What Do You Know About Research? (9A)

All of the following concepts are related to transportation. Which word represents the narrowest (most specific) topic?

• Airplanes

• Hybrid cars

• Freight trains

• Bicycle helmets

When students are assigned a topic, it is often quite broad. Thus, it is a student’s responsibility to focus the topic into a more manageable one.

Which of the following does not follow the pattern of a broad topic (on the far left) reduced to a narrower topic (on the far right)?

• Dust storms - drought - water restrictions

• Fashion - designers - runway

• Wireless network - smart phone - weather app

• Team sports - soccer - goalie

Consider the topic below as possible for a three-page research paper.

Indicate whether the statement would be a Good Topic for this paper, a Topic Too Broad for this paper, or a Topic Too Narrow for this paper.

Explain the impact of the Internet on education.

• Good Topic

• Topic Too Broad

• Topic Too Narrow

You have just been assigned hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” for a five-page research paper.

Which of the following research questions will lead to the most relevant and focused information for your paper?

• What are the possible environmental dangers with fracking?

• How much water is used in fracking to get the natural gas?

• What fracking cases have come before the Supreme Court?

• Who invented fracking?

Read the original topic and the revised topic.

Is the revised topic broader or narrower than the original topic?

Original Topic: What were the effects of the 1929 stock market crash on the economy?

Revised Topic: What were the effects of the bank failures in the Great Depression?

• Broader

• Narrower

Which one of these resources would most likely have current information on recalls of processed food from local grocery stores?

• A school library catalog

• A science database

• The Foodsafety.gov website

• A book on food safety

You have chosen a project in science class that will require you to locate up-to-date facts about hurricanes. Which of the following choices would be the most useful?

• Encyclopedia and world atlas

• Science textbook and National Hurricane Center website

• Bibliography and encyclopedia

• National Hurricane Center website and newspaper database

If you were researching the topic of "stem cells", which group of tools would be the most useful?

• Newspaper database and e-book on ethics of stem cell research

• Online thesaurus and online encyclopedia

• Science database and an Internet search engine such as Google

Your teacher has told you he wants at least one primary source for your research paper on Albert Einstein. Which of the following is a primary source?

• A biography of Albert Einstein

• The chapter on Albert Einstein in the book Great Mathematicians

• The World Book Encyclopedia entry on Albert Einstein

• A speech by Albert Einstein

You want to write a paper for History Day on the differences between medicine as practiced during the Civil War and the War in Iraq. Which of the following resources would be a good place to start?

• Encyclopedia and website

• Bibliography and encyclopedia

• Website and dictionary

• History textbook and bibliography