{"id":221,"date":"2022-03-09T20:55:25","date_gmt":"2022-03-10T01:55:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=221"},"modified":"2022-06-28T21:11:13","modified_gmt":"2022-06-29T01:11:13","slug":"asking-research-questions","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/chapter\/asking-research-questions\/","title":{"raw":"Asking Research Questions","rendered":"Asking Research Questions"},"content":{"raw":"<a class=\"internal\" href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1608\/2022\/03\/words-papers-with-laptop-office-scaled.jpg\"><img class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1166 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1608\/2022\/03\/words-papers-with-laptop-office-1024x717.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration of overlapping pieces of paper with question words placed behind an open laptop next to a pair of glasses and a pencil.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"717\" \/><\/a>Why start with a research question?\r\n\r\nBy starting from a place of curiosity\u2014as scholars, or students, or even in our everyday lives\u2014we become more open to following where the research leads us. This is important! There is a remarkable difference between research papers written by students who have started with the conclusion and simply looked for evidence to back up their preconceived ideas vs. students who begin their research with a genuine curiosity to discover something and be changed in some way by the process. In this chapter, you\u2019ll be guided through the process of how to narrow your topic and develop an open-ended research question.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div class=\"textbox\">\r\n\r\n<strong>Questions for Reflection:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a class=\"internal\" href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1608\/2022\/02\/noun-think-631590.png\"><img class=\"alignright wp-image-178\" style=\"padding-left: 0px\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1608\/2022\/02\/noun-think-631590-300x300.png\" alt=\"Blank thought bubble\" width=\"201\" height=\"201\" \/><\/a>Set a timer for three minutes and <a class=\"internal\" href=\"https:\/\/writingprocess.mit.edu\/process\/step-1-generate-ideas\/instructions\/freewriting\">free-write<\/a>\u00a0about something that makes you feel fire and fury\u2014something that once you start talking about it, you get all fired up. Maybe your face gets a bit hot or maybe you start writing a little faster. Remember, in a free-write, the goal is to keep writing for the whole three minutes.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">After the time is up, read over your free-write. Are there any questions that arise while you're reading? These questions can be anything! For example, what kind of actions need to happen to create change? Or, why am I so fired up about this? Or, what do people say who disagree with me? List these questions below your free-write or on a separate page.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--examples\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Student Narrative<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n\r\nEvery night while sitting in the family room with my father, we watch the news and try to stay up to date on the events occurring around us. Climate change stories have erupted lately; I increasingly notice broadcasters covering the issue. I think to myself that we live in an amazing, beautiful and serene environment in British Columbia. Our license plates flaunt \u201cBeautiful British Columbia,\u201d and the world recognizes the gorgeous terrain that surrounds us. I feel that beauty is at stake; climate change is the aggressor. Terms like rising sea levels, more frequent flooding and extinction of species roam through my mind while I sit there, quietly, watching television. We are slowly but surely destroying the world around us. The world that had been sustained for millennia by Indigenous peoples, up until the industrial era. I fear my great-grandkids won\u2019t be able to witness the heaven-like world I, at times, take for granted. Taking this fear, I harness it into action. I urge my parents to buy an electric vehicle and buy BC-grown groceries. I want to\r\nknow, in the end, that I did my part, and I did my best.\r\n\r\n<strong>This inspires me to ask some potential research questions:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>How will climate change impact the frequency of recently experienced events (flooding, forest fires and heatwaves) in BC, and across the globe?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>How will economic factors fluctuate with more frequent weather events? Will prices of common goods rise? How will marginalized people with low-income suffer?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>How will the decrease in biodiversity due to climate change directly and indirectly affect British\r\nColumbians?<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n&nbsp;","rendered":"<p><a class=\"internal\" href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1608\/2022\/03\/words-papers-with-laptop-office-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1166 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1608\/2022\/03\/words-papers-with-laptop-office-1024x717.jpg\" alt=\"Illustration of overlapping pieces of paper with question words placed behind an open laptop next to a pair of glasses and a pencil.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"717\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1608\/2022\/03\/words-papers-with-laptop-office-1024x717.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1608\/2022\/03\/words-papers-with-laptop-office-300x210.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1608\/2022\/03\/words-papers-with-laptop-office-768x538.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1608\/2022\/03\/words-papers-with-laptop-office-1536x1075.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1608\/2022\/03\/words-papers-with-laptop-office-2048x1434.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1608\/2022\/03\/words-papers-with-laptop-office-65x46.jpg 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1608\/2022\/03\/words-papers-with-laptop-office-225x158.jpg 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1608\/2022\/03\/words-papers-with-laptop-office-350x245.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a>Why start with a research question?