need within 24 hours

GEN 103: Information Literacy

Research Question Worksheet

Student Name:

GEN103: Information Literacy

Instructor:

February 21, 2018

Research Question Worksheet

The research topic that I have selected for th is project is related with early literacy. I have selected this topic because I have because I will be going to head in the near future and I will be required to find some innovative ways to support the students in their literacy development.

Research Question Development Table

Reflection

“In the space below, explain what you learned about this process as you conducted background research and refined your topic. What was the most difficult part of the process and how was it difficult for you? What part of the process did you find most helpful and why? “

This brainstorming task was very interesting and enjoyable for me. I have started with my selected topic and researched some useful resources where I could learn some aspects of the topic. So I learned from this process how to use brainstorming to get the flow of ideas. Once I learned about the topic and all the aspects of the topic, a flow of ideas and questions come to my mind. First almost ten types of questions came to my mind. It was confusing me that what number of questions I should include in my research question worksheet. I conducted the analysis of all of these questions. Some of questions found were not open ended, so I dropped them out. Some of the questions were broad in their span and they would make the research topic a wide one and the research on the topic would become very tough to manage in short because the number of variables in that case would be high. So I dropped out some questions of this type. In the end I came up with four questions presented in the above table.

The most helpful part of the process was the research process and brainstorming which gave me lot knowledge about the topic and given a lot of ideas. The most difficult part of the assignment was the screening process. The screening process took lot of time as I initially did not know how to screen the questions for a research topic. I had to learn the screening process and criteria before I could practically do the screen of the questions that I had developed through brainstorming process.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming can help you think about many different aspects of your topic and open up the issues that you might like to explore. Thinking about the who, what, when, where, why and how questions surrounding the topic can help you to examine the topic from many different angles and determine what aspects of the topic you are interested in researching. Below you have been provided with some questions to get you started but it is likely that you will come with other questions on your own that will help you in this process.

Howto Ask an Open-Ended Question

There are two different ways of asking questions, 1) close-ended and 3) open-ended.

Close-ended questions:

• Can be answered with either a single word or a short phrase, usually “yes” or “no”
• Are easy to answer and provide no details or analysis
• Do not encourage in-depth or long-range thinking

Open-Ended questions:

• An open question is likely to receive an in-depth, detailed answer
• Ask the respondent to think and reflect on what they’ve read
• Encourages critical thinking that leads the respondent to think beyond the reading

assignment
• Open-ended questions usually begin with “how,” “why” and “what”

Examples:

Close-Ended Open-Ended
Do you get along well with your
supervisor?

How do you view your relationship with
your supervisor?

Who will you vote for in this election? What do you think about the two
candidates in this election?

Did you like the journal article you read
this week?

What did you think of the journal article
we read for this week?

Does acid rain hurt the planet? How does acid rain hurt the planet?
Do we need animal welfare laws? What kind of animal welfare laws should

cities adopt?
Do you like the four seasons? Which of the four seasons do you like and

why?

General Open-Ended Question Examples:

• What was the most important war the United States fought and why do you see it
as the most important war?

• Why do many scientists believe climate change is happening?
• How does drought contribute to the destabilization of the natural environment?
• Why is immigration reform needed?
• What are the benefits of the private prison system?
• How does the academic source address its topic?
• What information does the website provide?
• How does the eBook explain acid rain?

Brainstorming Outline

Creating an outline can help you think about your topic and the concepts associated with it. Outlining can help you see how subtopics are related to your main topic and identify areas that you might like explore further.

To create an outline, you will start with your main topic, then list three or four concepts related to your main idea (subtopics) below it. Below each subtopic, you’ll list three or four concepts related to that subtopic (subdivisions). You can see an example below and the fill in the template.

