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A Researcher’s Tips on Research
A Researcher’s Tips on Research
Emily Stambaugh, Dean of Library Services
Doing research is daunting. “Research” is that giant, seemingly insurmountable activity that we must do to complete many of our classes or, later in our careers, contribute to our disciplines. Doing research is a practice you build over time, like exercising. Once we get into it, it can be fun, but sometimes we can get stuck. We might get help from a colleague, a professor, or a librarian. And the rewards of completion—to see our work sitting on a bookshelf or in a digital repository, and know that people are reading it—can be satisfying for a lifetime.
At Bowman Library, a big part of what we do is to help researchers lower their inhibitions around doing research. We help people get through the affective barriers of research (“it’s too hard!”) as well as the practical barriers of access to information. Getting through those issues and getting into a mindset of curiosity, exploration, and inquiry can take some assistance. Fortunately, our Bowman Librarians are great at it! Often it takes a few additional conversations and many resources, tools, and techniques beyond the classroom to get a researcher on track and productive.
The “reference interview,” for example, is a structured set of questions that the librarian asks to help the researcher along their way. The questions are not unlike those a doctor asks a patient to quickly assess, diagnose, and prescribe a next step. While it takes a good bit of training to master the reference interview, and even more to support an intensive research consultation, the result is often satisfying and eye-opening for all involved!
In my short months here at Bowman Library, I have heard students regularly comment on Bowman Library as a “chill place.” It is a place where group or individual study occurs, where people meet up, and where destress activities are readily available. Every space in Bowman is designed and maintained to support a particular type of interaction, with information and among people, to advance to the next step.
I invite you to read about your fellow Oaks’ experiences as researchers and visit Bowman Library, for inspiration, discovery, a word of encouragement and an inviting cup of tea! Stop by and tell us about your next research project.
Dean Stambaugh offers some tips to researchers.
Learn what you need to develop writing or research as a habit Quiet or the din of a cafe? Morning or night? Journaling? 1,000 words per day? Writing club? Co-authors interested in the same subject? Conferences? I like to read biographies or autobiographies of famous writers to learn about their writing habits, and the state of mind they need to get into to be creative. I look for photographs of their writing spaces. I try them out and see if it works for me. Lately, I’ve been drawn to Sue Monk Kidd and other southern women writers. For research inspiration, I find there is nothing more motivating than going to a good professional conference or an invitational meeting on a specific problem in my field.
Find a partner to keep you motivated. This can take many shapes and forms. Athletes need trainers, coaches, teams, and conferences to perfect their craft; writers and researchers need tutors, coaches, and peer authors. Throughout your career you may need various mentors, co-authors, tutors, study-buddies, a writing club, or a professional conference. Try things on for size and see what works.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Hometown(s)?
I grew up in Encinitas, then a sleepy one-stoplight beach town in southern California, now part of the bustling urban sprawl south of Los Angeles. Other places I have called home include Mexico City, Mexico; Barcelona, Spain; Durham and Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and Redlands, California.
Your Work Space:
Right now, I am creating a marvelous she-shed in my backyard which will become my haven, home office and exercise retreat. With additional decks, rain chains, heaters and cushy seating, it will become my group gathering space to host progressive groups.
Favorite Menlo Story:
On one of my first days at Menlo College, I was reminded of the value of women role models. A student asked me how she should address me, and in a few split seconds, we navigated from my initial, casual California response, “Oh, just call me Emily” to a different place, “Dean Stambaugh.” Though I am generally not one for honorifics, if adopting one holds a symbolic space for many women on campus, I am very happy to oblige!
