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High School Research Portal: Plan

What is a Research Project?

 

A Research Project is:  A Research Project is Not:
  • The final product of research, study, critical thinking, reflection, organization, and composition
  • A work that changes as the author explores and interprets the best minds in a field
  • An engagement with sources that allows the author to come to a conclusion based on evidence
  • Of course, stays within assignment constraints
  • An overview of a subject
  • A "book report" or an editorial
  • A summary of what you found
  • Quote after quote after quote after quote
  • A summary of what you already believed

Choosing a Topic

  • Begin with a research question/thesis question, but know this will very likely change, mutate, and evolve as you research. 
  • Even if topics are constrained, try to start with something you know and are passionate.  If you do not care, the reader will know.
  • Questions should be clear, focused, concise, and complex. 
  • Is able to be argued.  Topics of faith and absolutes make poor research topics. 
  • Is NOT able to be Googled!!! If one can find the answer to his/her question through a quick internet search, the questions is probably not worth asking.
  • Be prepared to collect data for your topic, perhaps through an experiment or surveys.

Time Management

 

Google Calendar

Be certain to record personal and school due dates into your Google Calendar.   
"...is an application that lets you block your own access to distracting websites, your mail servers, or anything else on the Internet" (selfcontrolapp.com).


Brainstorming/Mind Mapping/Questioning

Possible Types of Questions to Brainstorm and Map:

Thin Questions
  • About basic facts
  • Will provide a one or two-word answer
  • Example: YES or NO questions
 Fat Questions
  • Can't be answered with YES or NO
  • Open-ended
  • Have different possible answers
  • Explain why or how
  • Make connections, predictions, or comparisons
  • Example: Why did...?, What would happen if...?, What caused...?
 Exploratory questions (also known as concept questions) 
  • To gain understanding of a new topic
  • Finding out new knowledge
  • Typically begin with "What"
  • Example: What are the different forms of energy...?
 Descriptive questions
  • Presents a picture of a specific situation
  • Typically begin with "How" or Who"
  • Example: How do students at JIS use technology in their learning?
 Explanatory Questions
  • Provide detailed explanations in answer
  • Build upon exploratory and descriptive research questions
  • Gives reasons for why things occur
  • Example: Why do students are JIS use technology in their learning?
  Cause & Effect Questions
  • Explains the relationship between two events
  • Makes connections between events
  • Example: What are the causes and effects of global warming?
Brainstorming
  • Writing notes and ideas
  • Little worry about organization or grammar
  • Just ideas, keywords, and whatever comes to mind 
Photo Credit: @boetter via Compfight cc
 Mind Mapping
  • Start with the main idea or topic in the center of a workspace
  • Create different branches for each category or idea 
  • Include pictures, color codes, symbols, sketches, anything, etc.. as you go
By Danny Stevens (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC-BY-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

Organize Key Words

  • Begin a list of the key words that will help you to unlock information with electronic sources. 
  • These could include synonyms, people, laws, studies, scientific terms, etc...
  • Example:  global warming, green house gasses, carbon footprint, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, climate change... 
Remember to keep this list around as more and more key words will be revealed as you research and organize.