those “golden nuggets” of fascinating (and credible) information, and tackle a research paper with ease.
1. Find the Facts:
Always make sure you’re gathering information from a credible website.
How do you know if it’s credible?
Read the sites “About Me” or “About Us” section and ensure it’s a credible source, like an established organization or from a specialist in the field you’re writing about. Not just a random person ranting on the internet… on that note, Wikipedia is not a credible source.
However, Wikipedia can be a good spot to find other sources. At the bottom of each page, there is a number of sources listed where the information is supposedly pulled from.
Side note: Also make sure to check each webpage “Date Posted” or Date Updated.” Is the information new and relevant? Or from 10 years ago and now outdated?
2. Do the Prep Work:
When approaching a research paper, it’s best to read and research first, write after.
Just how when studying for a test you don’t cram all the information in your brain the night before (hopefully, anyway), it’s a better approach to read and research the topic ahead of time so you gain a general understanding of it before you dive into writing about it. This makes the writing process a heck of a lot easier.
3. Get Organized:
After you feel you have a grasp on the topic, then you can prepare your outline:
· A powerful intro that presents what you’ll be discussing.
· A body containing supporting information on your topic. (When writing the “body,” it’s helpful to jot down bullet points of the key topics you want to discuss, then, write a paragraph about each.)
· A conclusion to summarize and tie everything together.
4. Learn the Lingo:
While reading and researching, it’s helpful to note any “slang” words commonly used in association with that topic so you can use them in your paper.
Bonus points if you find a fun way to teach these “slang” words to your readers in interesting, straight-forward ways.
5. Take Note and Save Links:
While performing your initial reading and researching, you can use a separate sheet of paper to take notes on information you think might be valuable or to save specific links to websites you believe you’ll want to go back to for reference.
Having this information in one place can be an easy, quick reference, and a big time saver!
6. Use Multiple Sources:
Outside of Google, other resources like books, magazines, documentaries, and even YouTube can also be great places to gather information— depending on what you’re researching.
I’ve used all of these as references to get real insight from hikers who have either hiked a specific place or part of the country that I’m discussing in one of my articles or tested out a piece of gear that I’m reviewing.
Be careful since these can be highly opinionated sources, but as long as you know what to look for, each can provide some valuable insight.
Bonus Tip: Instead of trying to write the entire paper in one sitting, pick one topic a day and spend an allotted amount of time on it, focusing your energy on writing only that section. The next day, work on another section. Breaking the paper up like this ensures you’re devoting adequate time to each section of the paper, and it also makes the work seem less daunting (baby steps!)
