Lesson 1 Writing:  Building your Research Project



Selection 2: What makes a GOOD Research Question?

  image of figure revising answers  

To start, let's find five (5) words or phrases from the text (Fences or The Bean Trees) that you believe are interesting or significant in some way. Record them on your research notes.

Word/
Phrase #1

Word/
Phrase #2

Word/
Phrase #3

Word/
Phrase #4

Word/
Phrase #5


 

 

 

 


Now that you've found some words and phrases to focus on, lets take a look at crafting research questions from those words and phrases.

Assignment: Write three (3) good research questions that relate to your words and adhere to the criteria below. Then, use the evaluation descriptions to judge your questions as proficient or non-proficient.  Make sure questions are proficient. Paste the questions + why they are proficient in your assignment sheet.  

GUIDELINES: What makes a GOOD Research Question?

  1. High Interest Level - Is the question interesting to me? Is the question thought-provoking?

  2. Not Easily Answered – Is the question more than a simple yes/no question?

  3. Not Personal/Opinion-based - Does the question call for an answer that asks for more than an opinion? Have I removed first and second person pronouns (I, me, we, you, your) and replaced them with specific people or groups of people (specific gender, age, culture, profession, etc.)?

  4. Not Google-able - Does the question require research that extends beyond information that can be “Googled”? Will there be opportunities to interview professionals, conduct surveys, incorporate multi-media messages, compile stories, visit museums/archives, etc.? [NOTE: putting questions into Google will always give you answers. This criteria means that one source is unlikely to have all of the answers.]

  5. Viable for Research - How do I know if the question is viable for research? (What can I measure or research?) Suggestion: underline or highlight what can be researched.

  6. Promotes Empathy and Global Awareness - In what ways will attempting to answer this question enrich my awareness of global issues?

Are your research questions proficient? Judge for yourself:

Proficient: Three of the questions meet the criteria of “What makes a good research question?”

Non-Proficient: Fewer than three of the questions meet the criteria of “What makes a good research question?”

Example of how to present a question on the assignment sheet:

 Topic: racial barriers in baseball

Question 1. What were factors that created the racial barriers (and kept them in place)?

This question is proficient because it is: high interest; not easily answered; and not personal/opinion-based. [Note: you can find an answer through googling it, but would need to consult multiple sources for a complete understanding.]


Apply what you learned: generating Research Questions for other topics

Write five research questions of your own in response to the items below. Make sure your questions adhere to the criteria on the other side of this document.

1. Write a question about a problem in your local community that you’d like to solve.

2. Write a question about a problem within the global community that needs a solution.

3. Write a question about something in life that you think is unfair.

4. Write a question about an issue you already know a lot about.

5. Write a question about anything you want to know more about.

Link to FCPS Library Services Databases: Find the info, explore fact, get answers
Link to FCPS LIS Databases


 

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