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Does your mind wander while you\u2019re reading? All the books to read for that pesky literature review and you just can\u2019t focus \u2026<\/p>\n
Sometimes the havering mind is \u201cthe worries\u201d. Worries about how much reading there is and how hard some of it is. This is a moment when you need to soothe and reassure yourself. You have to tell yourself that it will all be OK, you just have to persevere, you have it on good authority that everybody feels like this and it\u2019s not just you. You can also set up reading schedules if you\u2019re so inclined, and daily reading targets if they work for you and help you feel better about getting through the stuff.<\/p>\n
But sometimes those vacillating procrastinating thoughts are very useful. \u00a0You\u2019re reading, or trying to, and one of three thoughts just pops into your mind. Unsolicited. You\u2019re reading long and \u2013 woah \u2013 here is this thought.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t dismiss any of these three thoughts \u2013 it\u2019s good to listen to them \u2013 they are telling you something helpful. In fact, you may even have a light bulb moment. That idle thought is actually something important.<\/p>\n
So what are these three things?<\/p>\n
Well number one \u2013<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve read this name before.<\/strong><\/p>\n This is a really helpful response. It usually tells you that you have come across one of the people and texts that is important in the field. This is someone whose work most people refer to, their contribution is something that other people build on and\/or interrogate and speak back to. This is a key figure in the field.<\/p>\n When you see this name repeated it\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0helpful to note it. Then go and find the text and read it for yourself \u2013 either in the original or in translation. If it does turn out to be important you won\u2019t want to be citing it as a secondary source \u2013 a in b \u2013 but as a text that you have read and interpreted for yourself.<\/p>\n And number two \u2013<\/p>\n I\u2019ve read a lot of different opinions about this<\/strong><\/p>\n This is a another really helpful response. It usually tells you that you have come across one of the key debates in the field. Something that isn\u2019t settled, but something important.<\/p>\n It\u2019s helpful to try pause when the deja vu thought interrupts. It\u2019s time to analyse the nature of the differences in the readings. Are they methodological? Theoretical? Definitional? It\u2019s very helpful to understand the\u00a0key debates in a field, as you may well have to position yourself in relation to them.\u00a0This is where I stand in relation to this debate. This is how I understand x and why. I stand with this lot of scholars over here. I start from the position that x is\u2026\u00a0My work is like a, b, c and in that I too understand x to be\u2026 My contribution speaks to the debate about x in the following ways\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n And number three \u2013<\/p>\n I\u2019ve read something a lot like this before.<\/strong><\/p>\n This is a really helpful response. It tells you that you are reading something that belongs with other papers. It has a strong family resemblance \u2013 it\u2019s probably arguing much the same thing as other papers you\u2019ve read. So this means that you have identified a theme in the literatures. More importantly, it may well signal that you don\u2019t need to read any more like this, as you know the general shape of the argument that is offered in this body of work.<\/p>\n Hallelujah. You\u2019ve probably reached what is called saturation point \u2013 any more reading in this theme isn\u2019t going to tell you much more.\u00a0And once you know you\u2019re at saturation point, you can usually check whether new papers fit within this theme when you read the abstract. If you get that \u201cI\u2019ve read this before\u201d thought, then you know that you can put this one aside as it won\u2019t add to your understanding of the field.<\/p>\n So, if you find yourself reading along and any of these three thoughts pop into your mind, stop for just a minute and think about what you might have just worked out.<\/p>\n Clever you. And you weren\u2019t even trying.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"