A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations, Ninth edition - Kate L. Turabian 2018
Build a storyboard to plan and guide your work
Defining a project: topic, question, problem, working hypothesis
Research and writing
For a short paper, you might not need a detailed plan—a sketch of an outline might do. But for a long project, you’ll usually need more, especially for one as long as a thesis or dissertation. The first plan that comes to mind is usually an outline, with its Is and IIs and As and Bs and so on (see 23.4.2.2). If you prefer an outline, use one, especially if your project is relatively short. The problem is that an outline can force you to specify too much too soon and so lock up a final form before you’ve done your best thinking.
To avoid that risk, many researchers, including those outside the academic world, use a storyboard to plan and guide their work. A storyboard is like an outline spread over several pages, with lots of space for adding data and ideas as you go. But it is more flexible than an outline because storyboard pages can be moved around, allowing you to try out new ways of organizing your ideas. You can spread its pages across a wall, group related pages, and put minor sections below major ones to create a “picture” of your project that shows you at a glance the design of the whole and your progress through it. For this reason, a storyboard is useful at every stage of your project. It can help you plan your research, develop your argument, organize your paper, write a first draft, and test a final one.
Someday you may have the time to amble through sources, reading just what interests you. Such random browsing has opened up many important lines of research. But if your paper is due in a month or so, or even sooner, you need a plan. A storyboard is a simple and reliable device to help you create one.
2.4.1 State Your Question and Working Hypotheses
To start a storyboard, state at the top of its first page your question and working hypothesis as precisely as you can. Then add plausible alternatives and new hypotheses as you think of them, and cross off those you prove wrong. But save them, because you might be able to use one of them in your introduction (see 10.1.1).
2.4.2 State Your Reasons
We say more about the structure of arguments in chapter 5. For now, the commonsense understanding of an argument as a claim supported by reasons and evidence is enough. Put at the top of separate pages each reason that might support your best hypothesis, even if you have only one or two. Imagine explaining your project to a friend. You say, I want to show that Alamo stories helped develop a unique Texan identity, and your friend asks, Why do you think so? Your reasons are the general statements that you offer to support your answer: Well, first, the stories distorted facts to emphasize what became central to Texan identity; second, the stories were first used to show that Texas (and the Wild West) was a new kind of frontier; third, . . . and so on.
If you can’t think of more than one or two reasons, put placeholders at the tops of pages: Reason 3: Something about Alamo stories making Texans feel special. If you know only how you want a reason to support your answer, state that: Reason 4: Something to show that Alamo stories were more than just myth. Each reason, of course, needs support, so for each reason, ask, Why do I think that? What evidence will I need to prove it? That will help you focus your search for evidence (see 2.4.3 and 5.4.2).
If you’re new to your topic or early in your project, your reasons may be only educated guesses that you’ll later change. But a list of reasons, no matter how speculative, can not only guide your research but also focus your thinking and help you anticipate the argument you will eventually make.
2.4.3 Sketch the Kind of Evidence You Should Look For
Every field prefers its own kinds of evidence—numbers, quotations, observations, historical facts, images, and so on. So for each reason, sketch the kind of evidence that you think you’ll need to support it. Even imagine what the most convincing evidence would look like. If you can’t imagine the kind of evidence you’ll need, leave that part of the page blank, then read secondary sources to find out the kind of evidence researchers in your field typically use (see 3.1.2).
2.4.4 Look at the Whole
Lay the pages on a table or tape them on a wall. Then step back and look at their order. When you plan a first draft, you must put its parts in some order, so you might as well think about one now. Can you see a logic in your storyboard? Cause and effect? Narrative time? Relative importance? Complexity? Length? (See 6.2.5 for more principles of order.) Try out different orders. This storyboard isn’t your final plan; it’s only a tool to guide your thinking and organize what you find. When you fill a page, try drafting that section, because writing out your ideas can improve your thinking at every stage of your project.