Developing a Research Topic and Question

Introduction

• Choose a research topic that fits the assignment and piques your curiosity.
• This makes research more enjoyable and sharing your findings more engaging.

Brainstorming Topics

• Start by brainstorming interesting topics related to your assignment.
• Consider multiple ideas of interest, possibly from news items, class discussions, etc.
• Examples: weather, westward expansion, insects.

Brainstorming Subtopics

• Identify main topics and brainstorm all possible subtopics.
• Subtopics are smaller ideas that connect to the larger topic.

Choosing a Topic

• Evaluate which topics you are most knowledgeable and curious about.
• Example topic chosen: bees.

Understanding What You Know and Want to Know

• Use a KWL Chart:
  • K (Know): What do you already know? (e.g., bees sting, live in hives, make honey)
  • W (Wonder/Want): What do you want to know? (e.g., how do bees make honey, how do they work together?)
  • L (Learn): What have you learned? (to be filled after research)

Types of Questions

• Closed Questions: Basic, often starting with who, what, where, when. Simple answers found with minimal research.
• Open Questions: More complex, starting with why. Require more research, may lead to more questions.

Revising Questions

• Convert closed questions to open ended to encourage deeper thinking.
  • Example: "How many different kinds of bees are there?" becomes "Why does the world need different species of bees?"

Developing Essential Questions

• Essential questions are rich, open-ended, and the focus of your research.
• Review and revise open questions to make them richer.
  • Example: "How do bees work together?" becomes "How do bees work together as a community?"
• Choose the essential question that is most meaningful and interesting.

Approval and Keywords

• Get your essential question approved by your teacher.
• Start choosing keywords for research.
• For more details, refer to the OSLIS video, "Using Keywords."

Additional Resources

• Explore OSLIS for more information on this topic and the research process.
• Acknowledgment to the Oregon CLIP Project for their tutorials.