Most of my experience with great research comes from my time studying English. Literary research is extremely different from the research that I have been introduced to at the iSchool. It is typically a combination of a close reading of a text combined with literary theories and previous conversations about the work. While I admire these researchers and their analyses of great literary works, it is the authors of the primary texts that I truly admire. I would argue that all great authors are researchers. In order to write a novel, one must have a comprehensive understanding of the historical period, geographical setting, or even immerse themselves in a type of ethnographic research to get ideas for the characters.
One writer that I truly admire is Ernest Hemmingway. I have always enjoyed reading his novels because the prose is clear and concise, yet it still conveys a lot of emotion. His descriptions of events are short and logical, and he often structures sentences in list form. I recently read A Moveable Feast, a memoir of Hemmingway’s time in Paris in the 1920’s. In his memoir, Hemmingway’s life was his research: he was able to turn his own experiences into a snapshot of an extremely important time in literary history. His book gives modern day readers a glimpse into some of our favorite writers: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, ad Ezra Pound. The difference with literature and research however, is the license of the writer to change elements of reality to create a more interesting story. Are these real portrayals of these people, or are they exaggerations based on Hemmingway’s opinions? Because of these artistic liberties, Hemmingway’s research probably has all sorts of ethical issues, but it does make for an interesting read.
1240researchmethods 
Hi Jeanette. I just wanted to focus in on one claim you make – that great authors are also great researchers. I completely agree! I remember reading a series of books where all the main and secondary characters (4-8 people) had professional careers. I remember thinking wow, this author knows so much about each one, yet her career wasn’t any of those! A lot of research definitely goes into that because by the way she wrote about their thoughts and daily lives, you’d think she had personal experience with all of these because she described them so vividly and well. Writing and research really do go hand in hand.
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