3 hours to finish it

Introduction to Asking Good Research Questions

Being able to distinguish credible information from inaccurate and biased information is an important skill for everyone in this age of instant access to millions of documents through the internet. For you as a college student, this skill is even more important. Whether you are taking a class in geology, automotive repair, nursing, dental hygiene, philosophy, geography, math, engineering, English, or any other subject area, eventually you will be asked to write an academic research paper using secondary sources (books, magazines, journal articles, websites, and interviews) to support your ideas (or claims) about a specific topic. Most likely, you will be evaluated on how you write up the information you find and how reliable your sources are.

Beyond your college experience, the ability to conduct effective and accurate research will impact many areas of areas of your life. You may be asked to research a problem related to your job, or you may find you need good information about your health. You may decide you need to improve your interpersonal relationships or your general well being, or you may find a new hobby that you want to perfect. In all of these scenarios, finding accurate information will determine whether or not you achieve your goals.

In this course, you will be working through many small assignments to help you acquire the skills you need to complete a thorough academic research project. The final draft of the project will be something you will share with the public via your ePortfolio website.

Since you are going to be spending so much time working on this project, you want to choose a topic that you care about. Choose something that affects you personally, something you have a need to know. Once you determine something you care about enough to study for an entire semester, you need to determine several questions that will lead you the information you need to write an academic research essay. As you will learn in this module, good research questions cannot be answered with one word or a yes or no.  Good research questions will lead you to information that allows you to explore the complexities of your topic.  Good research questions usually begin with how, what, or why. Finally, you will write a proposal exploring the topic and the questions you have identified.

Once you complete the activities for this week, you will share your questions with you peers and post the research proposal in the appropriate drop box. Your instructor will give you feedback about the topic and questions you have identified. S/he may ask you to change the focus of your subject, broaden the topic, or focus in on only one aspect of the issue. Her comments will help you come up with a topic and question that will provide you with the right amount of information to complete a quality project.

In this class, you are encouraged to choose your own topic; however, in other courses, your professor may assign you a topic. In either case, the good news is that all of the assignments in this course provide you with the literacy skills necessary to complete an insightful and engaging academic research project in any subject.

Further, the skills you will learn in the first part of the course and the strategies you will learn in the rest of the course, i.e. finding the information you need about any subject and determining the validity of that information, will make you a better community member and global citizen.

In the coming weeks, you will learn additional skills to help you effectively and efficiently conduct academic research and complete an academic research project that will meet the quality standards of any discipline, but for now all you need to do is figure out what you are going to study.

Remember: The steps you use in this course to create an academic research project are the same steps you will use in any course; however, the format of the final project in other courses may differ depending on discipline and each instructor's preferences. In other words, although the basic steps for finding valid, reliable sources and assembling those sources into an essay are the same, it is important to check with each instructor concerning format requirements and discipline-specific requirements for the project.

To meet the learning objectives for this topic, you will complete these activities. Print this page and use it as a checklist.

· Review the Introduction and Objectives page

· Complete ALL the assignments on the Learning Activities page.

· Read this tutorial  Choosing a Topic  from the Sinclair library.

· View  Selecting a Research Topic & Formulating a Question.  (She mentions CQ Researcher and CREDO.  Both of these are available here:   ENG 1201 Libguide .

· View the presentation  Fat and Skinny Research Questions  that is linked here and on the Learning Activities page.

· View  Developing a Research Question

· Read the online lesson Writing the Research Proposal.

· Write a good research question or two for the topic you would like to study and post your questions in the Discussion Forum titled "My Research Question(s)."

· Write the Research Proposal (after you receive feedback on your research question)and post it in the Research Proposal Drop Box. 

·

·

·

·

·

·

·

·

· View these Videos and Presentations

· 1. View the video  Writing a Research Question

· 2. View the Presentation on  Fat and Skinny Research Questions.

· 3. View " Selecting a Research Topic & Formulating a Question "  (She mentions CQ Researcher and CREDO.  Both of these are available here:   ENG 1201 Libguide .

· 4. View  "Developing a Research Question

Determining Your Need to Know

"Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose," according to Zora Neal Hurston, an award-winning writer. That's a good way to think about it, but what if you are not sure about your purpose or what you are curious about? The next activity, the research proposal, will help you figure that out.

A good research project begins with a need to know. You may need to know what it would take to make a change in your personal life or a new way of approaching a problem or issue you or someone you know is experiencing. You may need to find the answer to a burning question about history, society, or life, or you may simply need to find out more information about a topic that interests you. Or, you may need to know a new skill or concept.

Academic research projects have led to such diverse discoveries as the connection between pesticides that are used in traditional farming methods and cancer and the best way to change a bad habit. The process you are going to learn in this section of the course is the same process that was used to uncover the secrets of metamorphosis in the field of lepidoptery (the study of butterflies and moths) and the best methods for training to win the Tour de France bicycle race. Research provides the foundation for all academic disciplines and the basis for all academic writing. So, that is why, no matter what your area of study, it is important that you learn how to construct an academic argument and find credible information to provide reasons and evidence for your assertions.

