GENERATING QUESTIONS ON YOUR OWN - PERSONAL EXPERIENCE & INTERESTS
-
-
- ejasun
- added this
No matter if it is something that you read in a newspaper or a scientific publication or a conversation that you have with a friend, they will raise questions in your mind that you will not be able to answer or that will make you want to learn more about the subject.
Oftentimes, people make you think, challenge your assumptions, and trigger your interest in knowing more about specific topics, populations, etc.
Sometimes, you may want to find answers to controversial social questions; some others, you may want to test someone else's theories or proof certain postulates.
If you think problems through critically, you will constantly find new subjects for investigation.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE & INTERESTS
Your personal experience and interests are a rich source of inspiration and a powerful thrust to pursue research. When you can choose the subject to explore, you should ask yourself "what subject do I want to explore?" and also "what subject do I want to be an explorer of?" Think of questions that are of direct personal interest to you. In Jean Johnson words, "searching seems to be a result of our natural curiosity, our desire to find answers to problems, our urge to question what other s have told us, or perhaps just our need to know more about the unknown…. The result will be not only an additional paper but also an addition to your personal store of knowledge--each helps to define you as a person."
Before deciding on a specific topic, explore one or more subjects, or general areas of study. These subjects may interest you because of what you have read, heard, or seen, or because of what has happened to you or to someone you know. Previous coursework, your hobbies, and previous experiences can be sources of research topics. Even when you are somehow limited in your subject choice (for example, if your professor requires that you write about Welfare Reform), you can approach it from many angles, and find a part of that subject that relates to something you are interested in (in our example, you may want to focus on the impact of new legislation on unemployment or children's health status).
Remember that it is good to start with a long list of subjects that interest you. Then reread it carefully and pick two that appeal to you most, and try to further focus your topic by considering the information that is available (you may not want to choose a topic if all the information is contained in journals written in a language that you don't understand), as well as other constraints that you may face.
Oftentimes, people make you think, challenge your assumptions, and trigger your interest in knowing more about specific topics, populations, etc.
Sometimes, you may want to find answers to controversial social questions; some others, you may want to test someone else's theories or proof certain postulates.
If you think problems through critically, you will constantly find new subjects for investigation.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE & INTERESTS
Your personal experience and interests are a rich source of inspiration and a powerful thrust to pursue research. When you can choose the subject to explore, you should ask yourself "what subject do I want to explore?" and also "what subject do I want to be an explorer of?" Think of questions that are of direct personal interest to you. In Jean Johnson words, "searching seems to be a result of our natural curiosity, our desire to find answers to problems, our urge to question what other s have told us, or perhaps just our need to know more about the unknown…. The result will be not only an additional paper but also an addition to your personal store of knowledge--each helps to define you as a person."
Before deciding on a specific topic, explore one or more subjects, or general areas of study. These subjects may interest you because of what you have read, heard, or seen, or because of what has happened to you or to someone you know. Previous coursework, your hobbies, and previous experiences can be sources of research topics. Even when you are somehow limited in your subject choice (for example, if your professor requires that you write about Welfare Reform), you can approach it from many angles, and find a part of that subject that relates to something you are interested in (in our example, you may want to focus on the impact of new legislation on unemployment or children's health status).
Remember that it is good to start with a long list of subjects that interest you. Then reread it carefully and pick two that appeal to you most, and try to further focus your topic by considering the information that is available (you may not want to choose a topic if all the information is contained in journals written in a language that you don't understand), as well as other constraints that you may face.
-
- groups:
- VC2 Top Contenders US
