# 1. Explore

![explore literature](1-explore.png)

When you begin your thesis you are also at the start of your information journey. You might have some idea about your topic already, or maybe even a preliminary research question or design challenge. Exploring is about familiarising yourself more with your topic so that in the next phase you can do a focused search for the information you need. By exploring, you  learn more about the broader general and academic context of your topic and refine what information search questions or perhaps even thesis research question you want to answer.



Common activities during this phase of the your information journey include:

- [1a. General Orientation on a Topic](1a-general-orientation.md) - Know how to do a general orientation on your topic 
- [1b. Explore Academic Literature](1b-exploring-academic-literature.md) - Know how to do an initial exploration of academic literature
- [1c. Formulate an Information Search Question](1c-formulate-information-question.md) - Know how to formulate information search questions

## Exploration Template 
You can use the [Exploration Template](1-template-explore.docx) to help you get started with this skill and to document your strategies and findings.