In the last blog, we covered when to conduct research. You can read it here. This week we’re going to look at some ways to make your research time more effective for you.
Here are my best tips for conducting research:
Read
The best way to begin any research project is to read deeply and broadly in your subject area. If you are writing a historical novel, you will need to absorb the details of life in that era. Books are a great way to do that. Read history books, letters from that time period, newspaper accounts, and scholarly articles about how life was like back then. There are no limits to what you can find in books. Even if you want to explore how an alien species would live, you can gain a lot by reading anthropology and sociology texts. Philosophy and psychology books are great for creating characters. As always, if you want to write, you need to read. Voraciously.
Special Collections & Librarians
Need help finding those sources? Talk to the librarians at your local library, college or university library, or at a special collections library. These librarians are invaluable in sharing valuable books on your subject. When I was researching the Colonial era, the librarians at the Fred W. Smith Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon were amazing. They pulled letters, diaries, pamphlets and more for me—things I would have had difficulty finding on my own. The librarians at the Library of Congress are my favorite people to ask for help. Seek out the best libraries in your area and talk to the librarian. If your library doesn’t have what you want, they should be able to arrange an inter-library loan for you or guide you to other options.
Digital Collections
Many libraries and museums have digital collections available online for when you can’t go in person. For example, the Library of Congress has an enormous digital collection that writers can access from their laptop. Don’t forget to go directly to reputable sources for your research instead of relying on Google to do your work for you. A good way to find out if a library or museum has what you need is to search for your subject AND museum OR library. Or go directly to the source and check their collection personally.
Library Databases
Most libraries have access to special databases that contain scholarly articles. I highly recommend asking to use these databases. Most schools also have access. Talk to people and ask if you can use their resources to do your research. I have found librarians are helpful no matter where they are. All you need to do is ask politely.
Experts
Don’t be afraid to go old school and pick up the phone. Arrange interviews with people who know what you need to know. Offer to take them to coffee or stop by their office to observe them in action. Ask for an interview for a companion profile piece for a local publication or your blog. People are remarkably eager to share what they know. Be prepared though. It does not pay to waste an expert’s time. Go in with a clear plan of what you need to learn or absorb. If you are writing a mystery and need to know how a medical examiner conducts business, ask to follow or observe the ME at work. They may not accept (for legal reasons), but they may be willing to talk over a cup of coffee. But don’t stop there. Ask the assistant or technicians for their observations. They would have more time and are far more likely to share what it’s really like to work there. Or you could do what Patricia Cornwell did and volunteer to get the inside track. The point is to ask for help. Most people are helpful.
Observation
The best way to do research on setting or atmosphere is to do it first-hand. Walk around your setting and take copious notes, photographs and videos. Sit and write setting description in place. Listen, look, smell, touch and taste the places your characters will go. If you are writing a fictional place, then choose places with similar features. These could be as small as one feature. For example, if you are writing a science fiction novel that takes place on another planet completely different from ours, then you would look for something within that world that seems familiar. Nearly all societies have something in common, whether it’s commerce, habitat, government, or culture. There’s probably something in your book that reminds you of some place real. Go to that location and write down your observations. Whatever you can capture in real life will help bring your story to life.
If you are writing a nonfiction piece, then you need to capture the details accurately. Do your research carefully. Take exact notes of what you observe and find. Double source if you are not using personal observation or interview as your primary research. And read our upcoming blog on taking research notes.
Be Creative in Your Searches
If you need to research a topic, don’t limit yourself to a single search or two. Make a list of all the ways you could research that particular item and do a comprehensive search. Be creative. Look for ways to get at the information through other means. You may find the best way to research George Washington isn’t by using his name, but by searching Mount Vernon (his home), Revolutionary generals, Valley Forge, Martha Washington. Don’t be afraid to research around your subject to get a broader view. Although if you want to know more about our first president, you couldn’t do better than to call the library at Mount Vernon. It’s stellar.
Use Boolean Searches
These are search strings that contain the words AND, OR and NOT. These will narrow your results and get you to the correct information faster. Here are some examples of boolean searches:
Kayak AND whitewater NOT sea
Research techniques NOT academic
Reindeer NOT Santa AND Arctic Circle
Documentary Films
Documentary films are a great way to get a quick overview of a subject and to gain some sensory details. Be aware that while nonfiction in nature, documentaries carry the bias of the director and producer, but that holds true for any writing or source, which is why two sources are the industry standard. But films are a fantastic way to absorb a subject both intellectually and visually. The best way to write about something is to absorb it and then assimilate it so you can write from a place of knowledge, not facts.
Internet
The internet is both a fantastic and terrible source. It contains a wealth of information, but much of it is not accurate or worthwhile. The trick is figuring out what information can be used and what cannot. The basic rule of thumb is to accept information from the U.S. government sites, reputable organizations (like National Geographic, the Smithsonian Institute, PBS) and avoid Wikipedia like the plague. If you cannot find what you need from a reputable source, don’t use it or make sure you can find a secondary source that is credible. Another way to use the internet is to search via Google Scholar. It links to academic sources and scholarly research.
Image Sources
Image sites can be a great help in creating setting. There are some amazing video and image sites on the Internet. Use them. Photographs are a great resource for setting detail.
Costume Books
Professional costuming books are another way to work on creating valid wardrobes for your characters. There are books available for theatrical professionals and costume designers. Or you could look into the special collections of wardrobe pieces in museums as a reference.
For more research tips, check out my blog on 20 Research Tips. The next blog will cover how to organize your research. No matter how good your plan is, it will fail if you aren’t organized.