<\/p>\n<p>By starting from a place of curiosity\u2014as scholars, or students, or even in our everyday lives\u2014we become more open to following where the research leads us. This is important! There is a remarkable difference between research papers written by students who have started with the conclusion and simply looked for evidence to back up their preconceived ideas vs. students who begin their research with a genuine curiosity to discover something and be changed in some way by the process. In this chapter, you\u2019ll be guided through the process of how to narrow your topic and develop an open-ended research question.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox\">\n<p><strong>Questions for Reflection:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a class=\"internal\" href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1608\/2022\/02\/noun-think-631590.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-178\" style=\"padding-left: 0px\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1608\/2022\/02\/noun-think-631590-300x300.png\" alt=\"Blank thought bubble\" width=\"201\" height=\"201\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1608\/2022\/02\/noun-think-631590-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1608\/2022\/02\/noun-think-631590-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1608\/2022\/02\/noun-think-631590-65x65.png 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1608\/2022\/02\/noun-think-631590-225x225.png 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1608\/2022\/02\/noun-think-631590-350x350.png 350w, https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1608\/2022\/02\/noun-think-631590.png 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 201px) 100vw, 201px\" \/><\/a>Set a timer for three minutes and <a class=\"internal\" href=\"https:\/\/writingprocess.mit.edu\/process\/step-1-generate-ideas\/instructions\/freewriting\">free-write<\/a>\u00a0about something that makes you feel fire and fury\u2014something that once you start talking about it, you get all fired up. Maybe your face gets a bit hot or maybe you start writing a little faster. Remember, in a free-write, the goal is to keep writing for the whole three minutes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">After the time is up, read over your free-write. Are there any questions that arise while you&#8217;re reading? These questions can be anything! For example, what kind of actions need to happen to create change? Or, why am I so fired up about this? Or, what do people say who disagree with me? List these questions below your free-write or on a separate page.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--examples\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Student Narrative<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<p>Every night while sitting in the family room with my father, we watch the news and try to stay up to date on the events occurring around us. Climate change stories have erupted lately; I increasingly notice broadcasters covering the issue. I think to myself that we live in an amazing, beautiful and serene environment in British Columbia. Our license plates flaunt \u201cBeautiful British Columbia,\u201d and the world recognizes the gorgeous terrain that surrounds us. I feel that beauty is at stake; climate change is the aggressor. Terms like rising sea levels, more frequent flooding and extinction of species roam through my mind while I sit there, quietly, watching television. We are slowly but surely destroying the world around us. The world that had been sustained for millennia by Indigenous peoples, up until the industrial era. I fear my great-grandkids won\u2019t be able to witness the heaven-like world I, at times, take for granted. Taking this fear, I harness it into action. I urge my parents to buy an electric vehicle and buy BC-grown groceries. I want to<br \/>\nknow, in the end, that I did my part, and I did my best.<\/p>\n<p><strong>This inspires me to ask some potential research questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How will climate change impact the frequency of recently experienced events (flooding, forest fires and heatwaves) in BC, and across the globe?<\/li>\n<li>How will economic factors fluctuate with more frequent weather events? Will prices of common goods rise? How will marginalized people with low-income suffer?<\/li>\n<li>How will the decrease in biodiversity due to climate change directly and indirectly affect British<br \/>\nColumbians?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"media-attributions clear\" prefix:cc=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/ns#\" prefix:dc=\"http:\/\/purl.org\/dc\/terms\/\"><h2>Media Attributions<\/h2><ul><li about=\"https:\/\/www.freepik.com\/free-photo\/words-papers-with-laptop-office_17057277.htm#query=asking%20research%20question&position=9&from_view=search\"><a rel=\"cc:attributionURL\" href=\"https:\/\/www.freepik.com\/free-photo\/words-papers-with-laptop-office_17057277.htm#query=asking%20research%20question&position=9&from_view=search\" property=\"dc:title\">words-papers-with-laptop-office<\/a>  &copy;  <a rel=\"dc:creator\" href=\"https:\/\/www.freepik.com\/rawpixel-com\" property=\"cc:attributionName\">rawpixel.com<\/a>    is licensed under a  <a rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY (Attribution)<\/a> license<\/li><li about=\"https:\/\/thenounproject.com\/icon\/think-631590\/\"><a rel=\"cc:attributionURL\" href=\"https:\/\/thenounproject.com\/icon\/think-631590\/\" property=\"dc:title\">Think<\/a>  &copy;  <a rel=\"dc:creator\" href=\"https:\/\/thenounproject.com\/tkirby\/\" property=\"cc:attributionName\">Kirby Wu<\/a>    is licensed under a  <a rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY (Attribution)<\/a> license<\/li><\/ul><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1558,"menu_order":1,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-221","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":71,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1558"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1983,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/221\/revisions\/1983"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/71"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/221\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=221"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=221"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/writingplace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}