| Chapter 2: Identifying
Conversations about a Topic |
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| As you explore the various possibilities for your research
topic, focus on how the sources you have found are "talking"
to each other. If research is a conversation between various sources about
a specific topic, what are your sources saying? What do they agree on,
and what do they disagree on? Looking for patterns in the conversation
that's going on about your topic will help you analyze the current research
and help ease you into the conversation. |
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Start |
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Learn more in section 2b in The Bedford Researcher. |
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| Chapter 2:
Identifying Conversations about a Topic |
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You can identify conversations taking place in your sources by looking for patterns. In this exercise, you'll fill out a table that helps you identify repeated concepts, broad themes, disagreements, and key voices in sources that address your topic. Step 1. List the authors of the sources you want to compare. |
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| Chapter
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| Step 2. Record concepts that are repeated in your sources. | |||
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| Step 3. Record other broad themes that you've noticed in your sources. | |||
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| Source 3 | Source 4 | ||
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| Chapter 2:
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| Step 4. Note points on which the sources disagree. | |||
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| Chapter 2:
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| Step 5. Note the sources that these sources are citing. You could make use of them later. | |||
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See an example from the Featured Student Writers. |
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