Friday, February 17, 2023

TABLES OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

By Christine Liu-Perkins


I love research--diving in, searching wide and deep, digging up as much treasure as I can find.

But then comes the puzzle of how to shape all that wonderful material into a proposal, book, or article. How do I arrange my notes to facilitate my writing?

While I’m learning about a subject and thinking about what to write, I formulate key questions to focus on. Besides an overall question for the book or article, I develop specific questions for each section or chapter.

These questions arise from what the research says about the topic — what the major issues are, what discoveries have been made, and what puzzles remain to be solved. I also consider what questions readers will be asking and what information they need to understand the topic.

I use these key questions to organize my notes into tables. On the left side, I list the questions. Across the top, I list each source. Then I fill in the cells with what each source says in relation to each question. The cells expand vertically to fit many lines, and my tables become multiple pages long. Usually, I orient the page horizontally. Here’s a sample, without the cells filled in:



Alternatively, if I have more sources than questions, I put sources on the left side and questions across the top.



Besides preparing me to write my first draft, I also find such tables helpful for other purposes. They enable me to:

• Assess if there is enough information to answer a question. Do I need to consult more sources? Ferret out more details?

• Compare and contrast what different sources say. Where do they agree or disagree? How do I make sense of a discrepancy?

• Discover new, unexpected ideas and insights. Combining my notes in this way helps me see connections across sources I didn’t see before.

• Keep track of where I found information for source notes and fact-checking (very important to include page numbers!). They’ve saved me countless times when I know I’ve seen some fact or statement somewhere, but I can’t remember where. They also help when an editor asks a question or requests elaboration.

Give It a Try: Which questions are driving your nonfiction work-in-progress? Create a table listing your questions and sources. Fill in the cells with your notes on what each source says in relation to each question. As you review your table, what do you notice?







Meet the Author: 

Happily, all of Christine’s publications involve lots of research. Her nonfiction book, AT HOME IN HER TOMB: LADY DAI AND THE ANCIENT CHINESE TREASURES OF MAWANGDUI, received starred reviews and appeared on multiple “best books of the year” lists. She has also written articles for Dig Into History and Highlights — about a king buried in a suit of jade armor, the life of an orchestra conductor, visiting her ancestors' graves, and various Chinese history topics. Her forthcoming book, THE QUEST FOR A TANGRAM DRAGON, is scheduled for Spring 2024.








74 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing an excellent format to organize research, Christine.

    Suzy Leopold

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    1. You're welcome, Suzy. I'd be lost without some way of keeping track of my research!

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  2. Definitely going to try it - it looks like a great tool for connecting ideas, as you mention. Also for keeping source notes straight. My problem is I always have SO many questions!

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    1. Sue, questions are great and I've seen that you make good use of them!

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  3. Thanks for sharing your process for organizing your ideas and research. The chart is a wonderful idea and one I definitely want to try!

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    1. Thanksgiving comment was from Michelle, btw!

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    2. You're welcome, Michelle. I hope a chart proves worth your while!

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  4. Karyn Friedman-EverhamFebruary 17, 2023 at 11:23 AM

    Oh my gosh! This is so helpful! Thank you.

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  5. Organizing and documenting sources! Yes! Let the breadcrumbs lead me directly back to my source. The nugget? Expected finds uncovered in the research.

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    1. Joyce, I like the way you think!

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  6. Your organization puts my notes to shame. I will try to do this for my next topic! Thank you.

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    1. Carol, I hope this proves useful for you. We all have to find what works for us, and I still look for new ways!

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  7. Thank you for the good tip for organizing research.

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  8. Yeah, I've been writing on index cards . . . your system is much better.

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    1. Wendy, using a variety of tools is good, including index cards!

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    2. Wendy, it occurred to me late last night that you could take your index cards and arrange them into a table. . . .

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  9. This is such a great idea. So many facts from different places can be held there and helps if you need authentication. Thank you!

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    1. I hope these prove as useful to you, Joan, as they are for me!

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  10. Being a visual learner, this was a game changer for my WIP

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  11. What great ideas. You gave me some more ideas to consider as I research. I especially like the one about considering questions the reader may have. Thanks for sharing your tables and helpful tips.

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    1. You're welcome, Debbie. Thinking about readers' questions really helps me shape my approach. Sometimes I even ask children what they would like to know about the topic I'm working on.

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  12. Thank you, Christine, for sharing your format techniques to keep your research organized. I needed this!

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    1. I'm so glad, Charlotte. I hope this helps move your current project forward!

