So far, my research project has come together slowly.

It’s been difficult for me to

organize my thoughts and the information I’ve found through different sources. I have a plan to

create online notecards with certain facts I will use in my paper, along with their citations. I hope

this will help me plan out the factual side of my research. It has been intimidating with all the

great sources I have, to determine what facts I will use, but I think the virtual notecards will be

extremely helpful. Besides my trouble with organization (and some procrastination), I still love

my topic. With many of my past research projects, I have picked topics that are interesting to me

at the time of choosing them, but quickly become boring. I have found that I would pick topics

that I would lose interest in within a month or so of researching and writing about it. With my

current research topic however, I am still very interested. I am learning so much more than I

thought I ever would. I think it helps that my topic is related to my major; psychology.

I feel confident in the sources that I have found and used, especially the scholarly article.

“The Incidence of Childhood in Serial Killers” is so far my most convenient source. It holds so

much information that I can actually use. It is the most narrow of all my sources, meaning it goes

in depth in the research of how childhood experiences affect serial killers. Since reading this

article my research has turned more towards the question “Are serial killers created from

experiences (nurture) or are they born with the intention to kill (nature)”. In simpler terms, I have

decided to explore “Nature vs Nurture”. I think that’s what my paper has been missing, and I

have finally come to the conclusion that I needed to narrow my topic and question. Another thing

I think my paper is missing is a better source for my since narrowed topic. I will probably end up

searching for a different source through AppSearch. Now that I know more about what I am
looking for, and how I want my paper to turn out, I have changed what I search when looking for

sources.

Overall, my researching process is going better than expected. I am ready to find some

better sources and organize my material in a more efficient way.