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"Race" and Ethnicity - SOAN 160 - Miller

 

Once you have written your initial question, ask yourself:

  • Can the question be answered too easily?
    •  Questions that can be quickly looked up do not make good research questions
  • Could anyone disagree with your research question?
    •  You want people to disagree with your answer as this leads to discussion
  • Is there factual evidence to support your answer?
    • Everyone has tastes and opinions, however in academic work you need evidence to support your point.  If no evidence exists, consider shifting the focus of your point.  Perhaps look at the opposite perspective.
  • Are there too many sources that you couldn't look at most of them?
    •   This might be an indication that your question is too broad. Consider looking at some of the sources for ways to refine and focus your question.
SOURCE:
Turabian, K. L., Colomb, G. G., & Williams, J. M. (2010). Student’s guide to writing   college papers (4th ed.). Chicago; London: The University of Chicago Press.

Initial Research Freewrite

Think about your topic and choose one of the following prompts to respond to in a five minute freewrite:

1. What do you already know about your topic?  What do you want to know / need to know in order to write a paper?

2. What is your opinion on your chosen topic?  What other opinions might one have?

Sample

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