1. Navigating Research Projects

2. Research: Learning and discovering to solve problems
Research and analysis drives progress and innovation in every field.
All of us conduct research in our daily lives to solve problems
When we want to purchase something: a car, a phone, good running shoes – we read articles and reviews on these items
When we travel, we research places to go, where to stay, and things to do
When we want to lose weight, we research diets and exercise routines

3. Research: Learning and discovering to solve problems
Passionate inquiry
Why are we doing this?
Writing, research, and analysis require more depth of understanding and promote deeper learning than tests or exams
Howard Gardner’s performances of understanding
The Three Ps in teaching pedagogy (I do, we do, you do)
Research makes you think critically!
Remember Robert Reich?
Transcending Topics
Forget the word “topic.” Instead, think in terms of problems

4. Research: Learning and discovering to solve problems
As you think of problems to base your research project on, consider the following:
Reject clichéd or moral controversies, unless you can think of a fresh, problem- solving angle for researching them.
Ask yourself if you have a genuine interest in the research problem and if it has an impact on your life.
Ask yourself if you can make a contribution to solving the problem and what that contribution could be.
Consider whether or not you have any firsthand knowledge of the problem or exposure to it. (If you do, you have a better chance of making a meaningful contribution.)
Consider whether you are willing to research the problem with an open mind - ask questions, examine opposing views, and engage in critical thinking.

5. Research: learning and discovering to solve problems
Generating ideas
This is the invention and/or prereading step of the writing process
Brainstorm a list of potential problems and ask yourself the following about each of them:
How does the problem affect people’s lives? Is it controversial? Why hasn’t the problem been solved?
What is the goal of the project? Keep in mind that people know how to find information when they need it, so just “informing” you audience usually isn’t a sufficient goal. How will your project serve a problem-solving purpose? What can you contribute that has not already been said or is not already known?
What personal knowledge do you have about the problem, and how will that knowledge apply to your research goal?
What audience do you have in mind for your paper, essay, or report?
What legitimate opposing view or counterarguments can your readers possibly bring up?

6. Researching: Learning and discovering to solve problems
The search within
You have a better chance of coming up with a decent research problem if you look within your own life before you look outside it
Think about the issues or problems that you’ve written about in previous assignments for this class
Think about problems related to your education, past and present – homeschooling, standardized testing, college access, loans, and grade inflation. These are problems that you know something about and are relevant to many other people.
Think about problems related to your field or career interests
Think about problems related to your personal life – your family, upbringing, identity, or health. Other possibilities include: strict or overly protective parents, adolescent delinquency, undocumented families, depression, or learning disabilities. Millions of other people also struggle with these problems, so they merit further research and analysis as society works toward solutions!

7. Researching: Learning and discovering to Solve problems
Research sources
If you cannot think of a problem related to your life, look toward the news and current events. Good sources include:
The New York Times
The Atlantic
The Guardian
The Economist
Vice
The Huffington Post

8. The Proposal
This project calls for a researched report that supports a position on an issue or problem that it is important to you.
The goal of your project is to investigate and try to solve the problem using factual information and objective analysis.
Remember, good research incorporates the best available information and takes info consideration opposing views and perspectives that may not be aligned with your initial convictions or assumptions

9. The Proposal 1. the main issue or problem
2. the research goal: central question (or questions), the provisional thesis or main argument
3. reasons for selecting this issue
4. intended audience and reader-relevance
5. Research methods and sources

10. Developing and implementing a research plan
Identify your audience
Define your purpose and goal
Write a provisional thesis
Develop research questions
Determine your research sources
Create a schedule

11. Conducting Research Primary research Secondary research
Using information you gather firsthand
Interviews, surveys, observations, original documents (letters, photographs, memoirs, etc.)
Secondary research
Based on work other people have done, usually published in books or articles

12. Conducting research Primary research pros and cons Pros cons
Brings your research to life
Takes time to prepare and conduct
Gives it more humans dimensions
Interviews need to be scheduled in advance
Gets your away from your desk
Surveys have to be created and then analyzed, plus it takes time to get responses
Results of primary research are unpredictable

