I’ve been assigned with a research project but before I can actually research anything, I need to find a question.
Unfortunately, I got stuck up on asking “what should my question be?!”
I needed a question to ask to “enter the conversation”. But then, that got me asking “what conversation am I trying to join?!”
Throughout my CTW course, we’ve discussed many different approaches to join a conversation and we’ve learned rhetorical techniques to contribute in an interesting way. Essentially, I was equipped with the tools to direct my research to join “a” conversation but first a question had to be formulated to inject myself into a certain conversation.
I had already done archival research and learned about advertisements. I sent out surveys and got some information about advertisements. Both of these can aspects of research can be used as exhibit sources in a potential research paper. An exhibit source can be used as something for me to interpret my findings to add something to an already existing conversation.
So, then I had more questions to reach my research questions. I decided to use some of my existing questions that I got answers to… (during the archival search and the surveys) to plan to make a question directed towards the use of my exhibit sources.
So in looking at the other questions that I had already asked during my research, I was on track towards finding a research question. After a discussion with my professor to give me some guidance, we both decided that an interesting conversation derived from the of the use of technology could be something like “how has the increased use of technology effect something in the academic world?”
That “something in the academic world” part of my questions has not yet been decided, but it will be incorporated to ensure that my main topic is not too broad. So, after lots of question asking and few answers, a research question is coming along!