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First Year Seminars: Start Researching

Invention & Exploration

Decorative Music Library

Research inquiry is like an exploration -- it helps us learn, understand, and contribute to our worlds. To begin your critical inquiry, you will identify an issue, a topic, and  a set of questions about which you are curious.

Develop a Search Strategy

Decorative Chess PieceInquiry begins with your questions and curiosity. Because the experience often includes unexpected twists and turns-- try to remain open and persistent. But where do you begin? How will you search? Develop a strategy and plan.

Working with Sources

Decorative FormatsInquiry is an integrated mixture of searching, reading, writing and starting again! It is iterative and recursive. Often, as researchers, we begin by finding the conversations on our topic (searching), listening in on the conversation (reading and note taking), and finally we add our own voice to the mix (writing or composing).