Joining the Conversation

Identifying your own needs and asking for support is a big part of making your graduate experience one where you can thrive. "Imposter syndrome" is familiar to many in graduate school. It's that feeling that you aren't smart enough or that you might not have what it takes to succeed. If you are feeling this, you are not alone! There are people and resources available to help you navigate this feeling and your academic journey. Remember to ask questions of librarians, your professors, peers, and advisors.

A professor and student imagine a drawing together

Below are other ways to confidently become part of the scholarly conversation and making your graduate research thrive.

Communicating with Faculty

Connecting with faculty can help you understand course material better and expand your learning in a variety of ways. Faculty can also point you towards research and other opportunities that create a gateway to your learning and career. 

Approaching faculty can be intimidating, though, and many students are unsure of what to say and how to say it. Don’t let intimidation hold you back! Use the suggestions below to help ensure smooth and direct communication with your professors.

  • Reflect on your goals. Before you meet with them, reflect on what you would like to ask or talk about. Write down what you understand and do not understand about the topic or reading. Then you’ll be prepared to explain your question(s) clearly. 
  • Practice your personal elevator speech. You may want to meet with your professor to learn more about their work or establish a mentor-mentee relationship. Before you meet with your professor, prepare by writing down what you would like your professor to know about you.
  • Do some basic research into the faculty member's background. It's usually good practice to come to meetings with faculty with at least a basic understanding of their work, research, and professional interests. Browse their CV online, and write down questions you have about the professor's research, academic interests, professional development, teaching experience, or anything else you would like to know. Feel free to use this information to ask for advice; most faculty members are happy to offer it, especially to students who show interest in their fields. 

Literature Reviews

A literature review is a scholarly text or overview, which includes the current knowledge, including substantive findings, as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to a particular topic. The purpose of a literature review is to establish a theoretical framework for your topic, define key terms, definitions, and terminology, and to establish your research topic.

Chart with four quadrants representing different types of literature reviews.

Note that different disciplines have different relationships to literature review, and that it may be more common as an exercise in some fields than others. In some disciplines the terms bibliographical essay, review essay, or historiography may be used. Additionally, while some literature reviews are standalone publications, graduate students are far more likely to be asked to do literature reviews as a sub-component of an article, dissertation, or thesis.

Standalone Literature Reviews

Sub-Component Literature Reviews

Conducting a formal or informal literature review can be a way to jump into the scholarly conversation that is happening in your area of study. Additionally, you can read literature reviews written by other scholars to better understand the research background and context of a particular study.

Below are some additional resources for creating a literature review. For personalized help, be sure to contact your subject librarian or use the AskUs Links to an external site. chat service.

Try This! To discover examples of published review articles, search a library database for the phrase “literature review” or the word “review” in the title. Some databases let you limit a search to the publication type “review.”

 

Annotated Bibliographies

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents. In an annotated bibliography each citation is followed by a descriptive and evaluative paragraph, which is called an annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to examine the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the source cited. 

Visual example of an annotation beneath an academic citation

 

Reference Resources & Encyclopedias

Reference sources provide answers to specific questions, such as brief facts, statistics, and technical instructions; provide background information, or direct you to additional information sources.

Reference sources are designed to be consulted rather than read through, providing a brief overview of a topic. Their design is generally dependent on the type of information and treatment provided. Reference materials can be arranged alphabetically, topically, or chronologically. Many will contain cross-listed information and more than one index. 

The UW Libraries provides access to many online reference materials, including encyclopedia, dictionary, biographical databases. These collections can be found by consulting the Encyclopedia & Dictionary Research Guide.