Developing Interesting Research Questions

If you choose a topic that you find interesting (or at least somewhat interesting) you will find it easier to research, easier to write, and, you will convey that interest to your reader.

— The secret lives of guinea pigs are fascinating!

In addition, if you do run into unexpected difficulties:

Spaceman with Alien inside His Spacesuit

Man Confidentally Punching Through Something

You'll have the interest to take on the challenge!

So how do you find an interesting topic?

You have to find an angle on your assigned subject matter that is of interest. For example, if you are supposed to write a history paper on World War II and you had the following interests, you might write on the following research questions:

Interests	Research Questions
sports movies African American culture	What role did professional athletes play in United States war effort? How did movies represent the war to audiences in the United States and what impact did this have Americans' attitudes about the war? How did the situation of African Americans in the military affect race relations after the war?

If you can't think of a particular personal interest, consider your own background, experiences, or family history and see if these provide an angle into the general subject area. For example, in the case above:

Background	Research Questions
Chinese-American farming local history childhood	How did Chinese Americans and Chinese immigrants attempt to distinguish themselves from the Japanese and Japanese-American "enemy" and how successful they were in these efforts? How did the war change the role of farmers and farming practices in the United States? What was the part played by personnel at Chanute AFB in relation to the war effort? How was the war portrayed to children?

These might not be something students would investigate on their own. But they just need to find it intriguing enough to sustain their interest for the length of the project.

The key too all of these is finding some kind of personal interest or stake in the project. If you can engage your own interest, you will also capture your reader's.

And also REMEMBER, you can ask for Help! Ask your teacher! Ask Librarians! If you need to, just hit the PANIC button!

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