Blog #3 - "Exploring Topics and Creating a Research Proposal"

One of the first points that stood out to me when reading "Exploring Topics and Creating a Research Proposal" was that the “best topic ideas will come to you when you are pushing for them.” The writer encourages us to write down our general thoughts, then double or triple to that list. This is a technique I have never done before, as I have always just gone with the first thoughts that pop unto my head. This is something that I will definitely try. I also liked the author’s mind map, which I have used in the past and will continue to use. The author brought up a very good point of addressing opposing views to your topic, but to not waste time going over the outrageous views.

In general, I appreciated how the author gave several examples using the techniques given throughout the chapter, such as Sharon’s and Jasmine’s research. I saw all of their steps and the steps that it takes to write out a (research) paper and gave me a better idea of how to go about research. The pictures also helped me better understand the research process. Words can be very overwhelming sometimes, and the visual aids helped break down all of the words while touching upon a different part of our brain. The breakdown of the chapter also helped with being overwhelmed. The three different steps to writing a research proposal being broken down into different subsections themselves made it easier to see the writing process. I bookmarked the checklists on pages 291 and 301 and will be using these to help aid any upcoming research projects. Chapter 5 really helped me gain a better idea of the whole “research thing” and I will refer back to it in the future.