Developing a
Research Topic
Research Topic
Good research questions are focused on the topic and can have multiple answers. Questions with more than one answer are called _________________.
What are open-ended questions?
Use this source to find the location of Taiwan.
What is an atlas?
Choose sources of information that are ____________ or trustworthy.
What is credible?
A strategy to help organize research notes is to first categorize the information or...
What is group notes based on related information?
A collection of online databases available only to SC residents.
An example of an open-ended question is...
A) Why is homework not effective?
B) Are students grades and test scores improving by doing homework?
C) How often are students assigned homework?
What is A) Why is homework not effective?
A video created in 1963 of Martin Luther King giving his "I Have A Dream" speech is an example of this kind of source.
What is a primary source?
A credible website should be...(name 2).
What are factual, unbiased, current, and published by a qualified author?
A tool for organizing information that uses headings and subheadings.
What is an outline?
A web address containing one of these domains can help determine if a website is trustworthy because it shows where a source originated. Name 2 domains that indicate a credible source.
ie. weather.org
What is .gov and .edu?
A student who is planning to write a research report about whether video games are good for kids, would choose this question to best focus the research so that the student would find information for the report...
A)Which video games are most popular with young people?
B) When is a good time to introduce children to video games?
C) What are some positive effects of playing video games?
D) How do people begin a career creating video games?
What is C) What are some positive effects of playing video games?
A biography about Barack Obama is an example of this source.
What is a secondary source?
One way to know if the information you read online is true.
What is cross reference or fact-check by searching other websites?
A student is doing research on sea turtles. Read the paragraph from the source.
Sea turtles lay eggs. A mother turtle finds a place on land to make a nest. She digs a hole in the sand or dirt on a beach, lays her eggs, and then buries them. The mother leaves the eggs and returns to the water. Weeks later, the eggs hatch. The baby turtles climb out of the nest and make their way to the ocean. They must avoid predators, such as sea birds. If these newborn turtles make it to the ocean, they start a “swimming frenzy” to move miles away into deeper waters.
The title that would best describe the topic of the report is:
A) Sea Turtles Love to Swim
B) Life Begins for Sea Turtles
C) Sea Turtle Nests
D) How to Find Sea Turtle Eggs
What is B) Life Begins for Sea Turtles?
The words in italics in the citation:
Jones, Mary. How to Write Poetry. New York, Junior Library Guild, 2016.
What is the publisher?
A student wrote the following draft of a report on the effects of listening to music while studying. Read the draft of the report:
Studies suggest that some people learn better if they listen to instrumental music while they study. There seems to be a connection between the rhythms of the music and the ability to concentrate. When the music has a steady, repetitive beat, it creates
background noise that can be beneficial. Of course, the music cannot be too loud, or it will become distracting.
If the student were conducting additional research, this question would best help the student gain a deeper understanding of the subject...
A) What types of music are the most popular with students who are studying?
B) How many people participated in the studies about listening to music?
C) What types of experiments have been done to show the connection between music and learning?
D) How loud would the music need to be before it is considered too loud to have positive effects?
What is C) What types of experiments have been done to show the connection between music and learning?
A student developed this research question for her project: "How have home computers changed since they were first introduced?"
The student found several sources, but this source would most likely have information that would be useful in the student's project...
A) a website that explains how to upgrade old computers to make them work like new
B) a periodical or magazine article titled, "How Computers Can Help Solve Everyday Problems."
C) a video that shows people how to safely get rid of old computers
D) pictures showing the evolution and advancements of computers
What is D) What are pictures showing the evolution and advancements of computers?
You are researching about your town's new mayor, Gregory Harris. You found a newspaper article about him and you want to make sure the information about him is factual and unbiased.
This sentence is a fair, unbiased statement about the mayor.
A) Mr. Harris will bring nothing but trouble to Valley City.
B) 72% voted for Gregory Harris, making him the new mayor of Valley City.
C) Gregory Harris will be very successful as mayor.
D) Gregory Harris is the best thing that has happened to Valley City.
What is B) 72% voted for Gregory Harris, making him the new mayor of Valley City?
A student is planning a research report on apes for his science class and has taken some notes from reliable sources. Read the student's notes:
-communicates with others by using hand signals
-uses twigs as tools to get insects out of small holes in trees or the ground
-puts a stick into water to measure its depth before walking across
To organize the notes correctly, the student will place the notes under this heading.
A) Fearless Animals
B) Playful Animals
C) Careful Animals
D) Intelligent Animals
What is D) Intelligent Animals?
Do this to give credit to the author and show where you got your information during research.
What is cite?
A student learned that the famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright believed in creating homes and buildings that conveyed cultural values of the United States. The student wants to research more about Frank Lloyd Wright and will write a report about the architect for the art teacher.
This research question would lead the student to a deeper understanding of Frank Lloyd Wright’s beliefs...
A) How old was Frank Lloyd Wright when he began studying architecture?
B) How much time did it take for an average Frank Lloyd Wright structure to be built?
C) What are Frank Lloyd Wright’s most famous structures?
D) What techniques did Frank Lloyd Wright use to communicate ideas in his designs?
What is D) What techniques did Frank Lloyd Wright use to communicate ideas in his designs?
A collection of information online that is organized and easy to retrieve like Britannica School on DISCUS.
What is a database?
A student is writing a report about castles in the United Kingdom and found the following information.
Many castles in the United Kingdom have fallen into ruin at some point in time. Some castles have been returned to their original states because of individuals interested in preserving history. Some were rebuilt by royalty who wanted to put the castles back into use for defensive purposes. Sadly, others have been left to rot, crumbling away as
if no one even cares if they stand or fall. The ironic thing is that these neglected castles often become the most photographed of the entire country.
This sentence best reveals the author’s bias?
A) Some castles have been returned to their original states because of individuals interested in preserving history.
B) Some were rebuilt by royalty who wanted to put the castles back into use for defensive purposes.
C) Sadly, others have been left to rot, crumbling away as if no one even cares if they stand or fall.
D) The ironic thing is that these neglected castles often become the most photographed of the entire country.
What is C) Sadly, others have been left to rot, crumbling away as if no one even cares if they stand or fall?
These notes would fit under the heading Safer Roller Coasters except...
A) can travel at speeds of 128mph
B) computerized systems stop rides if there's a problem
C) more skilled engineers design rollercoasters
What is A) can travel at speeds of 128mph?
What is paraphrase?