Topic Development and Research Questions

Part I. Good Question/Bad Question

Read the following and decide whether or not you think each is a good research question. Briefly explain your answer. If you think a question is weak, explain how you would make it stronger.

> What happened in the Darfur region of Western Sudan this past year?

I think this is a good question. You have to add detail and if can explaining this it means you know it.

> Did news coverage of the poor conditions at the U.S. Military’s Walter Reed Medical Center result in improved care of the veterans housed there?

This is kind of a yes/no answer. I would ask it the same but also add how did it improve?

> Did Germany invade Poland during the Second World War?

This is a good question but kind of weak, I would add and why?

>Does the media cause eating disorders in women?

I would add, and what commercials or episodes pursue this?

>Is there evidence that vocational training programs in California prisons impact recidivism (re-offense) rates?

I think is a strong question, if the answer is yes but if the answer to the question is no then what evidences is there? Should be added.


Part II:

1. When you’re developing a research topic, you should be able to talk for one minute about that topic. Explain why, and how you’d prepare yourself.

If you are able to talk about your topic for more than a minute then you know a lot about that topic, so being able to write this essay should not be that complicated. Preparing myself for an essay that I am not too familiar with I like to go on the computer and look up some information on that topic. I print off some pages of information and read it and high light the important stuff in the articles.


2. Describe some ways you can narrow the focus of a research topic.

When I have a huge topic that needs some narrowing down, I actually like to make a spider web chart. I learned how to use them very well so whenever possible I use this method. So on the outside of the web (which is one the most outer part) I try to pick one of those topics to best suite my research topic.