Research As Exploration
Image by NASA
Research is an exploratory process that helps us focus our interests, answer questions, and increase our understanding of a given topic. Let yourself be taken and surprised by what you are finding and learning, and allow research to shape the focus of your speech.
You will most likely begin your research with a general idea of what interests you. Then, you will start exploratory research - talk with people, access various sources, and see what other sources your sources reference. You will take notes, jot down questions, and reflect on what it means to you that you’re asking these questions or that you don’t know the answers. As you gather multiple perspectives on the topic or idea that interests you, you will refine or even change the focus of your speech. Embrace this as a part of the process and remember to start your research early to allow yourself enough time to explore, learn, and have fun along the way.
Make sure you select a topic that is not too narrow and not too broad, considering the requirements of your speech assignment and your own interests. Selecting your topic is an important part of the research process (not something that comes before you begin researching). When you think of topic selection and research as exploration, you are preparing for a confident, credible, and knowledgeable delivery of a speech that both YOU and YOUR audience will enjoy.
Picking Your Topic is Research
Video by North Carolina State University Libraries. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States license.