1.) Spend a lot of time with the text. Since you’ll want your projects to relate to the text in a fairly direct manner, it will help to read the text closely and carefully. Annotate heavily, and mark key passages. If you decide to use a different edition of the text for part of the project, make sure you transfer your annotations to that edition.
2.) Don’t be afraid to divide and conquer. You want the project to be a collaborative effort, but sometimes the best way to work together on a project is to divvy up tasks. By doing so, you will each be able to work on different part of the same project simultaneously.
3.) Have a group organization system. We used google drive, but I would not recommend google drive if you are planning to work with a lot of sources. Our drive folders got very cluttered and overwhelming. You want to make sure that you can access your research findings easily. If you save a document, I would suggest giving it a descriptive title and making an annotation that explains how you could use the source in a project. Be descriptive in this annotation, for it will be a lot easier to integrate primary sources into your projects if you already know the content of the source and if you already have a strong idea of how you are going to use that content.
4.) In addition to a group organization system, have your own individual organization system on your computer. Perhaps create a folder for your CURI project on your desktop where you store all your research findings.
5.) Read and annotate secondary literature on the novel. Do not make the mistake of neglecting the secondary literature you read, for these sources will help you in every aspect of the project. Scholarly articles will help you think of arguments to make about text. Once you know the scholarly conversation on the book, you’ll be able to enter and add to that conversation with confidence. In addition, you’ll be able to bring up ideas and interpretations from secondary literature in discussion groups.
6.) Know your audience and remember the purpose of the project. While working on a project like this will be a great experience for you, the project is not only for you. The goal of the project is to give a general audience material that will help them better understand a text.