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GLS 470 - Writing the Research Paper

This guide will help you identify and locate the resources (books, articles, etc.) that you will need for GLS 470. There is also information available on library services, tools, and other web resources to help you write your papers, and more.

Developing a Research Question

What do you want to know about a topic? When doing research, you want to address your topic as a question for which there are no immediate answers. For example:

If your topic is texting and driving, your research question might be: Does texting while driving cause car accidents?

Try these steps to formulate a research question:

  1. Start with your topic. For example, texting and driving.
  2. Focus your topic. For example, ask yourself who, what, when, where, and why about your topic?
  3. Formulate a question to ask about your topic. For example, how many car accidents are caused by drivers who are texting?
  4. Narrow your question further if possible. For example, how many car accidents are caused in the US per year by drivers who are texting?