To begin thinking of a research topic, make a list of things you need to know. Here are a few questions to get you started:

· Do any of the current issues that are in the news right now affect you? For instance:

· Do you need to learn more about the Affordable Care Act regulations and how to obtain insurance?

· Have you or anyone you know been affected by gun violence? Would you like to know more about what is being done to end the violence?

· Were you affected by the No Child Left Behind Act? Would you like to know about new measures that are being enacted to compensate for NCLBA?

· Are you curious about the Electoral College and how it affects the election process?

· Take a look at any newspaper, news website, or watch a news program and think about how the issues that are being discussed affect you personally. Do you have a need to know about any of those issues?

· Do you need to know about any current legislation that affects your personal life? For instance:

· Do you need to know about your rights if you are caught speeding or running a red light by a camera?

· Are you affected by regulations on coal, fracking, or other issues related to the environment?

· Are you affected by climate change?  global warming?

· Did you know you have a choice about who manages your utilities services?  Want to know more about it?

· Do you have a health issue that you need to learn more about?

· Do you have a relationship issue you would like to resolve?

· Are you having problems studying?

· Have you always wondered if there are galaxies outside our own galaxies? Or how space explorers are trained or funded?

· Do you have a need to know about the viability of harnessing wind power or the impact of climate change?

· Have you been affected by poverty or homelessness? Do you have a need to know about programs that can help? Do you need to know why there are so many people living in poverty or without homes?

· Do you need to know why people go hungry while so many people have more food than they know what to do with?

· Do you need to know where the water you drink comes from and whether or not it is safe?

· Are you in the market for a major purchase? Do you need to know the best method for getting the best quality for your money?

· Are you in the process of choosing or changing careers? Do you need to know more about how prepare for your "dream job" or how much money you would make if you chose a certain career?

· Are you depressed? Do you have a need to know how to overcome depression or how to deal with any other mental health issues?

· Do you have a habit you would like to break? Do you have a need to know what is the best way to break that habit?

· Are you or anyone you know struggling with addiction issues? Would you like to know the best treatments or intervention programs?

· Have you every been a victim of a crime or been convicted of a crime? Do you need to know more about how the justice system works?

· Would you like to know about the ecological impacts of the industries in our area? Or, would you like to know how endangered species are being saved?

· Would you like to learn how to plant a garden? Do you need to find out the best amendments for your soil or when to plant? Do you need to know what plants grow best in your area?

Once you identify a list of possible things you need to know, look over the list and think about which of those topics would interest you enough that you could study the topic for the next twelve or thirteen weeks.

NOTE: YOUR TOPIC NEEDS TO BE SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN PROFESSIONALLY STUDIED BY ACADEMICS, AND SO YOU CANNOT CHOOSE A TOPIC ABOUT FAITH OR RELIGIOUS BELIEFSOR THE BIBLE UNLESS YOU APPROACH THOSE TOPICS FROM AN ACADEMIC PERSPECTIVE. For instance, let's say you want to study the Bible. You cannot choose a topic that explores what the author of the Bible intended if you believe the author was God; however, you could research who were the people who wrote the Bible and what was the historical context of different versions. You could research the different beliefs of different religions such as the difference between Catholicism and Protestantism, or Buddhism and Sufism, but you cannot research which belief is correct, because that is based on someone's beliefs or faith, and that cannot be verified through academic studies or academic research. In fact, you cannot write about any topic from a moral perspective because morals are based on beliefs. Research papers are based on facts and verified data that originated from well-designed and administered studies at universities. Therefore, you cannot write about the moral issues related to abortion or your personal beliefs about global warming. In fact, if you decide on a topic concerning religion or some other controversial subject, run it by your instructor before you dive in or you may end up having trouble meeting the requirements for some assignments.

Once you have decided on a possible topic, the next step is to frame what you need to know in such a way that you have a question or two you can use to begin your research. For example, if you need to make better grades, you might ask, "How can I improve my study habits?" Or you might ask, "Which study habits result in the best grades?" The questions you propose will determine your direction and focus, so be sure to complete the activities in this lesson that will help you determine how to write good questions for research.

You may find this Sinclair Library tutorial on  choosing a good research topic  helpful, as it explains how to learn background information about your topic and when to narrow or broaden your scope.

And click on the following links to access two presentations on writing good research questions. The first presentation is a YouTube video from George Mason University titled " Writing a Research Question ." The second prezi is from Paul Cagio. His prezi talks about  Fat and Skinny Research Questions.  Both prezis provide valuable information to help you write a good research question, and as Cagio says, "Good research starts with good research questions."