Transcript Finding a Topic Lecture notes based on Lester & Lester, JR. 2007

Chapter 2: Finding a Topic
Lecture notes
based on Lester & Lester, JR. 2007.
Writing Research Papers: a complete guide
WTUC
Finding a Topic
 Narrow a general subject to a scholarly topic
 Reflect on your personal experiences and knowledge
(frame of reference)
 Examine one narrowed issue
 Have a serious purpose- one that demands analysis
of the issues, argues from a position, and explains
complex details
 Conform to the course requirements
Generating Ideas
 Free Writing
 Listing Keywords
 Outlining
 Clustering
 Narrowing by comparison
 Asking questions
 Journalism questions/ 5Ws
Exercise: Restricting the Subject
Relate to at least 2-3 personal experiences
 Working teenagers
 Dance
 Violence in the schools
 Health care
 Sports
Exercise: Narrow Focus of Research Topic
 Movie ratings
 Women’s rights
 Rap music lyrics
Writing Research Questions
 Raising questions about the subject can provide clear
boundaries for the paper
 General questions examine terminology, issues,
causes, etc. See sample on page 17
 Rhetorical Questions
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Comparison: How does a state lottery compare with horse
racing?
Definition: What is lottery in legal terms? In religious terms?
Cause/effect (see p. 17)
Process: How are winnings distributed?
Asking questions
 Framing questions according to academic disciplines
 Economics: Does sports gambling benefit a college's
athletic budget? Does it benefit the national economy?
 Psychology: What is the effect of gambling on the mental
attitude of the college athlete who knows huge sums hang
in the balance on his or her performance?
 History: Does gambling on sporting events have
identifiable tradition?
 Sociology: What compulsion in human nature prompts
people to gamble on the prowess of an athletic or team?
Acceptable? Too broad? Opinionated
 Living with aids
 Too broad
 Religious bias in selected nursery rhymes
 Acceptable
 Pollution levels in the Kaohsiung area
 acceptable
 Immunization
 Too broad
 Country music is for hicks!
 Opinionated
 Abortion is murder
 Too sensational
Topics in Marketing
http://www.quirks.com/market_research_topics/
More topics here
 http://www.rockresearch.com/hottopics.php
(Business/Marketing)
 http://gatorball.wordpress.com/2009/02/04/top10-research-topics-for-education/ (Education)
 http://www.socialpsychology.org/social.htm (social
psychology)
 http://www.cpl.org/Research/PopularTopics/Emplo
yment.aspx (employment)
Formulating Research Questions
 Once you have focused your topic so that it has an appropriate scope
for your assignment, time frame, and length requirements, you need to
formulate a research question(s). To do so, determine the most
important questions that you want to ask and answer.
Consider for example these possible research questions developed
from the broad subject area of bilingual education:
* Should bilingual education be extended to monolingual children?
* What teaching methods work best in bilingual classrooms?
* For what reasons do people send (or not send) their children to
bilingual schools?
* Are children who are placed in bilingual programs more successful in
later grades than those in English-only programs?
A research question will give you a sense of direction. Frequently as
you do your research and take notes, you will have in mind a tentative
response to your question.
Assignment 1
 On your wiki, create a page called ‘research topic’
 On that page, you write down at least 5 possible
general topics that interest you
 Out of the 5 topics, narrow them to 1-2 topics
 Google your chosen topic and see what sub-topics
appear
 Localize your topic. Can your topic be applied in local
context? If so, how?
Thesis Sentence, Enthymeme, or Hypothesis
 A thesis sentences advances a conclusion the writer
will defend
 An enthymeme uses a ‘because’ clause to make a
claim the writer will defend
 A hypothesis is a theory that must be tested in the
lab, in the literature, and/or by field research to
prove its validity
subject
Thesis sentence samples
 Chat rooms and online matching services enable
people to meet only after a prearranged engagement
by email.
Focusing agent
A good working thesis
 A Good Working Thesis, p. 16, Keys for Writers: a Handbook,
Ann Raimes, 2nd Edition, US: Houghton Mifflin (1999)
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narrows your topic to a single main idea that you want to
communicate
asserts your position clearly and firmly in a sentence that
makes a claim about a topic
states not simply a fact but an opinion
makes a generalization that can be supported by details, facts,
and examples within the assigned limtations of time and
space;
stimulates the curiousity and interest in readers and prompts
them to thing, "Why do you say that?" and read on.
A strong, thought-provoking, or controversial
statement
1.
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Bilingual education has not fulfilled its early promise.
A call to action
2.
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All inner-city schools should set up bilingual programs.
A question that will be answered in the essay
3.
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What can bilingual education accomplish for a child? It can lead to
academic and personal development
A preview or reflections of the structure of the research
4.
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Bilingual education suffers from two main problems: a shortgae of
trained teachers and lack of parental involvement.
claim
Enthymeme
 “Hyperactive children need medication because
ADHD is a medical disorder, not a behavioral
problem.”
Stated reason
support the
claim
Hypothesis
 Theoretical hypothesis
Discrimination against young women in the classroom,
known as “shortchanging,” harms the women
academically, socially, and psychologically.
Student will produce a theoretical
study by citing literature on
‘shortchanging.’
Class size affects the number of written assignments by
writing instructors.
 Claims one variable changes, so does another
 It could be tested, examined, and correlate class size
and assignments
 Requires field research
Assignment 2
 Now, look at your topic, or if you have already
written your thesis statement, look at it again and
compare it with the guidelines above. Does it meet
the guidelines? Should you edit it and make it better?
 Create a page on your wiki (Thesis Statement), and
post your working thesis statement there
 Make sure to add LINKS to your SIDEBAR
 Use the name of the page when you create LINKS
(you can do this by dragging the name of the page to
where you want it located on the page.)
Deadline
 Research questions and thesis statement must be in
by 9/24/2013