Developing a Research Question

1. POLI 1-004 (Spring 2010) Pedro Reynoso Outreach & Instruction Librarian preynoso@chabotcollege.edu Developing a Research Question

2. Start simply by asking a few basic questions about your topic—even though you may not know a whole lot about your topic Example: say you hear/read about the recent Supreme Court ruling (1/21/10) Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, what questions does it prompt? How can a corporation be legally considered a person? What are the potential negative/positive effects of allowing corporations to fund political advertisements? How will big corporations influence future elections? Getting started…

3. Familiarize yourself with the topic by doing some preliminary research: Daily Newspaper (SF Chronicle) Reference Books (encyclopedia) CQ Researcher (database) Benefits of finding background information: Narrowing your focus Indentifying search terms Answer initial questions Prompt more questions Do some preliminary reading…

4. Ask yourself more questions after your initial background research: Defining Questions What is ______________? Why is _____________ an important issue? What is the history of ____________? Analytical/Interpretative Questions What are the effects of _________? What are the pro arguments about ________? What are the con arguments about ________? What is being done about ___________? Brainstorm more questions…

5. Why? Your research questions not only guide your research, but they can also be used to outline the flow of your actual paper Example: What is same-sex marriage? Why is same-sex marriage a controversial issue? What is the history of this issue? What are the effects of same-sex marriage? What is being done now to advance/oppose same-sex marriage? Outline your questions…

6. Your instructors don’t want you to merely report on your topic; they want you to spend time reflecting on your research and coming to your own conclusions. Example: “Based on my research, what do I think about the issue of________________? Why?” Make your question one of self-discovery

7. Questions??? Library Assignment Next Library Visit Q&A