Turning Topics into Research Questions
Once you have narrowed your topic to something workable, you need to restate it as a question. A question requires an answer, and research is all about the search for answers
Here is an example
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Broad topic: _____________________________________________________________
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Focused Topic: _____________________________________________________________
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Possible General Research Questions
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1. __________________________________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________________________________________
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3. __________________________________________________________________________________
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Once you have a research question break it into even smaller questions
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Specific Research Questions: Who? What? When? Why? Where? How?
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From Idea to Search Statement
The Five-Step process http://www.clark.edu/Library/iris/find/search_strategies/search_strategies.shtml
Step 1: Write down your idea in a sentence or two:
Step 2: Cross out the fuzzy words and little words
Step 3: Underline the words that remain, These are your starting concepts.
Step 4: Put an "and" between the concepts:
Step 5: Put the quotation marks around the phrases so those words stay together.
