Research Time! Your goal is to find a “researchable question”, a go-to question that you want to explore. This is not something you can simply Google the answer to. It’s interesting and debatable. Coming up with this question is also one of the trickiest steps in any kind of research. So, where do you start?
Narrowing your topic
Let’s assume you have a general idea of what you want to find out about. For example, we’ll start with:
the Civil Rights Movement
How do you narrow it down to something that won’t require a 600 page dissertation? (Actually, this topic fills a whole section of the library). You’ll need some background information, or what some refer to as working knowledge. Think of having “working knowledge” as being able to talk about your topic for a full minute without repeating yourself.
A good place to turn for working knowledge is a published overview of the topic. Don’t turn to a general web search until you know exactly what you’re looking for. Its also very easy to find published overviews through the library website. A good starting point is US History in Context, which has an overview of the Civil Rights Movement.
Next: read the article! And look for areas to narrow your focus. Is there a particular year you want to look at? Particular figures or groups? Let’s use Martin Luther King as an example:
Civil Rights Movement: Martin Luther King
Continue building your working knowledge by reading a biographical overview in Biographies in Context, a collection of published articles. The entry for Martin Luther King in the Encyclopedia of World Biography. The article is organized into significant aspects of King’s life, including his assassination.
Let’s focus on that:
Civil Rights Movement: Martin Luther King: Assassination
Researchable Questions
Now that we’ve narrowed it down to a manageable topic, read some other articles (for example in the Gale Virtual Reference Library) to gain multiple perspectives of King’s assassination. Keep an eye out for unknowns, controversies, and debates over the truth, meaning, or interpretation of the event or events at which you are looking. Along the way, think about what “researchable” questions are out there.
A researchable question is one that has no simple answer. It’s not a “yes“ or “no” question. The answer should depend on your interpretation of your reading based on evidence. Someone else might come up with an alternative interpretation. It’s a debatable question.
One piece of evidence might come from a primary source. I learned from the article in the Encyclopedia of World Biography that “In Memphis on April 3, King addressed a rally; speaking of threats on his life, he urged followers to continue the nonviolent struggle no matter what happened to him.” However, I also learned from an LA Times article following his assassination riots in hundreds of cities broke out.
This reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend about a book that was published recently about James Brown called The Hardest Working Man: How James Brown Saved the Soul of America . He was performing in Boston on the night after the King assassination and urged the crowd to be calm. The point of the book was that James Brown saved Boston from rioting after the assassination.
Check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ2PEJGeNHw
So the question is: Did the influence of James Brown prevent Boston from rioting following the Martin Luther King assassination?
Is it a researchable question? I think so. I need to understand the nature of the riots in other cities. How much influence did King have over his followers? Who else urged people to riot, and who urged against it? Was the push for civil rights advanced or deterred by violent protest in this case?