{"id":3019,"date":"2018-07-17T12:15:34","date_gmt":"2018-07-17T12:15:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-esc-wm-englishcomposition1\/?post_type=chapter&p=3019"},"modified":"2019-11-05T20:54:24","modified_gmt":"2019-11-05T20:54:24","slug":"how-to-develop-a-research-question","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-esc-englishcomposition1-2\/chapter\/how-to-develop-a-research-question\/","title":{"raw":"Developing a Research Question","rendered":"Developing a Research Question"},"content":{"raw":"\"decorative\r\n\r\nIn order to develop a research question, one useful method is to develop \"working questions\" of all shapes and sizes pertinent to your topic. As you can see below, you can start with a handful of simple working questions that will eventually lead to a viable research question. (Note that these examples also are precursors to the three-tiered, strongest type of thesis, as shown in the revised research questions.)\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Developing a Working Question into a Research Question<\/caption>\r\n
Working Question<\/strong><\/th>\r\nWorking Research Question<\/strong>\r\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/th>\r\nRevised Research Question<\/strong><\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Too easy to answer; low stakes; not specific enough.<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\r\nHigher stakes; more specific<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\r\nMore complex question; higher stakes; very specific<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
What do people eat in Vietnam?<\/td>\r\nWhat does Vietnamese food reflect about Vietnamese culture?<\/td>\r\nHow does Vietnamese cuisine reflect a history of colonialism?<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Are people in the U.S. more obese than they used to be?<\/td>\r\nHave obesity rates in the U.S. increased over the last 100 years?<\/td>\r\nIs there a correlation between obesity rates and economic instability in the U.S. over the last 100 years?<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
What is the role of religion in the Middle East?<\/td>\r\nHow has religion influenced politics in the Middle East in the last 50 years?<\/td>\r\nHow has religion\u2019s influence on government impacted the day-to-day lives of Qatari citizens?<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\nAs you hone your path of inquiry, you may need to zoom in or out in terms of scope. Often, a narrower scope is easier to work with than a broader scope. You will be able to write more and write better if your question calls for more complex thinking.\r\n\r\n\"inverted\r\n<\/span>\r\n\r\nConsider the diagram above.\u00a0 As you build a working knowledge of your topic (e.g., as you get a feel for the conversation that began before you arrived at the party), you might complicate or narrow your working questions. Remember to be flexible as you research; you might need to pivot, adjust, re-focus, or replace your research question as you learn more.\u00a0Consider this imaginary case study as an example of this process:\r\n\r\nJacob began his project by identifying the following areas of interest: racism in the U.S., technology in medicine and health care, and independent film-making.\u00a0After doing some prewriting and preliminary research on each, he decided he wanted to learn more about\u00a0racially motivated\u00a0police violence. He developed working questions:\r\n
    \r\n \t
  • Are police officers likely to make judgments about citizens based on their race?<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Have police forces instituted policies to avoid racism?<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Who is most vulnerable to police violence?<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Who is responsible for overseeing the police?<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nHe realized that he needed to narrow his focus to develop a more viable path of inquiry, eventually ending up with the research question:\r\n
      \r\n \t
    • Over the last 30 years, what populations are most likely to experience police violence in the U.S.?<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nHowever, after completing more research, Jacob discovered that his answers came quite readily and consistently: young black men are significantly\u00a0more vulnerable to become victims of police violence. He realized that he's not really saying anything new, so he had to tweak his path of inquiry.\r\n\r\nJacob did more freewriting and research to find sources that disagreed with this conclusion or added\u00a0new layers to his answers. He discovered eventually that there are a handful of police organizations that have made genuine efforts to confront racism in their practices. These groups were working actively against racial violence. He reoriented his research question as follows:\r\n
        \r\n \t
      • Have anti-racist police trainings and strategies been effective in reducing individual or institutional racism over the last 30 years?<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nLearn more about focusing a research question from the following videos.\r\n\r\n[embed]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1oJNO6PYZe4&feature=youtu.be[\/embed]\r\n\r\n[embed]http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=26vpgBTnlA4[\/embed]\r\n\r\nNow, try the practice exercise on research questions and working thesis statements.<\/span>\r\n
        \r\n

