Searching and Researching...

Hey, folks. Me again.

The English 1101 research essays are due on Wednesday; I've already turned down several requests for extensions, simply because there's no time and also because I see no need. I gave out the topics over a month ago, giving you plenty of time. Also, if you're the kind of students who's been missing classes all semester long, I won't even consider giving an extension. In such as case, I have no way of knowing if you're simply coming up with yet another reason for being slack and looking for special favors: the kind of favors that only students who have attended classes all along deserve. Even those students who've been to class and get good grades need to have a good reason for wanting an extension. So unless you've encountered a serious problem that you can prove exists, please don't ask for an extension.

I'll move on to more important issues. First of all, please note that I've already blogged recently about MLA formatting and quotation method. For details, scroll down until you find those blog entries.

As for researching, a lot of you seem to be having trouble knowing how to go about doing a search for your research papers. I’m not sure why this is the case, but I have to assume that many of you have never done a research essay before. Considering you're in university now, I have to assume that no one in the high school system has taught you how to do it. Either that, or you just didn't learn it, for whatever reason. The best thing I can do is forget the source of the problem (or what I assume is the source) and try to tackle the problem itself.

I’ll try the Q & A technique again and see if we can sort some things out.

Q. I’ve tried researching my topic (e.g. “playing God” in the novels Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), but I can’t find anything.

A. Several students have said this exact thing to me. First of all, you’re going to have to become creative in your method of research. Creative. That means jotting down ideas. Brainstorming. That’s a part of this whole exercise. Ask questions about your subject. Then answer them. Critical thinking doesn’t mean coming up with the right answers so much as it means coming up with better quality questions.

Your method of research all depends on what angle you’re going to take in your essay. For example, what are you ultimately going to be saying about the concept of “playing God”? What does it mean to “play God” anyway? What is a God? What does a God do? And what kind of behaviours (and words) from a character would allow you to say, “Oh, yeah, see there: he thinks he’s a bloody God, that one there!” (picture a Monty Python character saying that. It helps ease the tension you’re probably feeling.) Just let your thoughts go on paper a little bit. Write to yourself. You’re not being judged on it, but you might unscramble something and come up with two or three good ideas. Give up on the notion that you’ve got to be right, or that you might be wrong. Just write. Ask those questions, even if they seem silly. Nobody sees your brain farts except you, or at least at this stage. They can be smelled at a distance if you don’t clean them up before presenting them publicly, though.

Next, how are you going to research this idea of yours? There are several possible approaches. You could just look up essays on the two novels you’re working with. Another way is to look up characters’ names, such as “Victor Frankenstein”. Or try “Victor Frankenstein and God” or “Sciences and God” or “Science and Victor Frankenstein” or “Science and Mary Shelley.” That kind of thing. Try different ways to get at your topic. You might find articles on Victor and/or Dr. Jekyll that might have a useful quote or two. Or an article about scientists playing God that you can apply to your paper and show that Victor and Henry Jekyll are playing God, according to this particular article that talks about scientists in general. Look up "biogenetics and Mary Shelley". These ideas might get you started, but as I say, you'll just have to get creative in your approach. Or you might think that Victor and Henry J. both look at knowledge as a religion. Consider that possibility and use it to do some research.

Originality is in the combination of things. The thing is, I can’t tell you that you ought to take a certain approach because every paper will be different. What I can tell you is to break your idea down into components by doing some brainstorming. Talk to someone else. Look up your subject in a dictionary or thesaurus for related words, then look up some of those words. But focus on the characters. You might not find an article on “playing God,” per se, but you might find an article on Victor Frankenstein’s (or Henry Jekyll’s) character and find some mention of traits that you think are God-like. You might use another article (one on, say, definitions of gods in western religion, or something like that) to decide on the characteristics of a God (or isolation, alienation, fatherhood, motherhood, gender differences, or anything else) and then use other articles or books that talk about the characters (or ideas) you’re discussing.

