Forming An Effective Research Question: Resources
Provided by Drs. Marie McEntee & Nicolette Rattenbury
University of Auckland, New Zealand.
This webpage provides resources for the chapter: Forming an Effective Research Question (full ref to be inserted)
The downloadable material is able to be freely used alongside the activity lesson plan in the chapter.
The anonymised assessment examples below (relating to note 4 in the chapter) are subject to copyright and cannot be replicated. They are used here as illustrative examples of student work.
The downloadable material is able to be freely used alongside the activity lesson plan in the chapter.
The anonymised assessment examples below (relating to note 4 in the chapter) are subject to copyright and cannot be replicated. They are used here as illustrative examples of student work.
Activity Worksheet (note 2 in the chapter)
Download the activity worksheet here.
The worksheet provides an excellent record of the activity to enable students to record the instructor's examples and their own work which they can use for their ongoing study out-of-class time.
If time is limited, instructors may wish to pre-populate areas in Part 1 of the worksheet.
The yellow highlights on the worksheet contain text that should be removed before distributing to students.
The worksheet provides an excellent record of the activity to enable students to record the instructor's examples and their own work which they can use for their ongoing study out-of-class time.
If time is limited, instructors may wish to pre-populate areas in Part 1 of the worksheet.
The yellow highlights on the worksheet contain text that should be removed before distributing to students.
Assessment Examples (note 4 in the chapter)
The science communication course we teach has its internal assessment built around one student-selected topic and relevant research question, answered through secondary research using a minimum of four quality library-based sources. The research is communicated firstly in an abstract, then in an academic poster and finally in an oral presentation. Students therefore gain experience researching one question and communicating it through written, visual and oral channels and instructor feedback informs the development of each assessment.
These are some examples of how student research questions are then used in assessed work.
The poster examples below, provide a visual example of 'finished work', due to their size you will not be able to read them.
The chapter activity can be used for any student assessed work.
These are some examples of how student research questions are then used in assessed work.
The poster examples below, provide a visual example of 'finished work', due to their size you will not be able to read them.
The chapter activity can be used for any student assessed work.
Student Poster Example 1
Topic: Smartphone Addiction.
Research Question: What are the psychological effects of smartphone separation
Topic: Smartphone Addiction.
Research Question: What are the psychological effects of smartphone separation
Poster Example 2
Topic: Antibiotic Resistance.
Research Question: What are the mechanisms used by Staph Aureus in becoming resistant to antibiotics
Topic: Antibiotic Resistance.
Research Question: What are the mechanisms used by Staph Aureus in becoming resistant to antibiotics
Poster Example 3
Topic: Plant Adaptations
Research Question: Do leaf windows increase the photosynthetic rate in succulents
Topic: Plant Adaptations
Research Question: Do leaf windows increase the photosynthetic rate in succulents
PowerPoint Slides Example (presented in a 5-minute oral presentation)
Case Study: How databases assist in refining research questions (note 15 in the chapter)
When doing secondary research, there is not much point a student asking a research question, if there are no published studies to help them answer their question. For example, a student's topic might be AUTOMOBILE PERFORMANCE. They decide to ask: Do red cars go faster that blue cars? As there are no studies that have investigated this, this question is no good for undertaking secondary research!
The databases are great at helping students find some good research that can assist them refine their initial question to an effective research question.
A student in our course student wanted to do research on the following topic: "Communicating statistics”. She was interested in how statistical information might influence consumers.
She developed an initial question– How can statistical information influence consumer understanding?
She used the following searchable truncated keywords in SCOPUS: Statistic*; information; consumer*.
After scanning through a number of document results in SCOPUS, she found a a journal article on food labelling of nutritional information on consumer products (when used on cereal packets it is sometimes called the traffic light system). This fascinated the student as she was interested in finding out whether people may be influenced to eat nutritionally healthy food based on their reading of the statistical information presented on the nutritional labels. She found some further studies addressing this issue.
She refined her question. "What effect does nutritional information on product packaging have on consumer purchases."
She re-entered some new key words to find other studies focussed on nutritional labels.
She found four wonderful journal articles, including one New Zealand study that provided relevant quantitative evidence through a consumer survey.
The databases are great at helping students find some good research that can assist them refine their initial question to an effective research question.
A student in our course student wanted to do research on the following topic: "Communicating statistics”. She was interested in how statistical information might influence consumers.
She developed an initial question– How can statistical information influence consumer understanding?
She used the following searchable truncated keywords in SCOPUS: Statistic*; information; consumer*.
After scanning through a number of document results in SCOPUS, she found a a journal article on food labelling of nutritional information on consumer products (when used on cereal packets it is sometimes called the traffic light system). This fascinated the student as she was interested in finding out whether people may be influenced to eat nutritionally healthy food based on their reading of the statistical information presented on the nutritional labels. She found some further studies addressing this issue.
She refined her question. "What effect does nutritional information on product packaging have on consumer purchases."
She re-entered some new key words to find other studies focussed on nutritional labels.
She found four wonderful journal articles, including one New Zealand study that provided relevant quantitative evidence through a consumer survey.