        Practice: Research Questions and Working Thesis Statements<\/h3>\r\n1. Which of the following is the\u00a0better research question?\r\n
          \r\n \t
        1. \r\n
            \r\n \t
          1. How does trash pollute the environment?<\/li>\r\n \t
          2. What is the environmental impact of plastic water bottles?<\/li>\r\n \t
          3. What is the impact of bottled water on the environment?<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"317480\"]Show Answer[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"317480\"]b. This choice is specific and searchable. \"How does trash pollute the environment?\" is much too vague and broad, and \"What is the impact of bottled water on the environment?\" is an okay question, but it doesn't specify the type of bottled water.[\/hidden-answer]\r\n\r\n2. Decide whether or not the following working thesis statements are good<\/strong> or bad:<\/strong>\r\n
              \r\n \t
            1. \r\n
                \r\n \t
              1. \r\n
                  \r\n \t
                1. Man has had a major impact on the environment.<\/li>\r\n \t
                2. Marijuana use in Mishawaka, Indiana, has been a problem for law enforcement since the 1970s.<\/li>\r\n \t
                3. Miley Cyrus is a horrible singer.<\/li>\r\n \t
                4. Profilers have played a necessary role in catching serial killers.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"170610\"]Show Answer[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"170610\"]\r\n\r\na. Bad. This statement is way too vague and broad. What constitutes \"major impact\"? What aspects of the environment are we talking about? What century are we talking about?\r\n\r\nb. Bad.\u00a0Even if it is true, it is too local and narrow to be supported with national or scholarly research.\u00a0Sources would probably be limited to local newspaper articles and personal interviews.\u00a0Can you make those sources \"stretch\" across a 10 page research paper? Not likely.\r\n\r\nc. Bad, because the statement is largely an unfocused opinion.\u00a0What exactly is \"horrible\"?\u00a0How does Miley Cyrus fall into that category?\u00a0Do you think there are many books or research articles that could support this topic? Probably not.\r\n\r\nd. Good.\u00a0Using this statement for a paper allows you to skip over the sources\u00a0that do not deal with profiling,\u00a0that do not deal with the apprehension of serial killers, and\u00a0that deal only with the injustices of \"racial profiling.\"\u00a0A good working thesis statement saves you time and keeps you focused.<\/strong>\r\n\r\n[\/hidden-answer]\r\n\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"

                  \"decorative<\/p>\n

                  In order to develop a research question, one useful method is to develop “working questions” of all shapes and sizes pertinent to your topic. As you can see below, you can start with a handful of simple working questions that will eventually lead to a viable research question. (Note that these examples also are precursors to the three-tiered, strongest type of thesis, as shown in the revised research questions.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
                  Developing a Working Question into a Research Question<\/caption>\n
                  Working Question<\/strong><\/th>\nWorking Research Question<\/strong>
                  \n\u00a0<\/strong><\/th>\n                  		Revised Research Question<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
                  Too easy to answer; low stakes; not specific enough.<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nHigher stakes; more specific<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nMore complex question; higher stakes; very specific<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                  What do people eat in Vietnam?<\/td>\nWhat does Vietnamese food reflect about Vietnamese culture?<\/td>\nHow does Vietnamese cuisine reflect a history of colonialism?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                  Are people in the U.S. more obese than they used to be?<\/td>\nHave obesity rates in the U.S. increased over the last 100 years?<\/td>\nIs there a correlation between obesity rates and economic instability in the U.S. over the last 100 years?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                  What is the role of religion in the Middle East?<\/td>\nHow has religion influenced politics in the Middle East in the last 50 years?<\/td>\nHow has religion\u2019s influence on government impacted the day-to-day lives of Qatari citizens?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

                  As you hone your path of inquiry, you may need to zoom in or out in terms of scope. Often, a narrower scope is easier to work with than a broader scope. You will be able to write more and write better if your question calls for more complex thinking.<\/p>\n

                  \"inverted
                  \n<\/span><\/p>\n

                  Consider the diagram above.\u00a0 As you build a working knowledge of your topic (e.g., as you get a feel for the conversation that began before you arrived at the party), you might complicate or narrow your working questions. Remember to be flexible as you research; you might need to pivot, adjust, re-focus, or replace your research question as you learn more.\u00a0Consider this imaginary case study as an example of this process:<\/p>\n

                  Jacob began his project by identifying the following areas of interest: racism in the U.S., technology in medicine and health care, and independent film-making.\u00a0After doing some prewriting and preliminary research on each, he decided he wanted to learn more about\u00a0racially motivated\u00a0police violence. He developed working questions:<\/p>\n

                    \n
                  • Are police officers likely to make judgments about citizens based on their race?<\/li>\n
                  • Have police forces instituted policies to avoid racism?<\/li>\n
                  • Who is most vulnerable to police violence?<\/li>\n
                  • Who is responsible for overseeing the police?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                    He realized that he needed to narrow his focus to develop a more viable path of inquiry, eventually ending up with the research question:<\/p>\n

                      \n
                    • Over the last 30 years, what populations are most likely to experience police violence in the U.S.?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                      However, after completing more research, Jacob discovered that his answers came quite readily and consistently: young black men are significantly\u00a0more vulnerable to become victims of police violence. He realized that he’s not really saying anything new, so he had to tweak his path of inquiry.<\/p>\n

                      Jacob did more freewriting and research to find sources that disagreed with this conclusion or added\u00a0new layers to his answers. He discovered eventually that there are a handful of police organizations that have made genuine efforts to confront racism in their practices. These groups were working actively against racial violence. He reoriented his research question as follows:<\/p>\n

                        \n
                      • Have anti-racist police trainings and strategies been effective in reducing individual or institutional racism over the last 30 years?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                        Learn more about focusing a research question from the following videos.<\/p>\n