1. Research Topics Break this down into smaller topics
Language development and outdoor play.
Child initiated play and outdoor spaces.
Current lifestyles and outdoor activities available to children.
How many more can you think of?

2. Generating Research Questions
(A quick recipe to help you focus your research)

3. Research Area Start with your general area: Outdoor Play
Home educated children
Behaviour management in classrooms

4. Let’s look at the research area: “Outdoor Play”

5. Let’s look at the first of these
Research Area: outdoor play
Research Topic: Language development and outdoor play.
Now break it down further into general research questions.

6. General Research Questions
How do young children use language outdoors?
Differences between boys and girls outdoor activities and associated language?
Do parents’ living spaces make a difference to the language children use?

7. Specific Research Questions
Develop Specific Research Questions from these topics:
General Question: how do children use language outdoors?
What types of language is used by children involved in outdoor activities
Do children interact socially using language more when outdoors or indoors?

8. Other examples of breaking down the questions.
General Question:Differences between boys and girls outdoor activities and associated language?
Specific questions may be:
Do boys get to participate in more outdoor activities than girls?
Do boys talk more than girls when outdoors?
What is the difference in what boys and girls talk about when playing outdoors?

9. The Empirical Criterion
Check your questions against the empirical criterion.
(in other words can the question be answered ?

10. Examples of questions that you cannot answer… Why not?
What does a child think about…..
What do teachers feel when they….

11. So to sum up These are the steps: Research Area Research Topic
General Research Questions
Specific research questions
Empirical Criteria
Research Design
Good Luck!