Part One - Developing Research Questions
In lesson one we learned that reseach is not a matter of compiling information about a topic so that we can summarize the topic. Research, rather, is a problem-solving exercise that addresses a question or a thesis and attempts to put forward evidence that leads to a conclusion. Some analogies:
1. You are sitting down with a group of people to determine a course of action you should take. The question at hand is, "Which of the several options is the best course to take?" There are a number of points of view, and each person speaks into the problem. As leader of this group, you must weigh the evidence and decide which course of action your group needs to follow.
2. You are lawyer for the defense in a murder trial. There is lots of evidence against your client, who you believeto be innocent. You put forward evidence and persuasive argument to defend your thesis: "My client didn't do this."
The common elements in these two examples are, first, that there is a problem to resolve, second, it is not all that easy to resolve the problem, and third, that the evidence you gather is a tool for solving the problem, not an end in itself. This latter point means that information becomes a tool to solve the problem rather than a goal (read up on a topic and summarize what you learned). If you can answer your question by looking something up, it's not a genuine research question. If you need to evaluate evidence and consider various points of view before you can come up with a solution, it is potentially a good research question.
Task One
View "A Model for the Process of Informational Research" (Google Slides), ensuring you understand the model and its emphasis on problem-based research projects. Play close attention to the portion dealing with research questions.
Creating good research questions is not easy. The textbook, in Chapter Three and Appendix A.1provides a lot of examples. Be sure you read this material carefully before you do Assignment Two.
Task Two
View the Prezipresentations: "Finding a Research Problem" and "Creating Research Questions":