Figuring out the Questions

1 Identify the Parts and How they Interrelate
1.1 What are the parts of your topic, and how do they relate to one another?
Gaming, education, test scores,
1.2 How is your topic part of a larger system?
2 Trace Its Own History and Role in a Larger History
2.1 How and why has your topic changed through time, as something with its own history?
2.2 How and why is your topic an episode in a larger history?
3 Identify Its Characteristics and the Categories that Include It
3.1 What kind of thing is your topic?
3.2 What is the range of variation?
3.3 How are instances of it similar to and different from one another?
3.4 To what larger categories can your topic be assigned?
3.5 How does that help us understand it?
4 Determine Its Value
4.1 What value does your topic reflect?
4.2 What value does it support?
4.3 Contradict?
4.4 How good or bad s your topic?
4.5 Is it useful?
5 Evaluate your Questions
5.1 So What?
6 Step 1: Name your topic:
6.1 i am trying to learn about/work/study on ____________
7 Step 2: Add a Question
7.1 I am studying X because I want to find out who/what/when/where/whether/why/how __________
8 Step 3: Motivate Your Question
8.1 i am studying __________ because of _______ in order to help my reader understand how, why or whether _______

taken from "The Craft of Research"