Ask the Right Questions
The scope of an investigation determines how large or small your investigation will be. Determining the scope of an investigation is the critical first step in the research process because you will know how far and how deep to look for answers. This lesson will teach you how to develop a research question as a way to determine the scope of an investigation.
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Keyword(s): 5W Criteria, Ask the Right Questions, Guided Inquiry, Information Literacy, Library, New Literacies Alliance, Research as Inquiry, Research Question
The purpose of this guide is to walk you through the 6 stages of writing an effective research paper. By breaking the process down into these 6 stages, your paper will be better and you will get more out of the research experience.
The 6 stages are:
This research guide is based on the Big6 Information Literacy model from https://thebig6.org/
Developing a topic is often one of the hardest and most important steps in writing a paper or doing a research project. But here are some tips:
Reference e-books on a wide range of topics. Sources include dictionaries, encyclopedias, key concepts, key thinkers, handbooks, atlases, and more. Search by keyword or browse titles by topic.
Over 1200 cross-searchable reference e-books on a wide variety of subjects.
A mind map is an effective way of organizing your thoughts and generating new questions as you learn about your topic.
Who? What? When? Where? Why?
We can focus our ideas by brainstorming what interests us when asking who, what, when where, and why:
Who? special education students, elementary students
What? flexible seating, classroom management
When? Past ten years, past five years, Mid-1990's to Present
Where? elementary schools, integrated classrooms, middle schools
Why? focus, improved test scores, less disruptive
Research Question: Does flexible seating in an elementary classroom improve student focus?
The following tutorial from Forsyth Library will walk you through the process of defining your topic.