What Does This Mean for You?

You, as a researcher in your own right, are entering a “conversation” that is already going on.  Typically, you have three tasks:

1. 1.  Take into account the scholarly conversation—what has already been said about your topic?  This involves reading books, articles, and other sources on your topic.
   2.  Identify a problem or unresolved question in that conversation.  What are scholars still debating or asking questions about? What questions have not been asked?
   3.  Research your topic thoroughly then argue/support your case for a resolution to that problem or question.

Library research follows the same process as scholarly research.  Below is a diagram of the Research Lifecycle.