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Research Process: Step 3

A general step-by-step guide for Middle School Students

Our student has now spent significant time exploring their topic. They have been reading, watching listening, and taking a few notes. This topic is still really interesting, but now they're feeling overwhelmed. There are some many strands to follow, so many angles and avenues to explore. The possibilities are endless. 

It's time to pause and think about everything they know. What would happen if they followed this strand, or that one? Maybe one strand seems to lead in a direction the student is curious about. To follow that strand, the student needs to formulate a guiding question.

Now that you know a bit about your topic, you can ask an interesting and important question.

That question will guide the rest of your research, that is, once you have a question you can look for information in order to answer it.

What makes a question interesting and important?

A good question for a research project takes time to formulate. You need to know a pretty good amount of background information before you can ask a question that is interesting and important.

 

What does it mean for a question to be interesting and important?

Such a question:
  • Makes you wonder; emotionally, you may feel excited to discover an answer.
  • Leads to other questions.
  • Is open-ended and may have more than one possible answer. You will find an answer through your research, but someone else could come to a different answer.
  • Makes your reader care about the topic and understand its significance.
  • Explores significance to history, culture, and innovation beyond the person, place, thing, or event.

Consider:

  • What is interesting to you about this topic?
  • What are you trying to accomplish (what are the requirements of the assignment)?
  • How much information is available to you? 
  • What is the scope of this project (how much time do you have)?
 
If you don't feel ready to formulate a question, return to the explore phase!

Question Prompts

Using the question starters in this table, practice coming up with a few questions about your topic. Not all of them will be very good, but when you identify an interesting and important question, make note! This is your chance to make this project unique, exciting, and completely your own.

 

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How        
Why