Marginalia, vol. 1
Get in nerd, we're going researching
You’re reading Marginalia — a regular series that documents the not-so-linear process, inner workings, and highs and lows of an independent Disney research project. If you’d like to read more of these posts, feel free to check out the archives.
Happy Wednesday, readers! Have you ever spent time researching a person or topic and later found yourself unable to extract them from your brain? Like an apparition, you see them reappear in the grocery store aisle or on a drive through town. Not literally, of course, but figuratively. That person or topic is seemingly always with you and always nudging you to move forward in your exploration, even just a lil’ bit.
I’ve recently found myself in that position and to be honest, I’ve hee-hawed around with how best to go about it. Do I even go about it at all? Is it worth the potential time, energy, and resources when I could be spending them on other things? Does any of it even matter (or will anyone care)?
These are all questions I’ve asked myself before. I have a Master’s degree that required heavy amounts of research to graduate, but where this differs is the subject matter and means of research. Responding to that person in my brain and moving forward with this project would require starting with very little existing research, at least what’s publicly available. I’m not going to lie; it’s intimidating.
However, I’ve never been known to stray away from an investigative challenge. I like to think I’d be a private investigator in another life, and maybe this could be my own lil’ way of channeling that but without all the law enforcement training, disguises, and sensitive information. Asking questions, following leads, and making connections is how all researchers and historians conduct their work and contribute to a wider breadth of knowledge to uplift their field(s) of study. There’s so much room for more.
Moving forward, I’d love to share this process. I’m not completely sure what this will look like as I’ve only just begun, but expect to see regular updates on everything from my progress and roadblocks to internal dialogue to the tools I’m using to track down resources, document my thoughts and findings, and organize my research. Nothin’ fancy; just chasing that high of what I loved most about higher education. Bonus: there’s Disney involved this time!1 And it’s significantly cheaper!
I likely won’t be sharing too much about what I’m researching just yet, only because I’m still in the early stages of it. But do keep an eye on this series for future updates because if one thing is certain, it’s that I can’t keep a secret for long (wink).
So, what have I done thus far?
I’ve asked myself a lot of questions. Like, a lot. In fact, that process is how I got to this point! What information do I wish existed about this topic and how would it enhance and expand upon the existing body of research? Where do I want to eventually take it: this Substack, a book, or a digital filing cabinet to never see the light of day? My scope of research is pretty narrow at this point, so what will I do if I hit a rough patch or dead end? Much to think about, but all good questions to guide myself throughout the course of this project.
I bought a notebook. If you know my alter ego, this probably comes as no surprise to you. I love stationery, and I will always find an excuse to add a new journal, writing tool, or washi tape to my collection. My favorite notebooks are by Leuchtturm, and I love them for the paper quality, numbered pages, and index at the front of the book. I’ve owned and used many over the years but this time around, I chose a light pink cover in the A5 size with dot-grid pages. This new notebook will serve as my research companion, and it’ll be by my side to hold stream-of-conscious thoughts and questions, along with anything else that might need jotting down.
I’ve identified a few resources to kick off my initial research. This will largely involve a few public libraries that house materials relevant to some of the subject matter, and I’ve already reached out to one of them with an inquiry for documents and other primary source material. Once I get a better idea of what I’m looking for, I’ll be planning a lil’ trip to one of the other libraries to spend some time digging through on-site records. As far as my own inventory goes, I own one book on this topic and have bookmarked multiple online sources and records for further investigation. The wheels are turning!
I made it spatial. My educational background is in geography, and I’m a geospatial scientist when I’m not fartin’ around on Substack. Spatial elements and connections are one of the first things I look for in just about everything so it’s safe to say this project has some pretty substantial geographic origins. The topic is cool by itself, but it’s even more significant to me because of my connection to it — both spatial and otherwise. Many of the documents I’ve reviewed thus far have been either maps or things that can be easily mapped and at some point, I’ll be doing some field research (eek!).
I’ve begun building a digital framework for organizing resources, records, and metadata. I can already predict that this will be evolving over time as I grow to better understand my needs, but I started things off with a basic file folder organization system on my SSD hard drive and Google Drive to house records, photos, and other information that I’ll want to reference later on. Traceable context is important, so I also created a text document to log each record’s metadata. Lastly, I constructed a simple lil’ Notion site to serve as a hub for more general things, like to-do lists, a research calendar, reading lists and book notes, and more. So far, it’s been a good foundation.
Also — I’ve gotta give a shout out to my fellow Disney nerd, Amanda from Main Street Library, who has encouraged me through her own research to embark on this project. She’s super cool and knowledgable so if you like this kind of stuff, give her a follow!
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As always, thanks so much for reading. I’m nervous but excited to take on this side quest and no matter how far I get with it, I know it’ll be rewarding. The pursuit of knowledge is always as such.
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See ya real soon,
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Although, I could absolutely tie Disney into research pertaining to evolving urban floodplains in flood-prone regions.
I love your brain!!! Can’t wait to see where your research goes!!
Yay!! So excited to follow along! 🤓 📚🔍