COLUMBIA HIGH SCHOOL RESEARCH HANDBOOK

PRELIMINARY READING

Once you have several sources in hand, the next task is to read. If you skip this, it will be very hard to learn anything. The WAY you read, though, at this stage is to SKIM. Don't try to read an entire book. It is not even necessary to read an entire lengthy article at this point. You are still trying to find the focus of the paper. While it is still not advisable to take formal notes at this point, you may want to jot down summaries of the sources for yourself, so that when you go back later you will know what is there. Sometimes even jotting page numbers down is a good idea.

For example, for an article entitled "Airport Security - Is It Good Enough?" you might jot down this:

p.45 good stats on airport safety

As you read and skim through your sources, you should be thinking in terms of your thesis. What point is it that you want to make in this topic? Depending on your assignment, you may need to discuss this with your teacher at this stage.

You should also be evaluating your sources as you read. Some, you will find, you can reject quickly as being useless or not close enough to what you need. If your teacher requires a bibliography of ALL SOURCES EXAMINED, MAKE SURE YOU TAKE DOWN ALL THE BIBLIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION NEEDED, EVEN IF YOU THINK YOU WON'T USE THE SOURCE IN THE PAPER. Notice the use of all caps.

Overall, try to get as familiar with your topic as you can. Become an 'expert' in the field.

As you read, and often reject, many sources, again, depending on the length of the assignment, you should still be looking for more sources. The closer you get to knowing what you want to prove in the paper, the easier it is to get just the sources you need.

Pretty soon, the real fun begins. Hey, WE didn't give you this assignment.