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Research 101

Frame Your Research Question

Good questions are open-ended and guide you through collecting, analyzing, and interpreting your research.

📋 Objective: Come up with a main idea. Prepare to defend your opinions and consider alternative points of view.

Research Topics to Research Questions

Research topics are the person place or thing that you are studying. To move from a topic to a question, consider what you want to know and what types of questions you can ask.

Types of Research Questions

  • Inquiries ask questions to frame your thinking. The answers you find provide a perspective for studying your subject
  • Investigations ask questions to gather evidence. The answers you find provide new information with which to make a decision about your subject. 

Who?

These types of questions ask about the subject’s identity

What?

These types of questions ask about the subject’s effect

When?

These types of questions ask about the subject’s moment

Where?

These types of questions ask about the subject’s location

Why?

These types of questions ask about the subject’s meaning

How?

These types of questions ask about the subject’s actions

Research Question to Thesis

The answer to a research question is a thesis statement. Ask clarifying questions until you can make a definitive claim. A thesis expresses ideas and arguments through analysis and reasoning. It can take different forms but must match the purpose and format of the project. It can be the starting point of an investigation, or a conclusion that is reached through inquiry. Draft and be prepared to revise your thesis after more research. 

PICO is an evidence-based research strategy commonly used in the health sciences. They identify the main elements of a research study.

Structure of a PICO question:

  1. Patient or population of interest
  2. Intervention or interest
  3. Comparison intervention/ group
  4. Outcome

📂Database Search Instructions

💻 Web Resources

Proofs are a series of statements that follow a pattern of deductive or inductive reasoning. These claims may agree or disagree with each other. The strength of a conclusion is based on the logic of each statement. 

Structure of a proof:

  1. Premise 1
  2. Premise 2
  3. Premise 3
  4. Logical Conclusion

Hypotheses are if-then statements that make predictions based on patterns of observations. The main claim is further supported by a justification or rationale. A strong hypothesis is testable and describes a relationship between causes and effects.

Structure of a hypothetical project:

  1. observe
  2. hypothesize
  3. test
  4. explain results

Frameworks locate artifacts, events, or experiences in a specific context. The central claim is an original argument supported by relevant theories. A strong framework identifies key concepts, interprets sources, and accurately places them into original constructs.

Structure of a framework:

  1. contextualize
  2. theorize
  3. interpret
  4. argue meaning

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