Let’s try a different example. Say you’re doing “isolation” in The Divine Ryans and The Road. (You don’t have to actually say it; just read what I’m about to say.) Well, ask yourself (on paper) what is "isolation"? Define its characteristics. Then go a step further and define its characteristics as it relates to your two novels. Which characters exemplify isolation? Who’s isolated from whom? In what way(s)? Of course, that will go back, necessarily, to your definition and list of qualities of isolation (same as with a god, fatherhood, motherhood, prejudice, and so on). First, get your ideas straight (by brainstorming, using a dictionary and/or thesaurus, and so on) about what something is. Second, figure out how it applies specifically to your novel (i.e. which characters are implicated). Third, look at how this subject of isolation causes characters to interact with each other, whether they are isolated or not. Go through the exercise and see if anything interesting comes up. Fourth, ask yourself (assuming you’ve looked up “isolation and The Divine Ryans” as a subject—one on which you’re not likely to find much material) whether there are other approaches. Are there other words for isolation (such as alienation or separation or segregation, for example)? Also, in what ways are you saying the characters are isolated? Do you mean: from each other? From society? From themselves? Emotionally disconnected? Spiritually cut off from god and/or mankind and/or themselves? Alone in the world? If any of these, ask yourself: why? What’s caused this isolation? What are its specific characteristics? What are its implications? What is its outcome and what are the implications of that outcome (for the novel as a whole, for specific relationships in the novel, I mean)? Fifth, look up information on Donald Ryan or Draper Doyle, or articles about Wayne Johnston's writing in general. Are any of his (or McCarthy's) characters (including those in The Divine Ryans and The Road described as being alone, loners, isolated, inward-looking, or survivalists, and so on?). Look up anything you can find on the authors (in this case Wayne Johnston and Cormac McCarthy). Maybe their characters or novels are talked about in some article or book. Find out what you can use.

There are tons of other things you can do, but this should get you started. The thing is that there is no need to feel stuck. You’re only as limited as your imagination and your work ethic.

Q. Can you tell me where to find the books or articles I should be looking at?

Usually, I won’t do that, whether I know of something or not. But the idea is for YOU to do the research, to learn how this is done. At this stage, it’s not so important that you find the right articles as that you learn HOW to find the right articles. One thing you could do, if you find an on-line article or a lone book or essay on a subject is to look at the Bibliography or "Works Cited" pages and see if there’s a list of potential sources there. There might be some. In most cases, published articles are using the best possible, most up-to-date sources. Learn from the best, I always say. (Actually, I never say that, but it works here.)

Q. How do I know if a book has anything useful in it?

A. One way is by reading it or just skimming it, looking for key words. But a more practical approach would be to look in the alphabetically-arranged “Index” for some idea of whether your subject is discussed and, if it is, on what pages. Shortcuts are our friend. Also, check out the "Table of Contents" as a way of identifying major sections that might deal with your topic.

Q. Can I use the editorial material at the beginning or end of my textbook?

A. Yes, you can, if it helps your essay. But I still will expect you to use three more sources, minimum.

Q. Can I use articles on the Internet for my research?

The short answer is yes, but with a caveat. You should use articles that have been previously published in a book or academic journal. You'll know that they're legitimately published articles because the web page will list the book or journal, plus date of original publication and so on. If there's no such information given, then you have to assume that what you're reading is simply something that someone is posting on a personal blog or website.

Some personal blogs are quite good and can act as a guide to let you know where else you should be looking (Wikipedia is like that, in fact). But there is no guarantee that the information you're reading is accurate because there is nothing, besides the honor system (which is a guarantee of nothing), to ensure that you're getting quality, researched intelligence. You might as well use George W. Bush's intel resources for all the good it will do. In fact, no good can come from trusting in that which is dubious at best. Not all websites are bad, but you have to assume the possiblity is there.

The other issue with websites and blogs is that they might be gone tomorrow at the discretion of the owner or the server, or the writer might even pass away and therefore (understandably) not have updated the information in a long time. The possibility of the article disappearing is quite real, though, and that possibility compromises the integrity of your entire article.

Always use trustworthy sources: ones that will likely still exist somewhere, in a library or library on-line archive, in perpetuity.

On the other hand, just because I try to be kind once in a while, I will allow you to use a GOOD website by a seemingly reputable source, but you still have to use two other legitimate academic sources for your paper.

Q. Do I have to list every book and article I’ve used in my bibliography?

A. Yes (including the novels too). If you’ve gotten any ideas or used any quotes or words from a book or article, then you have to list it as a source. Otherwise, it’s called plagiarism.

The main thing is to brainstorm. Be creative in your approach. Think it through. And don’t just panic because you don’t find your specific subject in the library. If it were that easy, why would you even have to write a research paper to begin with?

The idea is to do your best to write something original. And the best way to be original is to come up with ideas of your own and then allow other voices to enter your paper, whether they agree with you or not. If they agree with you, fine: they support your thesis. If they disagree, that’s fine too: use them to show you’ve considered their arguments, but you still think that your ideas are right (not necessarily that theirs is wrong, although that is a possibility).

I hope this helps some. Leave a comment or e-mail me at gnc@nf.sympatico.ca if you have more questions.

GC