THESIS WRITING?!? USUALLY THE HARDEST PART

TRADITIONAL PROBLEMS “WHAT IF MY RESEARCH GOES IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT DIRECTION?”

TRADITIONAL PROBLEMS “MY THESIS IS TOO BROAD”

TRADITIONAL PROBLEMS “MY THESIS IS TOO NARROW?”

TRADITIONAL PROBLEMS “I DON’T KNOW WHERE TO START?”

TRADITIONAL PROBLEMS “I DON’T KNOW WHERE TO START?”

Today’s Mission: Creating Research Questions

Access Granted

Mission Debriefing

What Is A Research Question? Answerable question into an issue Initial step in a research project

Steps To Create A Research Question 1.Connect an interest to the period of history. 2.Do preliminary research on the general topic. Gain background knowledge on the time 3.Ask open-ended "how" and "why" questions. Create a list of potential questions Choose one that interests you and allows for exploration 4.Finally, evaluate the question.

Mission Focus: Step 3 “How” and “why” questions: Allow for analysis of topic Create areas for arguable points

Mission Focus: Step 3 Examples of “How” and “Why” questions: Why did colonists leave their homes in England to live in uncertainty in the New World? How were the colonists in Jamestown able to survive? How were clothes in the colonial period indicative of social class? Why did Native Americans play a game of early lacrosse?

Do I Have A Good Research Question? 1.Will you be interested in finding out information to answer it? 2.Can you research the information to answer it? 3.Is the research question too broad or too narrow?

Mission Focus: Question 3 Is the research question too broad or too narrow? “What was life like in Harappa?” Would be very difficult to talk about everything “How many people moved to Ancient Korea?” Answerable with a simple statistic. = BROAD! = NARROW!

Examples of Research Questions How can we improve these research questions? What foods were eaten in Ancient China? Why did the Moores settle in Spain? Did King Henry VII matter for England’s survival?

Your Mission

Your Mission 1.Using a connected interest, create a research question you could use to find information on that area of interest. 2.Write this research question on a piece of paper. 3.Pair with someone next to you and Think Pair Share and edit. 4.Grab a marker and write your thesis on the board. 5.Group discussion and edits