Fillable Refining A Research Question printable pdf download

Refining A Research Question

Download a blank fillable Refining A Research Question in PDF format just by clicking the "DOWNLOAD PDF" button.

Open the file in any PDF-viewing software. Adobe Reader or any alternative for Windows or MacOS are required to access and complete fillable content.

Complete Refining A Research Question with your personal data - all interactive fields are highlighted in places where you should type, access drop-down lists or select multiple-choice options.

Some fillable PDF-files have the option of saving the completed form that contains your own data for later use or sending it out straight away.

Name: ____________________

Refining a Research Question

It is not unusual to have to further refine your research question. This usually happens after you’ve done some initial

research and have a little more background knowledge about your subject. Refining your research question can be a

very important aspect – if your research question is too broad, it will be difficult to cover the topic in your research

paper. As well, if your research topic is too narrow, it will be difficult to find enough research material and write an

adequately in-depth paper.

In essence, refining a research question requires you to ask yourself questions about your topic and what you want to

know. For example, if you’re doing a paper on early American history, you might ask yourself these types of questions:

*Exactly which time period do I want to research? Colonial or post-colonial? Do I want to study the history of America

before European colonists arrived?

*Which geographical area do I want to study? Do I want to study a particular state or a particular region, like the south

or Midwest?

*Do I want to study a particular event, such as the first time indentured servants were brought to the colonies? Or the

hostilities between Native Americans and the European colonists? Or the fur trade along the Mississippi river?

After answering these types of questions I could create a refined topic. For example, I could take “early American

history” and come up with this topic: “The impact of the French and Indian War on the interactions between the

Iroquois and the Algonquin Indian tribes.”

As the example illustrates, you can take a very broad topic (early American history) and narrow it down to a manageable

size for a typical college-level research paper.

Directions: For the topic you’ve chosen, answer the following questions to narrow it to a final question or topic

statement.

1. State your general topic:

2. What time period do you want to study?

3. Is there a particular geographic area you want to study?

4. Is there a particular type of material you want to use in your research? (For example, newspapers, diaries,

original music, etc.)

Based upon An Educator’s Guide to Information Literacy: What Every High School Senior Needs to Know. Westport, CT: Libraries

Unlimited, 2007.

Refining A Research Question

Related Articles

Related forms

Related Categories