Others have been discussing your topic long before you decided to write this research paper. Now it’s time to think about how you are going to join that conversation. Your voice is the most important voice in your paper!
The final column of your Research Matrix can help you connect your own thoughts to your main ideas and sources.
How should you join a conversation already in progress?
Well...joining a scholarly conversation is kind of like showing up late to a party.
You show up late for a party and you are all by yourself. Groups are scattered around the room chatting.
You think you overhear a group next to you discussing the book Fun Home. What do you do?
Run up to the group and barge into the conversation before actually listening to what the group is saying? No way! The group would find it annoying and may not take your opinions seriously.
Instead, you very bravely walk up to the group and listen. After listening to the conversation, you see a connection to your own interpretation of the book. You then join the conversation with your own thoughts, allowing others the opportunity to respond and maybe provide you with new ways of thinking about the book.
After a while, you leave the group with the conversation still in progress knowing that your thoughts and commentary helped that conversation evolve.
Now that you have read through the research and have a good idea of the conversations surrounding your topic, it’s time to join in. Let’s stop and reflect on your own thoughts and analysis.
Read back through each main idea and what the sources had to say. Spend several minutes reflecting on your own thoughts and opinions. Don’t just barge into the conversation. Stop and think about how you can connect to what is already being said.
What surprised me?
Do I have any strong emotions or opinions on this main idea?
How have my thoughts or opinions been affirmed or challenged?
Do I have personal experience that agrees or disagrees with what I read?
What seems like the most authoritative information? Why?
Are any sources ignoring important perspectives?
Source 1 |
"Gay, lesbian and bisexual students were nearly four times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual students." (para. 9) Gay and lesbian teens in Utah were more than twice as likely as their heterosexual classmates to say they felt sad or hopeless every day for two weeks or more. (para 12) |
Source 2 |
Trans awareness week events provided “a safe space for all individuals, no matter their gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation". (para 4) “In Northern Utah, it can be difficult to come to terms with our identity and accept ourselves for who we are,” he said. “Events like this provide a safe space for all individuals and to promote an inclusive university climate.” (para 5) |
My Thoughts |
Out of consideration for my audience, I should include contact information for National Suicide Hotline (1-800-273-8255) and National Crisis Text Line (Text HOME to 741741) in my essay |
Source 1 |
For LGBTQ+ college students of color, messages communicating exclusion along with racist beliefs and practices signal that students of color do not belong at predominantly white institutions. (1132) White students experience fewer racial microaggressions than students of color due to pervasive white privilege (1136) |
Source 2 |
Latinx LGBTQ+ students experienced invisibility at the intersection of culture and sexual orientation while having to navigate mainstream American culture with friends, Latino American culture with family, and for some participants, Latin cultures abroad. (462) "Cultural values and multiple group memberships interact to produce unique experiences of sexual identity navigation and disclosure among queer, Latino college men.” (464). |
My Thoughts |
LGBTQ+ students of color face unique challenges at predominantly white institutions, including exclusion, racial microaggressions, and navigating multiple cultural identities. |