WRIT 120A & 120D: Hip Hop Culture and the Poetics of Place

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Research Librarian

Email Me

Contact:

Rolvaag 303

507.786.3793

Subjects: American Studies, Business and Management Studies, Classics, French, German, Greek, History, Latin, Linguistic Studies, Middle East Studies, Norwegian, Philosophy, Religion, Russian, Spanish

If You Need Assistance

Welcome to the online research guide for Writing 120

Hello! My name is Ken Johnson and I am the librarian working with your First Year Writing course this spring.

What is a Research/Instruction Librarian (my job description)?
Research/Instruction Librarians visit your class to teach you about the resources available to you in the St. Olaf Libraries and beyond, and teach you how to go about doing research. We also assist you once you are working on your projects and can help you find materials, help you brainstorm your topic, and help you with citations. Our primary goal is to help you succeed!

You can use the "Request research consultation" link in my profile on the left side of this page. Just pick a date and time you can meet with me and fill out the form. You will be able to see if it is a day that I will be on campus in which case you can meet with me in person if you wish. Otherwise, if I am working from home or if you prefer meeting virtually, you will get a calendar invitation with a Google Meet link in it. The form allows you to upload any work that you would like me to see before our appointment.

The Research Process

Research is fun! It's also hard work, and messy, and full of ideas that might not fit together the first time you try. Here are some things to keep in mind:

Most research and writing projects look like disasters at some point. If this happens to you, congratulations! You are a perfectly normal researcher!
Give yourself time for each step of the project. When questions or uncertainties come up, you'll have the time and the mental bandwidth to deal with them.
As you investigate your topic, you may come up with new ideas and return to thoughts you had two weeks ago. It is normal for your project to change, develop, and backtrack as you focus on the specific thing you want to say.
You may have a hard time finding materials that support your first idea. It may be that you are asking questions in a way that isn't yielding results. Whether it's developing new search terms, or reframing your research question so it uses the information you have already found, I can help you with that!