Brainstorming Outline Example

Civil Rights Era

Voter Education Project

Citizenship Schools

Voter Registration Campaigns

The role of the church in Voter Education Act

Bus Boycotts

Involvement of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)

Kennedy-Johnson’s response

Browder v. Gayle decision

Freedom Riders

Sit-Ins

The role of CORE (Congress of Racial Equality)

North Carolina’s Role

College students and Sit-Ins

The North’s response

Brainstorming Outline

Main concept [Insert Text Here]

First subconcept [Insert Text Here]

First subdivision [Insert Text Here]

Second subdivision [Insert Text Here]

Third subdivision [Insert Text Here]

Fourth subdivision [Insert Text Here]

Second subconcept [Insert Text Here]

First subdivision [Insert Text Here]
Second subdivision [Insert Text Here]
Third subdivision [Insert Text Here]
Fourth subdivision [Insert Text Here]

Third subconcept [Insert Text Here]

First subdivision [Insert Text Here]
Second subdivision [Insert Text Here]
Third subdivision [Insert Text Here]
Fourth subdivision [Insert Text Here]

Easy Steps to Using the Ashford Library for

Background Research

Don’t know where to start with a research project? A good place to start is with some

background research on your main topic. Doing a bit of reading in an encyclopedia, an

almanac or another general reference source can help you understand the important

people, events and terms that are associated with your topic. This can make it easier

to develop your research question and to identify key terms later when you are doing

research in the library’s database.

Encyclopedias and other general reference works (like almanacs and dictionaries) are

not scholarly sources. Generally, they are not considered acceptable sources for

research papers for your classes here at Ashford. (If you have a question about

whether a source is acceptable, you should always ask your instructor.) So, even

though you would not use an encyclopedia article in the final version of a paper or

project, encyclopedias can be a great place to get started on your research.

Click on the “Library” tab in the classroom.

Click on “Encyclopedias and Dictionaries”.

Choose the encyclopedia or dictionary that you

want from this list.

If you follow these steps, you will be on your way to learning more about your topic.

You will find it much easier to create a research question and identify keywords that

you will need for finding those scholarly sources that you need for your final paper or

project.

In the search box, type your topic.

GEN

103: Information Literacy

Writing Your Research Question Worksheet:

Now that you’ve chosen your research topic, done a bit of background research and brainstormed your ideas, you’re ready to write your research question

.

Your research question will direct the research that you do over next few weeks as you look for sources for your

annotated bibliography

. Refer to Section 1.3 of your textbook to review the elements and purpose of a

research question

.

Hover over the blue underlined words to read a definition in the Glossary located at the end of this document.

You will begin developing your research question by filling in the table below

Example of Research Question Development

The table below illustrates how a research question develops from a broad topic to a focused question. Follow the four examples down each column to see how the questions develop.

BROAD

TOPIC

RESTRICTED

TOPIC

NARROWED

TOPIC

RESEARCH QUESTION

Pollution

Acid Rain

Acid Rain in the United States

What can we do in the United States to prevent acid rain?

Pollution

Oil Spills

Oil spills and commerce

What impact do oil spills have on the fishing and tourism businesses in areas affected?

Pollution

Pesticides

Pesticides and the bee population

What evidence is there that pesticides are significantly harming the bee population?

Pollution

Fracking (hydraulic fracturing)

Fracking and groundwater

What evidence is there that fracking can cause groundwater contamination?

Develop Your Research Question

Now try out your topic ideas below using the information you brainstormed. Try out several variations of your topic idea to see how it could be improved or amended.

Research Question Development Table

The table will expand as you enter content into the columns.

BROAD

TOPIC

RESTRICTED

TOPIC

NARROWED

TOPIC

RESEARCH QUESTION

Research Question:

Of the possible research questions you came up with above, which question are you planning to use for your annotated bibliography?

Check to be sure that the research question meets these criteria:

· It is open-ended (cannot be answered with simple yes or no).

· It addresses an issue or controversy and/or solves a problem.

· It is something on which you can take a stand.

Reflection (150-200 words)

In the space below, explain what you learned about this process as you conducted background research and refined your topic. What was the most difficult part of the process and how was it difficult for you? What part of the process did you find most helpful and why?

Once complete, save your completed worksheet and return to the online classroom to submit this document through the “Assignment Submission” button below the assignment instructions.

Glossary: Return to top

Annotated bibliography: A list of citations with descriptions and a brief summary or critical statement about each one. Return

Research question: The starting point for your research. This question should contain key terms or concepts (ideas) related to your research topic (Soloman, Wilson, and Taylor, 2012). Return