Researching and Gathering Information

Even the best articles require more than just library work. Why research? It broadens understanding; helps crystallize thinking; lends authority to what is written; corrects or confirms suspicions and assumptions; helps understanding of reader's potential objections/differences of opinions; sparks new ideas or fresh angles for future projects.

Types of Research
Firsthand Research-information obtained directly from people, places, original documents
Memory Research-subconscious memories; journals; reminisces; brainstorming
Printed Page/Electronic Research-books, magazines, libraries, museums, internet; second-hand bookstores; book sales; thrift stores; garage sales.

How much research?
Consider the size, purpose, audience and deadline of the project. Make a list of questions--factual questions (to reveal the facts), motivational questions (what or why a person is doing something, etc.), application questions (How can all this research change the lives of the reader? guidelines for life?). Research to capture the mood, culture or circumstances. Stop researching in time to write.

Gather information that will help you become excited about your subject. Do this by:

• Open your eyes and look for telling details in the people, events or whatever you are investigating.
• Interview people or solicit answers to a home-made or professional questionnaire.
• Ransack your experience for relevant memories.
• Go to the library and find out what other people have had to say about something that interests you.

The Library
The library is the first stop in research--it's time efficient. If it's been covered extensively you'll find out in the library. You must decide if enough has been said about the topic or if you have a new angle on the topic.

• Start with the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature.
• Check for books on the topic.
• Clips and books can lead to live interview sources.
• Look for associations for a product in the Encyclopedia of Associations.
• United States Geological survey, NASA, branches of the Military.

Experts
An initial lack of expertise should not deter any writer from taking on a topic of interest. A writer doesn't have to be an expert. Instead he consults experts.

• Be up-front about who you are and what you want to do--write an article on this subject.
• Read a few books or articles to get you familiar with the subject.
• Don't be ashamed to ask the expert to explain it in simpler terms.
• You may not even use half of the information you collect.
• Go the extra mile; if you are writing about operating rooms, get in one; if you are writing about wine, taste it.
• Write about what you WANT to know.
• The expert is highly regarded. Doctors, professors, and administrators are quoted as high authorities.
• Experts are people with formal credentials (not personal experience).
• If your subject is mundane, it may require more experts in your research.
• Use attribution or identifying clauses such as "The famous anthropologist, Margaret Mead..." because younger readers may not have heard of her.
• Have the right number of experts. Too many will make the article looked cluttered like a laundry list of quotes. Too few will make your article look biased. Have one expert for every 500 words.
• Anecdotes from experts give the story a human-interest angle; ask the expert for personal experience stories in the field or if they know someone who has had an interesting experience in the field.

Credibility/Authority
If a significant amount of time has passed between your original research and the time your piece goes to press, check your most important (and most changeable) information just before your deadline for making final corrections. This is especially important with books, where the time between completion of a manuscript and publication can be a year or more.

Never be afraid to ask anyone, no matter how busy or famous, for information. The worst they will say is no, and many will be willing to to help. Often the people on their staffs will be happy to get you what you need.

To have credibility, your article must include information from sources that everyone would regard as authorities on the subject. If the source is a person, be sure to state his or her credentials (president of an organization, leading researcher in the field, and so on). The 'man on the street' approach may be useful for providing examples, but the article must include information from a source that has an overall picture of the subject. If the source is a document, be sure that it contains the most current information available.

