# Understanding Your Assignment Before you visit the library, you should always make sure you understand what you're being asked to do and what constraints, if any, have been placed on your assignment. If you have been asked to review the literature on post-traumatic stress disorder, for example, do you understand how far back you should go? If you have been asked to write a paper about American policy in Vietnam, do you know what policies are fair game? Or is the choice of policies up to you? Has your professor offered any guidance in narrowing your topic? If you are researching a genetic disorder, are there any guidelines for what it is you should be seeking to learn about the disorder beyond what it is and how it presents itself? Even when you understand the basic expectations of your assignment, you should be prepared for the fact that you won't necessarily know exactly what you're looking for—and that you shouldn't know what you want to find before you start looking. Research is an iterative process—the more you learn about what's available and what's been written already, the clearer your own project becomes, which in turn means you need to go back to the library to further narrow and continue your search. Before you take the first plunge into your research, it will be helpful to ask the following questions: Open all sections Close all sections ### How wide a net should I cast, given the scope of my assignment? expand\_more Because it's so easy to locate sources electronically, you may feel overwhelmed when you type "Marfan Syndrome" into Google Scholar and get more than 30,000 hits, or when you type "Ukrainian election" into a search engine and end up with 197 hits. If you are writing a ten-page paper and are only expected to consult a couple of sources, you may want to talk to a librarian about what makes sense before you try to sift through the many sources available. On the other hand, if your topic turns up only a few hits, you may need to cast a wider net to make sure that you find the sources that are most relevant to your project. ### What is required? What is optional? expand\_more Some professors will tell you how many outside sources to consult. When this is the case, try to think of this as a guideline for how much work seems reasonable rather than as a quota you must meet. If you think of the number of sources as a quota, you'll be less likely to look for sources that help you build your own argument and more likely to simply check off a number. If you choose the first three sources you find, you risk ending up with a paper that strings together unrelated ideas, rather than one that truly integrates the most important ideas to make a compelling argument. Sometimes requirements laid out in an assignment will help you shape your paper. For example, an assignment might tell you to "look for an argument to critique" or to "use at least one source that puts forth a counterargument." If your assignment doesn't offer possible approaches, you can come up with your own. Consult the section of this guide on [integrating sources effectively](/integrating-sources) for some ideas on what sources can do in your paper that might, in turn, help you think about what types of sources to look for. ### How will my use of sources help me meet the terms of the assignments? expand\_more If you have a sense of [why you're using sources](/why-use-sources) to write a particular paper, you will be able to begin the process of locating them efficiently. If you are doing a literature review and your goal is to analyze past research on a particular topic, then your use of sources is fairly straightforward and you know what you're looking for. If your assignment is to come up with your own question based on course readings and then find your own sources to answer that question, your task may be less clear cut. Here are some questions to ask yourself as you prepare to locate your sources: - Am I surveying the literature on a particular topic? - Am I looking for sources in order to figure out what the main ideas are about a particular topic so that I can come up with a question to ask? - Am I looking for sources to help me develop my thesis and argument? As you begin your research process, keep in mind that it's important to avoid looking only for sources that back up a position you've already decided to argue. Rather, you should see what ideas are out there and then decide how those ideas affect your thinking on a topic. It may be that someone disagrees with your interpretation, but rather than weakening your argument, this source may well prompt you to strengthen your position. On the other hand, if you find that every source seems to validate your position, it's worth asking yourself if your thesis is, in fact, arguable. ### How will I know when I'm done with my research? expand\_more Writing a research paper is rarely a linear process. In many cases you won't be able to narrow your focus to a research question until you begin reading about your chosen topic. Once you formulate your question, you'll need to go back to the library resources you've identified and look for the sources that are most useful to you as you answer your question. As you read those sources, you'll likely refine your thesis and consult even more sources as your paper takes shape. This doesn't mean that you'll never be finished with your paper, however. Remember that you need to decide what's reasonable for the scope of your assignment, and that your goal is to answer your research question, not to report on every source that has ever been produced on your topic. If you're having trouble knowing when to stop reading, consult your instructor. Library research can be overwhelming, especially given the many resources available at Harvard. You might find it helpful to remember that most research assignments are designed to provide you with an opportunity to learn something about a topic related to your course material that interests you. With that in mind, use the resources available to you—the librarians, the peer tutors, and the many databases available through the Harvard libraries—and don't be afraid to ask for help.