Developing Your Research Topic
It all begins with a research question. This assignment is designed to help you develop a thoughtful topic for your research assignment. Answer the following questions to help you better understand and refine your thinking about your research topic. Refer back to Chapter 2: Ask a Compelling Question on page 35 of your eTextbook for this assignment. This activity is to help you explore your interests to identify possible areas for future research. You will be building on a topic you select as the semester goes on. Please use the internet or the MCU library to begin your investigation.
1. By now you have created a research question on a topic that you want to learn more about. What in the research question you selected?
2. Why are you interested in this topic?
THINK ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS RELATED TO YOUR TOPIC AND ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS.
Locate a Wikipedia page on your topic and start investigating your topic. Wikipedia is a good place to start but this should not be your final stop.
Insert the Wikipedia link here:
Write short paragraphs (3-4 sentences) for I, II, and III. Developing strong statements.
WHO?
I. Who is involved? Whom does it affect? Is there a specific population you will be focusing on?
WHAT?
II. What is the problem or issue? When did researchers begin to explore your topic? Add some historical background here found in the Wikipedia page you located.
WHERE?
III. Where did it begin? Is there a geographic location you want to focus on? Where does it fall on the moral spectrum (good/bad/Just)? Find some statistics related to your research question and share them here:
Films on Demand at MCU: Go to Databases by Discipline (click here) and locate the database titled Films on Demand, which is the last database listed on this page and click on it. Enter some key terms related to your topic in the search bar and see what segments or full videos you find on it. Use your critical thinking to locate and include something closely related to your topic.
Take a picture (screen shot or snip it) as proof that you entered the database Films on Demand and you found a video related to your topic.
Add it below:
Note: Please delete image of Nintendo above and insert your video record from Films on Demand here. Mac computers use Command+Shift+4 and PC users look for your snipping tool to capture your image.
Do Some Background Investigation:
Search Google, Wikipedia, and the online library resources Gale Virtual Reference Library, Credo Reference, Britannica Online, or Opposing Viewpoints to find basic background information about your topic and answer the questions below. Links to the MCU online library resources mentioned above can be found here: http://libguides.marymountcalifornia.edu/az.php?
A. Identify any major concepts or theories related to your topic:
List two concept or theory here:
1.
2.
B. List unfamiliar terminology by investigating further:
List at least 6 unfamiliar terms here:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
C. Identify any scholars or experts who have do research on your topic:
List two experts/scholars here and their credentials/Education:
1.
2.
D. List any other additional keywords you found during your investigation:
List at least 6 new keywords you found here:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
E. Go to Google Scholar and locate scholarly sources that would be useful for your research:
List 4 scholarly articles using APA style citation and put them in alphabetical order. There is an APA guide on our ID 230 course home page (alphabetize the articles by author’s last name):
Create a Concept Map for Your Topic:
In this section is a concept map brainstorming on the topic of Minimum Wages. There are many types of concept maps. Be creative in how you present your idea. The concept map below was created in Microsoft word. Look at page 27 of your ID 230 textbook for ideas to showcase your topic brainstorm. This section should include your own concept map based on your topic. Here is a link to a tutorial video: How to develop a concept map in Word
Note: Delete the example concept map in the space above and insert your own concept map in the same space.
Sample Solution
Developing your research topic
A good research topic is broad enough to allow you to find plenty of material, but narrow enough to fit within the size and time constraints of your paper. Let us talk about education as the research topic. Education is the social institution through which society provides its members with important knowledge, including basic facts, job skills, and cultural norms values. Research topics in education are a far and wide subject that continue to evolve with the landscape of education. Education gives us a knowledge of the world around us and changes it into something better. It develops in us a perspective of looking at life. It helps us build opinions and have points of view on things in life. People debate over the subject of whether education is the only thing that gives knowledge.