13. Conducting research Primary research pros and cons
For theses reasons, DO NOT rely exclusively on primary research, use secondary sources as well
Preliminary research
Use to find out if enough quality sources are available to move your project forward
Does not need to be thorough
Its purpose is to give you an overview of available sources you can start to collect and examine
Great places to start:
CQ Researcher
Google Scholar
Science.gov
Libraryofcongress.gov
Harold Washington Library

14. Conducting research Guess primary or secondary Personal interviews
Surveys, questionnaires, focus groups
primary
Scholarly books, journal articles, critical reviews
Secondary
Site visits and observations
Magazine articles
secondary
Business studies
Online discussion boards

15. Conducting research Wikipedia Often considered a questionable source
Entries can be written or changed by anyone
Information may oversimplified, inaccurate or spotty
On the other hand …
Accessible and easy to use
Entries are timely
Entries on almost any topic imaginable
A good place to PRELIMINARY research
To start collecting background information, dates initial perspectives, and potential references and material

16. Preliminary research tasks
Do some preliminary research for your topic
After learning a bit more about your topic, identify:
At least one problem, controversy, or question
Compile a list of FIVE secondary sources that you could use to begin your research project (MLA style) (see MLA style guide in your blog)

17. Writing a rough draft Managing your time Taking detailed notes
See timetable in class blog
Get started right away
Write and research at the same time
Taking detailed notes
Consolidate your notes somewhere you will not lose work!
Google drive, one drive, or YOUR BLOG!

18. Formal organization and proportions
Research papers are broke down into two essential parts:
1. the opening, or introduction which presents the research problem and the central thesis, argument, or solution
2. the thesis support – in other words, the evidence and analysis that supports the central thesis, argument, or solution
The opening or introduction is a blueprint for the whole paper and should present the problems and the thesis argument that the rest of the paper will support

19. Writing the opening
If you’ve chosen a topic that you care about, then you know enough about it to go ahead and write the descriptions of the problem or issue as you being conducting research.
As you research, go back and add examples and statistics to strengthen your argument
You may not know your exact thesis until you finish your paper
For now, a questions driving your research OR a provisional argument can serve as your thesis
When you finish, you will replace this with either an answer to your question or a more qualified claims

20. Writing the opening
You need to gain your readers attention and trust. Your thesis should do more than state the obvious.
Ask yourself the following about your final thesis statement:
Does it present an argument or offer a solution to the research problem? Does the argument or solution need to be defended, proven, or supported? Are there valid counterarguments to consider?
Is the thesis interesting? Does it present an idea that is new or surprising? Does it give an intelligent reader something to think about and a reason to continue reading?
Is the wording clear?
Is the thesis specific enough o be supported in a paper, or is it too broad – more of book- length topic?

21. Building to climax
You can begin to draft your thesis support as you are doing research
You can organize the support to a logical sequence during the evaluation and revision stage

22. Addressing counterarguments and opposing views
Consider addressing opposing views at the beginning of your support section

23. Documentation
This means identifying your sources of information and telling your readers where they can find them.
This serves to both give credit to your sources and leave a trail of information for readers

24. documentation To cite: No need to cite:
Information that you summarize or paraphrase
Birth and death dates
Direct quotations
Writing that certain landmarks are famous if they are indeed famous
Statistics, charts, graphs, maps, drawings
Commonly known recipes or consistencies
Audiovisual information – documentaries, videos, podcasts, photographs, and so on
Information obtained firsthand from other peope

25. Tags, lead-ins, and signal phrases
Examples:
In an interview on 60 Minutes, former President Bill Clinton admitted that __________
According to Penn Kimball, the FBI report concluded that he was “too clever” to be caught holding a Communist Party card.
As Supreme Court Justice Scalia observes, _________________.
Publishers Weekly calls the book a “provocative reassessment.”