Research like a fifth grader

22 Apr 2018

Originally this post was going to be on the Feynman Technique, a four-step process for learning anything under the sun. It was named after Richard Feynman, Nobel-winning physicist, polymath, atomic bomb scientist, safe cracker, and player of bongo drums.

Remembering my fifth grade research skills, I grabbed a stack of index cards and a pen. After reading twenty articles on the Feynman Technique and writing down one fact per card, I had at the end…one card.¹

It read: Feynman was asked about a physics topic. He said he’d prepare a freshman lecture on it. Came back later and said: “I couldn’t reduce it to freshman level. That means we don’t really understand it.”

That’s it. Someone took that little blurb and built a four-step learning system out of it.

The Fifth Grader Technique

1. Pick a topic.
2. Find sources, primary if possible.
   1. Primary sources are first-hand accounts: original works such as diaries, interviews, surveys, and original research.
   2. Secondary sources interpret, summarize, or critique primary sources: encyclopedias, textbooks, essays, and reviews.
3. Write one idea, fact, or quote per note card, in your own words (unless it’s a quote). On the same card, write the title and author you got it from.
4. Review your cards and write an outline based on them.
5. Write a draft based on the outline.
6. Revise until you’re happy with it.