Gathering Relevant Information

Your completed research project should present RELEVANT information about your topic to the reader.  Use the following steps to gather information:

Generating a Research Question

What is a research question?
A research question is a clear, focused, concise, complex and arguable question around which you center your research. You should ask a question about an issue that you are genuinely curious about.
 
Why is a research question essential to the research process?
Research questions help writers focus their research by providing a path through the research and writing process. The specificity of a well-developed research question helps writers avoid the “all-about” paper and work toward supporting a specific, arguable thesis.
 
Steps to developing a research question:

• Choose an interesting general topic.
• Do some preliminary research on your general topic.
• Consider your audience.
• Start asking questions.

Sample Research Questions

Unclear: Why are social networking sites harmful?
Clear: How are online users experiencing or addressing privacy issues on such social networking sites as MySpace and Facebook?
The unclear version of this question doesn’t specify which social networking sites or suggest what kind of harm the sites are causing. It also assumes that this “harm” is proven and/or accepted. The clearer version specifies sites (MySpace and Facebook), the type of harm (privacy issues), and who the issue is harming (users). A strong research question should never leave room for ambiguity or interpretation.

Unfocused: What is the effect on the environment from global warming?
Focused: How is glacial melting affecting penguins in Antarctica?
The unfocused research question is so broad that it couldn’t be adequately answered in a book-length piece, let alone a standard college-level paper. The focused version narrows down to a specific cause (glacial melting), a specific place (Antarctica), and a specific group that is affected (penguins). When in doubt, make a research question as narrow and focused as possible.

When you are sure that your research question is FOCUSED and CLEAR, click HERE to submit it for a grade.  

Using Search Terms Effectively

Nothing will help you find just the right information more quickly than well-chosen keywords. When searching the Internet, less is often more.  Words that return hundreds of thousands of hits are worthless, you want to find terms that accurately narrow search results.  Thoughtful keyword selection is your most powerful tool. The right keywords are the fastest path to the relevant information you are after.  

1. Educate yourself about your topic.  Wikipedia is good for this.
2. Make a list of search terms related to your topic. Choose words that are unique and descriptive.
3. Use your search terms to locate additional information about your topic that you can use to answer the research question.


If you still haven't chosen a research topic, you have to do this one: