Developing Research Questions

The purpose of this assignment is to guide you through the process of developing a sound research question. Your answers to the following exercises should be typewritten and handed in at the beginning of class on Wednesday, April 20.

1. Select a Social, Economic or Political issue that you would like to study.

Examples include Education, homelessness, domestic violence, or poverty.

Be sure to choose a topic that really interests you. State this issue clearly, and identify your motives for studying it.

2. Write at least eight research questions related to the topic you've selected, with at least two questions of each type discussed in class: descriptive, exploratory, explanatory, and evaluative. Identify each type of question. Be creative here, and don't hesitate to list many possible questions.

3. Now, choose a single research question you would like to pursue. Consider your personal interests, available resources (assume you were going to carry out a term assignment or project over one semester), and the theoretical and ethical implications of the question. Write the question in one sentence, and elaborate on it in a paragraph. Give at least three reasons why it is a good research question.

4. Search the literature on the question you have chosen. Refer to our discussions in class. List at least 5 references that seem relevant to your question; include the author, year, title, source, and page numbers. Then, choose the most appropriate article to look up and read. Write a summary of the article in less than 200 words, and evaluate its relevance to your research question. After reading the article, what changes would you make to your question?