Developing a Research Question

Your assignment will be to develop a topic to establish hypotheses and a question about Mars. You will… Develop the big picture question.

Your assignment will be to develop a topic to establish hypotheses and a question about Mars. You will… Create a hypothesis about the geology of Mars.

Your assignment will be to develop a topic to establish hypotheses and a question about Mars. You will… Create a research question about Martian geology.

All science begins with a problem and a hypothesis. A good scientist is curious.

Your goals: Follow your curiosity about Mars. Evaluate your questions. Have a specific question for your research. Recognize that scientists contribute to a greater understanding of Mars through detailed research.

Questions and the Hypothesis Big picture questions are the questions a scientist asks while making observations. “What is that?” “How did it form?” “Why does it appear this way?” “Why is this different from other examples?” Hypotheses often result from big picture questions. These are potential answers or explanations for the observation.

Questions and the Hypothesis Research questions are the best explanations to the big picture questions. Research questions are specific to the data that will be collected. Sometimes the hypothesis and research question are considered to be the same.

Example – Formation of Valles Marineris Hypothesis Big Picture Question How was Valles Marineris formed on Mars?

Example – Formation of Valles Marineris Hypothesis Hypothesis #1 If Valles Marineris was formed by water similar to the Grand Canyon, then water features will be evident inside of the canyon. Research Question #1 Are water features, such as braided channels feeding the valley, and streamlined islands and oxbows found in the bottom of Valles Marineris?

Example – Formation of Valles Marineris Hypothesis Hypothesis #2 If Valles Marineris was formed by tectonic plates and is a giant rift valley, then there will be evidence for other plate tectonic features on the planet. Research Question #2 Can other tectonic features, such as trenches, island arcs, stratovolcanoes, and fault lines be found on the surface of Mars?

Example – Formation of Valles Marineris Hypothesis Hypothesis #3 If Valles Marineris was formed as a stress fracture from the rising magma pressure below the Tharsis bulge, then there will be other large valles features also pointing away from the Tharsis region. Research Question #3 Do all of the major valles features found around the Tharsis region point away from the center of the bulge (radially)?