Choosing a Topic and Forming a Research Question

IntroductionChoosing and narrowing a topicForming a research questionTalk About ItYour Turn

Tech Tools in this presentation• KartOO• Clusty• Ask.com

Joe needs to focus on just one topic that he really wants to learn about. Then he can come up with a question that will guide him as he does his research.

I want to write a research paper

about soccer, but there are so many topics I could write

about!

Introduction

Introduction

rules

teamstricks

basics

One way to break a broad subject down into topics is to use a concept map.

From your map, choose the topic that is most interesting to you.

SOCCERleagues

equipment rules

famous players

Olympic soccer

countries where soccer is played

Introduction

Tech Tool: KartOO

A search engine such as KartOO can also help break down a broad subject. KartOO displays search results in an interactive map.

A list down the left side suggests other topics that you might want to research.

The topic for a research project should be just the right size:

• not so small that you will run out of things to say

• not so big that you can’t cover all of the information well

Narrowing a topic

David BeckhamDavid Beckham

If the topic you’ve chosen is too big, you should narrow your topic.

Narrowing a topic

soccer

Mia Hamm

Pele

famousplayers

Tech Tool: Clusty

Another way to narrow down a topic is to use a search engine such as Clusty.

Clusty groups similar Web sites into clusters. These clusters can show how your subject might be broken down into topics.

If you click the plus sign beside a cluster, Clusty will narrow the topic even further.

Another search engine, Ask.com, also can help you narrow down your topic. When you type in your topic, it suggests additional topics that you might try.

Tech Tool: Ask.com

As you enter your search terms, Ask.com lists related searches you could try.

• can’t be answered with a simple fact found in one source

Good research question:

How many kinds of sharks are there?

• is clear and specific

Poor research question:

Researchers often form a question that asks specifically what they are looking for. A good research question

Forming a research question

What types of sharks live off the coast of California?

No. Not specificenough.

No. Too narrow. Can be answered with a fact from one source.

Forming a research question

Are these good research questions?

Yes, this is clear and specific. The answer requires collecting and analyzing information from multiple sources.

What is a soccer ball made of?

Should soccer be taught in public school?

What are the basic skills a soccer player should know?

What are the basic skills a soccer player should know?What are the basic skills a soccer player should know?

Keywords are the most important words in your research. What are the keywords in this research question?

When you begin to look for information to answer your question, you can use the keywords to start your search.

Forming a research question

Tech Tool: Ask.com

Let’s take another look at Ask.com.

You can begin to look for answers to your research question by entering it in the Ask.com search bar.

A focused topic and a specific research question are the start to a winning research project!

Forming a research question

Discuss these questions with your classmates.

2. If you decided that it was not a good research question, how would you change it to make it better?

Talk About It

What should schools do to help students make good decisions about nutrition?

1. Is this a good research question? Why or why not?

Use a piece of paper or a computer to follow these steps:

2. Use a concept map to break the subject into topics, and then narrow one of the topics.

3. Use one of the search tools in this lesson to break down the same subject into smaller topics and then narrow one of the topics.

Your Turn

1. Type or write down a broad subject that interests you.

4. Did you come up with different ideas by using the two methods? Tell whether the concept map or the search tool was more effective for you, and why.

2. Concept map:

1. A subject that interests me is:

3. The search tool that I used was:

4. Different ideas that I came up with are:The tool that I found more effective was:It was more effective because:

Your Turn

The End