Influence of a Research Question
1) Why is starting with a research question a good approach? It gives the researcher a clear understanding of what they are trying to find our and "record"
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Within an essay, poster, or research paper, the thesis is the researcher’s answer to the research question(s).
Thesis should include the researcher's answer to the question. Tells the audience what your project will be about
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Yes.
3) How are regular questions different than research questions?
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It’s worth remembering that reading, scanning, looking at, and listening to information resources is very useful during any step of the process to develop research questions.
Background reading can be extremely beneficial when learning about a narrow topic. It creates a base layer of information before diving into sources.
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“spring”
Key words can help narrow down a topic and find something interesting to you as a person. This seems like a good strategy even when a word is not assigned.
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narrow down until you’ve focused your interest enough to be able to tell precisely what you want to find out, instead of only what you want to “write about.”
2) How narrow/broad should my research questions be? My research questions should narrowly be based on what I want to find out.
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they are essential to the research process.
What makes them so essential?
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- Sep 2026
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having a plan can help you conscientiously choose sources that will meet all your information needs. It will save you time in the long run and will lead to more successful research projects, with fewer last-minute panics over not having the best sources.
Answer my third question: How do I know what source to use? If i start with a plan on how I am going to choose sources it will be easier for me to integrate them.
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Deciding whether your particular course is in the arts or the sciences or social sciences may be pretty obvious to you.
This is a good way to identify which source is needed and when to use it. Depending on the course or topic, sources may vary
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That’s true even when you find sources that disagree.
Answer my third question: when do i use sources? If i find a source that disagrees, it can and should be used to show consideration
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your sources will support you every step of the way during your research project.
Kind of answers my third question. Sources should be used to check research throughout the whole process.
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data are actually necessary to answer research questions
Data can be useful to support or rule of hypotheses but it is not always required
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scholarly journal
Peer reviewed and trustworthy, so it is an excellent source
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Where findings of research projects, data and analytics, and case studies usually appear first. Often long (usually over 10 pages) and always include footnotes and references. Usually published by universities, professional associations, and commercial publishers. Published after approval by peer review or from the journal’s editor.
Answers my second question: what is a scholarly source? it is a source used to present knowledge or findings from a specific field of study. They are often professional and pretty lengthy.
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The authors may use discipline-specific terminology
like a research article?
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Primary, Secondary & Tertiary Sources
What are these kinds of sources?
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publication mode
New: I have never heard of this way to categorize sources. Depending on where the information comes from determines the publication mode.
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“should”
key subjective information identifier
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“In their thirties, women should stock up on calcium to ensure strong, dense bones and to ward off osteoporosis later in life.” *
Example: subjective information is an interpretation or perspective. Contains some facts but has bias
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demand evidence to back them up.
Not enough evidence to make up, making it a weak source
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want the author’s main purpose to have been to inform or educate his/her audience.
Answers my first question: No an opinion is not a strong source and should not be used. It cannot truly educate or inform an audience reliably.
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scholarly writing.
informs and educates audience
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less factual and analytical.
This kind of answer my question, can an author's opinion be a source? Yes it can, but is not factual or analytical.
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information that was subjective
what is subjective information?
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what dictated the kind of information he/she chose to include.
an author's intent behind creating a source can reveal what kind of information is presented
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(such as images, sound, and video) may be is used as data or used to convey data.
New: Sounds/videos/pictures can be used as data
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A source can be categorized by:
How sources are categorized based on data
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- Aug 2026
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Lateral Reading+
One way to see if a source is credible
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whatever you do, don’t stop evaluating after looking only at a website’s name or the title of another source.
Saves time but may cause you to miss relevant material.
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currency test
Another way to save time and test if a source is relevant.
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it’s relevant, read or skim only parts of each source.
Answers two of my questions. Saves time.
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preprints
Not peer-reviewed. May not be credible
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Relevant sources are those that pertain to your research question.
Definition of what a relevant source is
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Information about a personal health problem. An image you can use on a poster. Evidence to win a bet with a rival in the dorm. Dates and times a movie is showing locally. A game to have fun with. Evidence for your argument in a research project.
Answers my question first question.
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Is this source relevant to my research question? Is this source recent enough (or created in the right time period)? Is this a credible source–a source my audience and I should be able to trust?
These are great starter questions when trying to find sources that are right.
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Making Inferences: Good Enough for Your Purpose?
What are the key components to making a strong/good enough inference?
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