If you haven’t looked it up yet, slapdash is when we don’t want to waste time trying to understand, it’s easier to ask someone else. We blur looking for a mentor with really looking for the Shell Answer Man. In the end we really care less about the future and more about the present; We want the fish, versus learning how too fish. Too often we never really understand anything, we only remember the person who gave us the fish. Research is hard; it means we have to come up with the right questions. We want answers versus understanding.
“Sometimes questions are more important than answers” ~ Nancy Willard
Here’s ten (10) research tips Danielle Thomson shared to help UNDERSTAND Anything!
- There are no new questions. If you have a question it has been asked before so type it in.
- Didn’t get your answer – Try working backwards. Type in chunks of the question to get going in the right direction
- If searching for something less specific, channel your inner writer – Use phrases when searching for something with multiple answers (e.g., how many hitters ended their career batting over 300? When looking for a specific player whose lifetime batting average is over 300)
- Nexis is nice, but Google is great
- Google doesn’t have your answers? Google Books might.
- Follow your leads – even if they don’t feel like leads!
- Message boards aren’t just for sports fans and gossip – There are many people with expertise in your subject to put you on the right track
- If it feels creepy, it means you’re close – The more you know that you didn’t know before just means that you are putting the pieces together
- Use multiple sources that appear to offer the same information – Knowledge can be created by extracting a small line from each source and in the end, you completely UNDERSTAND
- Need someone’s email address? You can probably guess it.
Instead of understanding Distance = Rate * Time formula we could take the Slapdash approach seeking help from the Shell Answer Man.
Keep it simple, use Questions to understand and find the answers, Nah, it’s easier to buy a car with Brake Assist. Yeah, that’s the ticket!
“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” ~ Elbert Hubbard
Until next blog, Now how do I make lemonade?
Al McCormick
