Communication Research Guide
Research Honeycomb
The Research Honeycomb is a research source model to bring awareness to research sources outside of typical academic books, journal articles, conference presentations, etc. It can be used for:
- Finding sources on topics that are too recent to have academic sources about it
- Including voices from communities and their ways of knowing which have been historically excluded from academic sources
- Creating a comprehensive bibliography from a variety of sources
Created by Jackie Stapleton, Liaison Librarian, University of Waterloo; Adapted by Aneta Kwak, Mikayla Redden, Jeff Newman, Liaison Librarians, University of Toronto; Modified by Dylan McGlothlin, Humanities Librarian, Western Michigan University
Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Research Honeycomb Model
Research Honeycomb
Information comes in many different forms. What are some categories or types of voices where you can find information?
Research Honeycomb Model
In academic research, we tend to only emphasize academic voices while there are many other voices in different formats that can be used in a scholarly context.
Example Research Honeycomb
Here is an example of a Research Honeycomb for LGBTQIA2S+ topics.
Parts of the Research Honeycomb
Topic: What is being researched.
Academic Voices: What we typically think of in academic research. Books, journal articles, conference presentations, etc.
News Media: International, national, local, regional, or topic-based news sources.
Community Voices: The voices of those who are being researched. Social media, blogs, YouTube, etc.
Association and Organization Reports: Information created by non-government organizations.
Government Reports: Information created by government organizations/agencies.
Stakeholders and Allies: Information by those who are not directly related to your topic but may be indirectly related socially, financially, regionally, etc.
Handouts
- Empty Research HoneycombWhat categories of information do you think should be in the Honeycomb?
- Research Honeycomb ModelVisualization of the Research Honeycomb Model
- Research Honeycomb Example LGBTQIA2S+Example for a topic about LGBTQIA2S+
- Research Honeycomb blank worksheetTemplate to create your own Research Honeycomb for a specific topic