Notetaking

• Use the phone whenever you can. Call the research librarian at the library. They will be happy to help.
• Use a method of notetaking that best fits the situation you are in. Use note cards, notebooks, a laptop, colored pencils, whatever is best for that project. Reinvent taking notes with each story or article.
• Don't take too many notes (Don't photocopy a bunch of stuff from books. Write or type it down so it will go in your head)
• Don't take too few notes (Always take more than what you think you'll need; It may come in handy later; if nothing else it will give you the "flavor" of your subject as you write the article)
• Take notes on your notes (note your sources on the left hand side of your notes; this avoids plagiarism; Alex Haley found himself in a lawsuit over copyright; He said he had so many notes, he didn't know what was himself and what was research.
• Take notes on uniformly sized cards or paper.
• Limit yourself to one subject per note card or page.
• ALWAYS record complete bibliographic information.
• Research a book by studying the table of contents, skimming the promising chapter t get an overview and determine if the information if is what you want, and going back and recording details.
• Always make your notes complete and clear.
• Paraphrase some things.
• Develop your own version of shorthand.
• Focus on the subject at hand; if new ideas pop up while researching, jot them down, set them aside and get back to the real research.

Fact Checking

• Never make assumptions--even likely or highly likely ones. Check out every fact you intend to present as a face, or else qualify it ("It seems likely that," etc.)
• Cross check your most important or significant information. Even "reliable" and often-relied-upon sources are sometimes wrong.
• If you encounter contradictory information in two different sources, you might need to go back to their sources to resolve the contradiction. Don't hesitate to do this when necessary--your credibility may depend on it.
• When possible , go directly to the original source, or as close to it as possible. In the long run, this often saves you time and legwork, and it's most likely to yield accurate information.
• Let one source lead you to another. Check and note bibliographies. When you speak to someone, your last question should be, " Do you know of any other person or resource that might be helpful?" When checking or compiling a list, ask each person or organization you contact to suggest additions to the list.

Interviews

Who do I pick for an interview? Consider the following:

• Level of expertise
• What do they have to offer
• How articulate or 'colorful' they are
• Whether they might add something special
• Availability/accessibility

Beware of these kinds of questions:

• overly vague
• yes/no
• too long or too complex

• Make yourself knowledgeable.
• Select a location free from distraction.
• Make a list of potential questions.
• Equip yourself with everything you need: several pens, pencils; pads of paper w/ plenty of blank pages; portable tape recorder with fresh batteries and back up batteries; several blank tapes; background material; briefcase or whatever to transport everything
• Dress appropriately for the interview.
• Double check to make sure you have everything before the interview.
• Write one question on top of blank page in notebook; go to next page do the same. Have several questions ready before the interview, but be willing to chase interesting topics when they come up during the interview. Use these preliminary questions to fall back on if the conversations slows down.

• Introduce yourself politely.
• Give them your business card.
• Get comfortable, ask interviewee to do the same.
• Need water?
• Check acoustics, turn off fans, close doors.
• Set up tape recorder and microphone.
• Five second mock conversation to test tape recorder.
• See if your interviewee has any preliminary questions.
• Agree on approximate length of time for interview.
• Direct interview at first, as it progresses take cues from the interviewee's responses. Alter the order of your questions and add new questions as appropriate.
• Ask for clarification, explanations or details whenever you are unsure about something he said.
• Inform the interviewee when there are only a few minutes left.
• At the conclusion of the interview, thank the interviewee. Let the interviewee know if you plan to send a transcript and when.
• For the last question ask "Is there anything final thought about this subject?" a summary statement for ending of article or could open up to further detail on what the interviewee REALLY wants to say.
• Try to use both notetaking and taperecording.
• Don't be afraid of the silence right after asking a question. Let them think for a moment. Don't start babbling if they don't start answering the second after you finish asking a question.
• Help the interviewee relax by starting off with small talk. Conversation pieces in the environment (office), etc. Sometimes a person may see small talk as a waste of time. Be aware if he or she wants to get down to business.

After an Interview

• Send thank you note to the interviewee.
• call the subject to check on details, but don't make a nuisance of yourself.
• Respect confidences shared.
• Notify subject of publication date.
• Send interviewee copy of the article.

• Consider the interview a performance (if it helps)
• Engage in preliminary discussion, establish the purpose of the interview.
• Listen
• Use eye contact
• Be humble, make the interviewee feel more important than you