Extended+Essay+-+2.+Developing+Your+Research+Question

=__ Developing Your Research Question __= = =

 EVALUATE YOUR OWN RESEARCH QUESTION

**Ask the following 8 questions** to evaluate the quality of your research question and the ease with which you should be able to answer it:

1. Does the question deal with a topic or issue that interests me enough to spark my own thoughts and opinions? 2. Can the question be easily and thoroughly researched? 3. What type of information do I need to answer the research question? e.g., The research question, "What impact has deregulation had on commercial airline safety?," will obviously require certain types of information:
 * statistics on airline crashes before and after
 * statistics on other safety problems before and after
 * information about maintenance practices before and after
 * information about government safety requirements before and after

4. Is the scope of this information reasonable? (e.g., can I really research 30 on-line writing programs developed over a span of 10 years?) 5. Given the type and scope of the information that I need, is my question too broad, too narrow, or acceptable? 6. What sources will have the type of information that I need to answer the research question (journals, books, internet resources, government documents, people)? 7. Can I access these sources? 8. Given my answers to the above questions, do I have a good quality research question that I actually will be able to answer by doing research? Evaluation Tip: Contact your EE Mentor if you're not sure whether your research question fulfills the assignment.