Topic Development and Research Questions

Part I. Good Question/Bad Question

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

This is a rather broad question, so it is not very good for research. It needs to be narrowed down quite a bit. First off, there are a lot of smaller topics regarding Darfur that this could address. For example: is one discussing internal “natural” conditions such drought or population problems? Or is one looking at political conflict? Is this internal political conflict or the interference of external influences on Darfur’s political arena? I would suggest first narrowing the scope to one particular area that I have addressed above, e.g. the land or the people; internal or external. Next, choose one or maybe two very closely related questions within that topic to ask. A better question might be: “Within the last year, what political changes have occurred within the Darfur region of Western Sudan?”

Ø 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 question is more focused than the first one. But it does presuppose some information. In this case, it takes for granted that the reader and writer both are thinking of the same source for the mentioned news coverage. Assuming that this is the case, it allows for focused response to the given question.

I guess I feel that this is a fine question for a group discussion. But I personally would be a bit unhappy doing a research paper on it. I would prefer to do a paper on related and more broken down topics like these:

“What did the news media reveal regarding conditions of the care for veterans housed at the U.S. Military’s Walter Reed Medical Center?”

“What was the national reaction to news coverage of the poor conditions at the U.S. Military’s Walter Reed Medical Center?”

“After the news coverage regarding conditions of the care for veterans housed at the U.S. Military’s Walter Reed Medical Center, did conditions improve? What were the reasons for those changes? Did these changes come as a result of the news coverage?”

Ø Did Germany invade Poland during the Second World War?

Once again, this is straight forward, so an improvement on the more open-ended questions. But it is not sufficient for an entire research paper. A person could use one source and answer with one word. Sure it answers the question, but no, it is not enough. Better questions would be:

“Why was Poland a strategically beneficial country for Germany to invade during the Second World War?”

“After Germany invaded Poland during the Second World War, what were the long-term repercussions for the people of Poland?”

Ø Does the media cause eating disorders in women?

How in the world to straddle this one? Or prove the statement one claims in response? This is too broad. The question needs to be narrowed in one for or another. The easiest way would be to simply show a causal link between media and eating disorders in women rather than having to prove for certain that media causes E.D.’s.

Instead, one could try “In what way does media influence perception of body image in women?”

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

This is one of the better focused questions. I would still like to tweak it a bit, again because it is awkward to answer this question in any way other than yes or no. I would arrange it to ask “What evidence exists to support the claim that vocational training programs in California prisons impact recidivism (re-offense) rates?”

Part II: Answer the following questions.

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.

It is important that a person can grasp both (a) the main idea/the purpose of a topic as well as (b) the parts that are most relevant to the topic. One should have a comprehensive understanding of these ideas enough to be able to relate this information to another person clearly, succinctly, and yet thoroughly. If one cannot meet these requirements, they may not fully understand their topic.

How I prepare myself depends greatly on who I am addressing and about what. Let’s just assume that I am trying to pull together a report for my boss on the fiscal budget for the year. I would review all the necessary documents to try and grasp a broad view of the year’s budget reports. Then I would look at quarterly summaries to understand patterns. I would then look at specific reports to understand details such as unusual expenses or profits. After all this I would be prepared to tell my boss what our overall budget needs were, whether or not they had been met, what we could expect for next year, and what it meant for us at this moment.

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

My favorite way to narrow a topic is to ask myself “Therefore what?” If one is writing a paper or a speech, it all comes together at the end in a big “Therefore” statement. I look at a given question and if I can’t summarize the topic and then answer why it matters, it either is to general or not a properly phrased question.

So then I start breaking up the question. I ask why does this matter? (Like the Germany/Poland question). Or I ask Is this the right way to ask this question (like the prison vocational program question). And last of all, I ask myself if the question is getting to a relevant and specific topic by the way it is asked (the Darfur question or the news coverage question).