Student's guide to writing college papers, Fourth edition - Kate L. Turabian 2010

Question your topic
Finding a research question
Writing your paper

This is a crucial step. Once you have a topic, question it. Make a list of all the questions that you can imagine answering.

2.3.1 Ask Your Own Questions

Here are some questions you can ask for yourself. The categories are loose and overlap, so don't worry about keeping them straight.

1. Start by asking how your topic fits into larger contexts: a larger history, a larger system, or a category that includes things like it.

✵ How does your topic fit into a larger history?

What came before masks? How did masks come into being? What changes have they caused in their social setting? Why have masks become a part of Halloween? Have masks helped make Halloween the biggest American holiday after Christmas?

✵ How does your topic work as a part of a larger system?

How do masks reflect the values of specific societies and cultures? What roles do masks play in Hopi dances? In scary movies? In masquerade parties? For what purposes are masks used other than disguise? How has the booming market for kachina masks influenced traditional designs?

✵ How does your topic compare to and contrast with other things like it?

How are masks like or unlike other things that cover the face—masks to prevent disease, welders' masks, hockey masks, snorkeling masks? How are masks and cosmetic surgery alike? Is face-painting at sports events a kind of mask?

2. Next, ask questions about the parts of your topic.

✵ How do the parts of your topic work together as a system?

What parts of a mask are most significant in Hopi ceremonies? Why? Why do some masks cover only the eyes? Why do so few Halloween masks cover just the bottom half of the face?

✵ How many different categories of your topic are there?

What are the different kinds of Halloween masks? What are the different qualities of Halloween masks? What are the different functions of Halloween masks?

3. Next, set your imagination loose with speculative questions.

✵ What's not true about your topic?

Why are masks common in African religions but not in Western ones? Why don't hunters in camouflage wear masks? Why don't Catholics wear masks when they go to confession?

✵ Ask What if? questions:

What if no one ever wore masks except for safety reasons? What if everyone wore masks in public? What if movies and TV were like Greek plays and all the actors wore masks? What if it were customary to wear masks on blind dates?

4. Finally, turn positive questions into a negative ones:

Why have masks not become a part of Christmas? How do Native American masks not differ from those in Africa? What parts of masks are typically not significant in religious ceremonies?

2.3.2 Borrow Questions

Researchers often study questions first raised by others. Unless your teacher specifically says you must devise your own question, you too are free to find your question wherever you can. If you are concerned about plagiarism, you can cite the source of your question, but you do not have to. Some questions you can find online:

✵ Find a web discussion list on your topic, then “lurk,” just reading for the kinds of questions those on the list raise. If you can't find a list, ask a teacher or visit the websites of professional organizations. Look for questions that also interest you.

✵ Look for study guides related to your topic. You can find them both in text-books and online. Many questions will be unsuitable because they ask for a rehash, but some will be thought-provoking.

✵ Find online syllabi for classes on topics like yours. Some of them will list proposed questions for papers.

You can also find questions in your classroom. Listen for issues that are left unresolved in discussions, matters on which a classmate seems confused or mistaken, things that you cannot accept. All of these can be turned into potential research questions.