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Booth.Chapter4.TardifAndrea.pptxThe Craft of Research:
Chapter 4 From Questions to a Problem
Wayne C. Booth
Presentation by: Andrea L. Tardif
Audio: Hi Class! My name is Andrea Tardif. My presentation goes over Chapter 4 in our text the The Craft of Research by Wayne C. Booth. In his chapter we will be looking at how to go from a question to a problem.
Learning Objectives
Identify the importance of your research question and determine if your audience finds it relevant and worth solving.
Identify whether your problem is a practical problem or conceptual problem.
Distinguish between “pure” and “applied” research.
Our learning objectives for this presentation are:
This chapter builds on chapter 3 that teaches us to develop a question.
The Pursuit of Happyness(2006)
In this slide I have included a link to the trailer The Pursuit of Happyness. This 2006 motion picture is based off a true story about Chris Gardner, who is a young man who struggles to live what the American Culture calls the American Dream. For Gardner this American Dream he believes ultimately will lead him to money and happiness. I will be using this film to show you how you can form a research question and break it down.
The American Dream and Pursuing Happiness
The motion picture film The Pursuit of Happyness(2006), is still a relevant example of what society teaches us about “The American Dream” and happiness. By using what we learned in chapter 3 we can identify the significance of questioning the “American Dream” and its effect on the way we live our lives.
I am studying what American culture has taught us the American Dream is.
Because I want to learn the effects it has had on the way we view our lives and our happiness.
In order to help our readers understand how American culture has shaped their views on what it means to live the “Dream” and be happy.
Good example of American Culture expectations. If you turn to page 49 in the text you will see the method I will using to break down my research question. Identify topic. Question. Significance.
Understanding Research Problems
Identify the practical problem: The American Dream being viewed as happiness.
Identify the research problem: What has American culture taught us about happiness?
Determine the research solution: The factors in our lives that lead to us being happy.
Determine the practical solution: Learning to be happy by non-societal measures.
The Conceptual Problem
“A conceptual problem arises when we do not understand something about the world as well as we would like ” (51).
Now that we have identified our practical problem and solution we are able to move on to our conceptual problem.
Conceptual problems are answered through research so they can also be called your research problems.
The Relationship Between Practical, Research, and Conceptual Problems
Condition & Costs
Both practical and conceptual problems have a two part structure:
A condition
An undesirable consequence caused by that condition that costs you
Condition
Practical Problems
Any state of affairs that has a tangible costs for you or your readers (54).
Conceptual Problems
Always some version of not knowing or not understanding something (54).
Costs
Practical Problems
Always some tangible thing or situation we don’t like (55).
Conceptual Problems
No tangible cost
The cost is a consequence.
A lack of understanding that keeps us from understanding something else even more significant.
Answer to Q1 helps answer Q2. Answer to Q2 is more important than the answer to Q1 (55).
Condition & Costs Applied to a Conceptual Problem
Condition (Q1)
How has American culture shaped our views on what it means to live the “Dream” and be happy?
Cost/Consequence(Q2)
How has culture affected the way we have lived our lives?
Cost/Consequence(Q3)
How does American culture shape the expectations of us about our careers, marriage, and families?
“Pure” and “Applied” Research
Pure research addresses a conceptual problem that does not bear directly on any practical situation on the world.
The third step is knowing or understanding (57).
Applied research addresses a conceptual problem that has a practical consequence.
The third step is is doing (57).
Identify and Refine a Good Problem
Ask for help from colleagues, teachers, classmates, relatives, friends, and neighbors. ASK:
Why would anyone want an answer to your question?
What would they do with an answer?
What new questions might they ask?
Look for problems as you read. ASK:
Where in your research problems do you see contradictions, inconsistencies, and incomplete explanations.
Look at your own conclusion. ASK:
What question might your research problem answer? (61-62)
Working with Problems
Will my readers think my research problem should be solved?
Discussion Question # 1
How has your culture's expectations affected what you view as happiness and your education, career path, or family?
Discussion Question # 2
What are some of the ways we can find answers or solutions to our research questions?
Work Cited
Booth, Wayne C. et al. The Craft of Research 4thed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2015.
Muccino, Gabriele and Conrad, Steve. The Pursuit of Happyness. Sony Pictures, 2006. DVD.
