Once we’ve established our research question and located our sources, it’s time to begin reading for research.

Elsewhere in this course, we’ve looked at various kinds of reading: active, critical reading when you’re trying to get the most out of academic texts; careful analysis of primary sources or literary texts; bouncing around and following connections when you’re doing preliminary research or background reading. Here, we’ll be looking at another kind of reading: reading for research.

When reading for research, we’re always looking at texts through one specific lens: what does this have to do with my argument?

Thus, before evaluating information in a source, you must understand the direction in which your essay will go. Create an outline with main points highlighted; once the main points and arguments are stated, go through the sources to find information to support the main points.

Since we’re interested in specific aspects of the source (how it relates to our research needs), it’s important to read efficiently and intentionally.

Scanning for Information

Looking for specific information in a source can more accurately be called scanning. Unlike skimming, which tries to get a rough overview of the content of a given text, scanning involves looking for specific pieces of information within a text. When reading for research, it’s usually a good idea to use a combination of skimming and scanning, so that you have a context for the information you find as you scan the text.

Here are a few techniques that can help you scan texts more efficiently and effectively:

• If the source is longer, such as a book, you want to avoid having to read it in its entirety. A table of contents can help you direct your search to the most appropriate chapters or sections.
• Shorter sources may not have a table of contents, but they will probably have section headings. Even short articles typically have the information divided into smaller, manageable sections that help with the direction and flow of the source. Using these headings can point you towards the information you need.
• Electronic texts such as webpages, PDFs, and ebooks usually allow you to search for terms within the text. On most computers, hitting “Command + F” will enable the search function. This function is helpful in that you can find certain words easily within the source. While this can be time-saving, it also comes with the risk of not finding all information (as other words can be used) and just reading the area of a source where this information is given may create a limited understanding of what the source’s point may actually be.
  

  In this case, we’re interested in the Zeigarnik Effect, so we’ve searched this PDF for “Zeigarnik.”

• The index at the end of many books can help you find relevant information quickly.
• If you’re looking for a specific term or name and it’s not listed in the index (or if there is no index), you can often find a searchable version of the book on Google books (books.google.com). For instance, let’s imagine we want to search a biography of the psychiatrist and political philosopher Frantz Fanon for mentions of Sigmund Freud. We can click the “Search Inside” button, then enter our search term (“Freud”) into the search bar.
  

  If a book is searchable, you can click the “Search Inside” button.

  

  By searching a word or phrase (in this case “Freud”), we can see the mentions of that word in the book.

  If you can find a searchable version of a book, this kind of keyword searching can be very effective. When it comes to citation, however, watch out for alternate editions!  If you’ve read one edition of a book and google searched another, you might find that the page numbers don’t match up.

Whichever strategies you use to scan a text for information, make sure to read enough of the surrounding material to understand the context of any information you’ll be presenting in your work.

What if I Can’t Find What I’m Looking for?

What happens if you use these strategies and cannot find information that pertains to your topic or stance? Sometimes, despite the effort, finding research to support a stance or argument can be difficult. There are instances where the subject is just not researched enough or is fairly new and has no significant research available. However, if the topic is not new and should have published research, then the issue may be the topic itself.

If these strategies do not yield appropriate results, review the topic, and ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is the topic broad enough? Does the topic allow for several points to be made, or is the thesis so narrow that it could be the entire scope of the essay?
2. On the opposite side, is the topic narrow enough? If a topic is too vague and general, it can be difficult to find sources that zero in on your research question.