Craft of Research Chapter 3 From Topic To Question Jin Guang Zheng, Tetherless World Constellation

Introduction Goal of the chapter Who should read how to explore your interests to find a topic, narrow it to a manageable scope, question it to find the makings of a problem, then turn it into a problem that guides your research. Who should read if you are starting your first project, you will find this chapter useful. Overview of the chapter From An Interest To A Topic From A Broad Topic To A Focused One From A Focused Topic To Questions From A Merely Interesting Question To Its Wider Significance

From An Interest To A Topic Start by listing two or three interests you’d like to explore. E.g. Semantic Web Use library, internet, talk to professors, etc. Find a topic interests you Talk to professors, your advisor Professors have more knowledge about the research field Scan headings for topics that catch your interest Use library, internet Up-to-date references Advanced research project: look first for what resources are easily available Avoid start over

From A Broad Topic To A Focused One Topic can be too broad to explore Semantic Search, Semantic Similarity, Semantic Web Services, etc. Narrow those topics by adding words and phrases of special kind: Conflict, description, contribution, development Move a step closer to a claim Caution: Don’t narrow your topic so much that you can’t find enough data on it.

From A Focused Topic To Questions Think what you do not know about the topic: Ask questions: who, what, when, where, but focus on WHY and HOW Analytical questions: values of your topic, etc. Record the questions Identify the parts and how they interrelate What are the parts of your topic, and how do they relate to one another? How is your topic part of a larger system? Trace its own history and its role in a larger history How and why has your topic changed through time, as something with its own history? How and why is your topic an episode in a larger history

From A Focused Topic To Questions Identify its characteristics and the categories that include it To what larger categories can your topic be assigned? How does that help us understand it? Determine its value What values does your topic reflect? How good or bad is your topic? Is it useful? Evaluate your questions Matters of settled facts v.s. Invite deeper research What, when, where, what v.s. How, why Combine smaller questions into larger and more significant ones.

From A Merely Interesting Question To Its Wider Significance Think about the significance of you questions Why should this question also grab my readers? So What? Three Steps toward an answer Name your topic Add a question Motivate your question

Name your topic Describe your topic in a sentence as specific as you can make it I am studying diagnostic process in the repair of cooling systems.

Add a Question Add to that sentence an indirect question that specifies something that you do not know or understand about your topic but want to: I am studying diagnostic processes in the repair of cooling systems, because I am trying to find out how expert repairers diagnose failures

Motivate your question Introduce this second implied question with in order to help my reader understand how, why, or whether: I am studying diagnostic processes in the repair of cooling systems Because I am trying to find out how expert repairers analyze failures, In order to help my reader understand how to design a computerized system that can diagnose and prevent failures.

Conclusion 4 steps toward your research questions Questioning is Good. From An Interest To A Topic From A Broad Topic To A Focused One From A Focused Topic To Questions From A Merely Interesting Question To Its Wider Significance Questioning is Good. Ask questions to professors, yourself What are my interests? What topics are interesting? Ask questions during each steps

Thank you for your attention ! Questions Thank you for your attention !