SOC 380: Who Cares? : Creating a Research Map

A research map is a document that you create at the start of a research project. Its goal is to help you conduct effective searches by identifying the appropriate search tools and constructing effective search queries.

In a research map you identify the voices that are pertinent to your field of inquiry.  In the process of identifying the voices/perspectives, you are also identifying the type of sources you might want to interact with, and start developing your research lexicon (search terms)  

1. Work by hand (no keyboard).  Either use pen and paper, or draw on a tablet.  This is important as we are trying to think of our topic creatively 
2. In the center of your page, write the search keywords you are starting with 
3. Around your keywords: identify the voices (perspectives, agents) that are a stake in your topic and list the type of sources they would be generating 
4. To the side, create a list of the academic perspective you wish to engage with 
5. As you identify voices, and sources continue to add new keywords to your keyword list and keep track of the academic disciplines you want to engage with