The Bedford Researcher, Chapter two

            In chapter two, it talks mainly about exploring and focusing on your topic. The word exploring is defined as, gaining a general understanding of the issues – points of disagreements, concerns, uncertainty, and curiosity within a topic. Focusing means a single issue lays the groundwork for developing the research question that will frame your thinking about that issue.  After reading chapter one, all your brainstorming topics you compiled, will be narrowed down in chapter two. For example, my topic will be about Native Americans but I will need to narrow it down by “focusing” on a specific issue about Native Americans. With the help of chapter two, I can follow a four step process. Step one, create a plan, such as list of people to discuss the topic, list of questions, list of settings to observe, list of resources, and a system for keeping track of information. Step two, discuss your topic with people who know about it. (personal interviews, emails, Web, blogs, or letters). Step three, observation.  This can provide valuable information that is not available from other sources. Step four, find and review sources, search online catalogs at the library(Web, professional journals, scholarly journals, magazines, forums, and newspapers), and browse library bookshelves. Once you research all these sources record it or write down. It is very helpful to know where you found these sources, in case you need them again.