Ms. Mashburn's Research Page
Using Quality Resources gets great results!
Ms. Mashburn's Source Record - for notetaking and sources
Thesis Generator to help you create a basis for your research paper! Borrowed from Springfield High School.
Thesis Builder ElectraGuide is a tool that wants to help high school students: find a topic, create a good thesis statement, generate an outline.
Google Scholar Advanced Search
Tutorials from the UW
Research Basics Quiz
Creating a search query exercise
How to use Boolean search terms
Research questions should be just that - questions! They should be clear and specific enough to guide your research. Writing questions that are too general or too narrow can lead to problems later on in your research. If your research question is too broad it will not inform you how to conduct the research. For example, you may have difficulties deciding who your participants will be, what data you should collect from them, and how you should analyze the data (Maxwell, 1996). Furthermore, if your research question is too broad you may quickly find that the scope of your research is unmanageable in terms of time and resources.
Conversely, if your research question is too focused, you may get tunnel vision and miss important things. If you narrow your focus too early in the research process you may miss important theories that could frame your research. Moreover, too narrow a question may prevent you from collecting important data relevant to your area of research.
Fraenkel and Wallen (1996) highlighted four characteristics of good research questions:
- Feasible - in terms of time, effort, and money necessary to investigate it
- Clear - most people would be able to comprehend what the question means and what exactly is being investigated
- Significant - it will contribute important knowledge
- Ethical - answering the question will not cause physical or psychological harm to the participants
Primary sources are original, uninterpreted information. These are unedited, firsthand access to words, images, or objects created by persons directly involved in an activity or event. This could also be information from someone who is speaking directly for a group. This is the information before it has been analyzed, interpreted, commented upon, spun, or repackaged. This could include paintings, interviews, works of fiction, research reports, sales receipts, speeches, treaties, legislation, letters or e-mails.
Primary Source Tutorial from the UW
Secondary sources interpret, analyze or summarize information.
This includes commentary upon, or analysis of, events, ideas, or primary sources. Often written significantly after events by parties not directly involved they may provide historical context or critical perspectives - especially because they are mostly written by experts in the field
