Where to Start With Research: The Question

Remember that you don't have to start with the perfect question. The questions you end up answering with your thesis statement should be the result of some trial and error; your question goes through "drafts," just like your project. With that in mind, here are some basic steps to follow:

1. Begin by picking a topic. What are you interested in? What do you want to know more about? Let's say you want to learn more about Tolkien's view of death in Middle Earth.

2. Come up with a "starter" question. This just has to point you somewhere as you read. You might ask something like, "How do the different races in Middle Earth view death?"

3. Do some basic reading. Pick a few reference materials that will give you an overview of the topic, one or two sources to give you an idea of what has been said about it, and re-read your primary text very carefully with this question in mind. The point is to give you some grist for the mill, some more ideas about where you would like to focus your question.

4. Once you've done some skimming, assess your question. You will almost certainly find that your question needs work. Maybe it's a dud question and you need to scrap it and start over; maybe it needs to be focused; maybe you need to change the terms you are using.

5. As necessary, repeat steps 3 and 4. This process of refining your question goes hand in hand with the first parts of the next step in research, which is listening to the answers. Use this process to come up with a final, refined question which is ultimately answered by your thesis statement.

An example: Your starter question was way too broad, so maybe you focused it by asking "What was the Gondorian view of death?" This question is more specific, but the answer would basically be a summary of your sources, not an argument based on them.

So maybe you asked next, "How is the role of death-worship in the fall of Numenor related to the role of death in Minas Tirith in the Lord of the Rings?" This is a much more intelligent question that provides some interesting scope for argument, but is still a little too broad and unfocused.

So you might finally end up with a question something like this: "What role did Aragorn play in redeeming the Numenorian culture's view of death?" This is a question that addresses a big-picture issue (the Numenorian/Gondorian view of death) through a very focused lens (Aragorn's role in Gondor in LOTR). It allows you to engage thoughtfully with a number of important scenes and sources and touch on several different related themes without getting sidetracked; the key concepts are very clear and the scope is just right. This is the kind of question you should be aiming for in your research.

As you are formulating and revising your question, here are some criteria to keep in mind:

Scope:

• Narrow questions can be answered by summaries, facts, or statistics. "How far is Mars from Earth?" "When did Rome fall?" "Are dogs people too?" are all examples of very narrow questions. These are bad because they provide no ground for argument; they are conversationally barren.
• Broad questions often cannot be answered, or can only be addressed by opinion, or are way too broad to cover in the space you have. "Why did Rome fall?" "Can we colonize Mars?" are examples of this. Beginners tend to swing their questions this way, going for impossibly big-picture questions, which is bad because this type of query has no handles for real engagement. It is like trying to scale Everest with a toothpick.
• Good questions generally work from small to large, from the specific to the more general. Pick a specific passage or idea from your text and relate it to a larger idea. This is like giving yourself research "crosshairs:" relate your first question to another one and explore where the two topics intersect. "What role, if any, did Caesar's second invasion of Britain play in the fall of Rome?" This is still too broad, but at least now instead of addressing the entirety of either topic, you can merely examine the places where they overlap.

Key Concepts:

What are the key terms in your sentence? In the last example above, they would be "Caesar's second invasion of Britain" and "the fall of Rome." When you've identified your key terms, think through them. Is there a way to refine or focus or simplify those terms? What are the synonyms for them? How about finding the name of the Caesar, or using "England" instead of "Britain," or using "The Roman Empire" instead of just "Rome?" Write down as many different versions of that question as you can think of. (This is one of the many great reasons for keeping a research journal.) Those terms and their synonyms are what you are going to use in your search for resources, so the more options you can give yourself, the more effective your searches will be.

Note: There is a difference between refining your terms (going from a paper on "dogs" to one on "French poodles," for example) and just finding synonyms for them. Refine your terms first, if they need it, and then find synonyms for the refined concepts.

Interest and Relevance:

Is your question interesting? If you don't think so, nobody who reads your paper will think so either. Only ask questions you really care about knowing the answers to; otherwise, research is extremely boring and very difficult. If you are given a topic by your professor, decide to be interested in it. Your professor obviously finds it worthwhile, so imitate his enthusiasm and make yourself engage with it.

On a related note, to whom or what is your question relevant? To whom does the answer matter? Does it connect to things that are actually significant? My freshman year, I wrote a paper proving that Balrogs do not, in fact, have wings. Really, who cares? Only a particularly heinous class of nerd. The smaller your potential audience is, the less relevant or important your topic is. If you are writing a paper relevant only to your mom or your LOTR fan-fic writing group, you may want to re-think your project. And possibly your life.

Pay attention while you read your primary material! Read with a pencil in your hand - underline important passages, argue with the author in the margins, make your own cross-references as you go. If you have time, try writing out the structure of the author's argument, or the plot of the story; any and all of these things will help you become familiar with the primary source itself.

Then flip through the book again, taking note of what you marked, and ask yourself these kinds of questions:

• If I could highlight one sentence which would summarize the point of the whole work, which one would it be?
• How about sentences summarizing the point of each chapter?
• Are there any notable patterns, repetitions, or themes here?
• If so, how do they relate to the book as a whole? How do they relate to each other?
• Are there places where the author seems to contradict himself?
• Huh. This is a weird point/image/sentence. Is it significant?
• Have I read anything by another author that relates to this theme/pattern/image/point/issue?
• If so, how do the two (or more) authors interact?
• How does this theme/point/issue relate to the larger context of the author's culture/period/life?

The list could go on, but the point is to try to frame questions that drive you deeper into the text or its immediate context to look for answers. Let these initial questions lead you to answers that then lead you to sharper, more specific questions.

Listen to your professor in class. (No duh.) Learn to ask questions the same way he does - he's an expert!

• What themes or key issues is he asking you to pay attention to in the text? How does he draw your attention to them?
• How does he summarize the material, and how does that inform your own notes about it?
• What questions does he ask about the text? How did he get to them from the text?

Take notes of these things during lectures and recitations; they will help you shape your own research and show you what your professor is looking for in his assignments to you.

Talking your questions and ideas through with other people can often be incredibly beneficial - get other opinions! And don't just look for those that will echo your own - find people you know will engage with or challenge your thoughts. This will help you discard unhelpful questions right away, and raise new questions you might not have thought of on your own.

• Fellow students - This is where recitations and study groups come in very handy! Listen to the questions they ask, and respond with some of your own. Engaging with each other this way is a great method for separating the inquisitive wheat from the chaff.
• Professors - Go to their office hours! Ask them the questions you didn't have a chance to raise in class, ask them about the passages you're struggling with, ask them what questions you should be asking, ask them for chocolate and a hug (depending on the professor). They are there to help you succeed.
• Librarians - See what your library staff think of your questions, and ask them to help you find more! They are research gurus, and they can help you find the questions that will get you the most helpful answers.