RJA #3b: Research Topic Focus

At this point in my research, I believe I have a sufficiently narrow yet broad enough topic. There seems to be a great deal of information through historical census, newspaper and magazine articles, and more recently several books addressing similar questions about 'who' the Melungeons truly are. There are several very knowledgeable people who have written books, set up blogs and websites, and organized annual meetings. I am very much looking forward to trying to contact as many of these people as I can, as they appear to be as much of an expert as any one person can be on the subject. The lure of the Melungeons is part from the somewhat mysterious genetic origins and links, yet that is also the very challenge I hope to address in this research. I do not believe my topic needs to be narrowed, but if need be I will do so in the near future.