RESEARCHING FEATURES

RESEARCHING FEATURES

 Every feature article represents a research problem.

 In general, no good article can be written from the
top of the head.
 All forms of writing, be they fictional or factual,
benefit from some degree of researching,
questioning, reading, note-taking, and checking of
facts.
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 All features require the digging out of the facts and

checking their accuracy.
 But the degree and approach of research will differ
with each article.
 For some articles, you may draw heavily from
personal experience or first-hand information.
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 For others, you may require to draw the information

from personal experience as well as from other
people, including experts and, in other instances, you
may require library research. But all articles need
some form of research.
 Most need thorough research.
 The research steps need to be carefully planned and
carried out.
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 The first step in researching an article is to decide

what your theme will be.
 What will be the nature of your story?
 This should be defined as specifically as possible.
 To illustrate, if your are planning to write a feature on
prisons in your country, you should narrow down your
topic to a specific theme.
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 For example, are you interested in overcrowding,

diet, treatment by prison officials, rehabilitation of
prisoners, sex, or general conditions?
 From which specific viewpoint are you going to write
the feature?
 The prisoners?
 The prison officials?
 The social workers?
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 The families of the prisoners?

 The community ?
 Or all the above?
 How much time do you need for research?
 By answering those questions you should be able to
outline the information you will need to gather and
from whom.
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 Then you can plan your interviews and library

research accordingly.
 And it is always helpful to keep those questions in
mind when you are doing the actual research.
 The techniques of researching for feature articles are
basically the same for other forms of news writing.
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 There is no substitute for planning and preparation,

be it for an interview or library research; it is crucial
for an effective search for the information you will
require.
 A good article comes as a result of good research.
 It is no use trying to cut corners.
 An article is as good as the research that has gone
into it.
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 As a rule of thumb, find out all there is to find about

the subject.
 Get more information than you can possibly use in the
article.
 This is not wasteful, rather it enables you to
thoroughly understand the subject, decide on a
theme, and be better able to narrow down the subject
matter to suit your purposes more meaningfully.
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 Excess information can also be saved for future

articles on different aspects of the subject or even a
series.
 REFERENCE(S)

 Mwaura, Peter (1991). “Feature Writing”, in Boafo,

S.T.K. (ed.) Module on Advanced Writing. Nairobi:
Space Sellers Ltd., p 7