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  13. Oooh, this is fascinating! Bookmarking this one. Thanks Christine!

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    1. You're welcome, Debra. And I loved learning about your Jenga block approach!

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  14. Alrighty! I'm going to give this a shot. I'm extremely visual, so I'm excited for this, but I'm also a bit overwhelmed at the enormous task to come. LOL Thanks you for the information and idea.

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    1. Kerry, I'm glad you're willing to give this a try. I hope going one cell at a time makes things feel more manageable.

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  15. Thanks for sharing this! Organizing the info around driving questions offers a bit different way to look at a subject. Sometimes I just reorganize, maybe as a procrastination, but having different ways to do that brings different angles into focus and allows wider thinking.

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    1. I agree with you that looking at our research in different ways opens up our thinking!

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  16. This is such a great way to get organised. And I love the overview it gives. I'll definitely be trying this. Thanks for sharing, Christine.

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    1. You're welcome, Sharon, I hope this works well for you!

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  17. What great advice. I’m definitely going to try this.

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    1. Thanks! I hope it helps with your current project.

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  18. What a wonderful idea for being able to compare conflicting information and having it available "at your fingertips" when you or an editor needs it. Thank you so much for this great tool!

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    1. You're most welcome. I hope it proves helpful to you, too!

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  19. I love a good table Christine, thank you for sharing!

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    1. You're welcome, Nicki. It really is nice to put a little order in our research chaos . . . .

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  20. Christine, I appreciate you sharing this charting template. Never have I thought of myself as one who needs a more visual approach to collecting and storing research. But I experienced such an exhale looking at your technique. It’s mine now! Thank you 🙏

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    1. You're welcome, Bonni. I didn't think of this technique as visual, but I see(!) that it is. . . .

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  21. This chart idea is so simple yet brilliant! Thx for sharing! —Deena

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    1. Deena, you're welcome. I hope it proves helpful to you!

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  22. Oh wow! I never thought of organizing like that! Thank you so much for sharing!

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  23. Wow! This is a great way to organize research and questions to go along with information. I am so unorganized with slips of paper and notes on everything, everywhere! If I could get myself in the habit of keeping things in one place, I wouldn't have to search resources over again! Thank you.

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    1. Mona, absolutely, it's so easy to collect information and hard to keep track of it all! I hope this helps a little.

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  24. Thanks for sharing another useful tool to organize research!

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    1. You're welcome, Christena. I hope it works for you as well as it does for me.

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  25. The question I tackle the most is - How do I make sense of a discrepancy? Sources matter.

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    1. Manju, I agree that discrepancies are challenging!

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  26. This sounds really useful. I'm going put it to use right away.

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    1. I hope it proves helpful to you!

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  27. Wonderful ideas. I can always use help with organization. Thanks for the post.

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    1. Rosi, you're welcome. Keeping track of our research treasures can be harder than collecting them . . . .

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  28. Excellent way to organize - this is my first NF attempt, and the volume of data can be marvelously overwhelming!

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    1. Robin, "marvelously overwhelming" -- I like your perspective! Hope this is just the first of many nonfiction projects for you.

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  29. Thanks for sharing your process, Christine, and congratulations on all your publishing success!

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    1. Hey, Mary! Hope there's more successes in store for both of us!

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    2. Hey, Mary! Hope there's more successes to come for both of us!

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  30. New ideas can evolve from good research. And, don't forget to connect the dots! As a newbie, the jumble I've had when text flows through many centuries can be clarified with your tables. Appreciate all you do!

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    1. Carla, sounds like you're off to a good start. I hope that tables help you along your way!

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  31. Natalie, you're welcome. I hope this helps for your current project!

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  32. Melissa, you're welcome. I hope it works well for you!

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  33. This is awesome! Always looking at ways to organize all the data. Thanks.

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    1. Alana, you're welcome. Hope you find this a useful technique to add to your toolbox.

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  34. You're welcome, Melissa. I'm glad to share!

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  35. You're welcome, Lynn. I'd be lost without some way to sift through my research!

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  36. What a great system! Thank you for sharing this - I'm definitely going to give this a try!

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  37. Christine, thanks for sharing! It's fascinating to see how other authors approach research.

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  38. I can't wait to try this with the topic I'm currently researching. I've just been outlining in a spiral notebook, but your table template seems more efficient.

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  39. What a great resource! I am overwhelmed with research notes so this will really help.

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  40. Oh, yes, spreadsheets help so much! I just did this for the back matter of a new PB. So helpful to figure out what's missing, what's settled, and what might have no answer. Thanks for sharing part of your process, Christine!

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