Question

Nina is beginning the research process for her research-based informative essay. She is writing about how the technology used to organize library collections has changed over time. While researching her topic, she discovers an early technology that she did not know existed.

Based on her finding, what should Nina do?

She should make a note to reference the additional technology in her essay.
She should develop an additional research question about the new finding.
She should change her original research question to focus on that technology.
She should ignore her finding because it does not align with her research topic.

Answer 1

She should make a note to reference the additional technology in her essay.

Reason: the early technology is directly relevant to how organizing systems changed over time and will strengthen her historical overview. She can record the source and consider a follow‑up research question if needed, but the immediate step is to document and cite the new finding so it can be included in her paper.