When you begin a research project, you are doing more than just reiterating what you find in other sources. The research process requires that you are able to:
- consider questions or problems in your field that are unresolved as a focus for your project
- articulate the question or problem you will explore
- find relevant arguments in sources that inform or challenge your perspectives
- analyze and evaluate those sources
- through engagement with sources, create something new to add to the conversation regarding the initial problem or question
Some considerations when thinking about your research question:
- You are not looking for sources that provide the answer to your question, instead the answer is something you will create as part of this process.
- Not every topic has been researched and/or published in the literature.
- Be flexible. Consider broadening or narrowing the topic if you are getting a very small number or an overwhelmingly large number of results when you search the library databases.
- Discuss your topic with your instructor and be willing to alter your topic according to the guidance you receive.
[inspiration: Bean, J. C. (2011). Engaging ideas: The professor's guide to integrating writing, critical thinking, and active learning in the classroom (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.]
