Start Your Research Off the Right Way

The hardest part of research isn’t answering a question.

It’s knowing what to do before you know what your question is.

This self-paced, bite-sized curriculum covers fundamental research skills and concepts, while leaving ample time to complete your regular class readings and assignments.

These short modules address two challenges that researchers face no matter what field you’re in:

  • How do I find a compelling problem to research—one that truly matters to me, deeply and personally?
  • How do I then design my research project so that the results will matter to other people?

Let’s Dive In

Get Started

Module 1: How to Foster a Researcher’s Mindset

🕒 8m28s

Module 2: What Does Success Look Like (Early) in the Research Process?

🕒 8m17s

Module 3: Brilliant Research Projects Begin with Asking “Meaningless Questions” 

🕒 8m08s

Module 4: Expanding Your “Intellectual Range of Motion” 

🕒 7m03s

Module 5: How to “Educate Your Questions”: Moving from Meaningless Questions to a Research Project

Length: 15m59s

Module 6: What’s Your Problem?: How to Identify the Driving Force Behind Your Research

🕒 10m27s

Module 7: How to “Poison Your Audience”: Maximizing Impact When Sharing Your Research

🕒 7m29s

🔒

Module 8: Office Hours 101: How to Dramatically Improve Time-Constrained Consultations

🕒 6m49s

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“Meaningless Questions” Virtual Flashcards for Researchers

Meaningless Questions flashcards are a simple, fast, fun, and effective tool for exploring multiple dimensions of your research project. Try them out after watching Module 3 and Module 4 above.

Want even more ideas? On the back of each MQ card, you’ll find a link where you can explore even more tutorials!

OPTIONAL FURTHER READING

Thomas S. Mullaney and Christopher Rea. Where Research Begins: Choosing a Research Project That Matters to You (and the World). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2022. [Learn more here.]

Textbook also available in Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Thai, and Polish.

ABOUT TOM & CHRIS

Tom Mullaney is Professor of Chinese History at Stanford University, a Guggenheim Fellow, and the recipient of Stanford’s highest award for excellence in teaching, the Gores Award. He is the co-author of Where Research Begins (University of Chicago Press, 2022, with Christopher Rea), The Chinese Computer: A Global History of the Information Age (MIT Press, 2024), The Chinese Typewriter: A History (MIT Press 2017), and Coming to Terms with the Nation: Ethnic Classification in Modern China (UC Press, 2010), among other works. His writings have appeared in Fast Company, MIT Technology Review, Quartz, the South China Morning Post, TechCrunch, the Journal of Asian Studies, Technology & Culture, Foreign Affairs, and Foreign Policy. His work has been featured in RadioLab, The Atlantic, the BBC, and in invited lectures at Google, Microsoft, Adobe, and more. He earned his BA and MA from the Johns Hopkins University, and his PhD from Columbia University.

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Christopher Rea is Professor of Asian Studies and former Director of the Centre for Chinese Research at the University of British Columbia. A native of Berkeley, California, he earned a BA from Dartmouth College and a PhD from Columbia University, and has been a visiting fellow at Harvard University and at universities in Taiwan and Australia. His books include Where Research Begins (University of Chicago Press, 2022, with Tom Mullaney), Chinese Film Classics, 1922-1949 (2021), The Book of Swindles: Selections from a Late Ming Collection (2017, with Bruce Rusk), and The Age of Irreverence: A New History of Laughter in China (2015). He was awarded UBC’s Killam Research Prize in 2023, and Dean of Arts Mentorship Award in 2024.

Contact

For more information, contact trainings@whereresearchbegins.com

Note

These independent course modules are not affiliated with Stanford University or the University of British Columbia.