Student's guide to writing college papers, Fourth edition - Kate L. Turabian 2010
Propose some working answers
Planning for an answer
Writing your paper
3.1 Propose Some Working Answers
3.1.1 Decide on a Working Hypothesis
3.1.2 If You Can't Find an Answer, Argue for Your Question
3.2 Build a Storyboard to Plan and Guide Your Work
3.2.1 State Your Question and Working Hypotheses
3.2.2 State Your Reasons
3.2.3 Sketch in the Kind of Evidence You Should Look For
3.1 Propose some working answers
Before you get far into your project, try one more preliminary step. It's one that many beginners resist but that experienced researchers rely on, so start practicing it now. As soon as you have a question, imagine some plausible answers, no matter how sketchy or speculative. At this stage, don't worry whether they're right. That comes later.
For example, suppose you ask, Why do some religions use masks in ceremonies while others don't? You might speculate:
✵ Maybe cultures with many spirits need masks to distinguish them.
✵ Maybe masks are common in cultures that mix religion and medicine.
✵ Maybe religions originating in the Middle East were influenced by the Jewish prohibition against idolatry.
You can look for evidence with only a question to guide you, if you stay on the alert for those data that suggest an answer. But it is more useful to research guided by possible answers. You will then see more readily which data might support (or contradict) a possible answer, helping you focus your reading even more.
QUICK TIP
Write, Don't Just Think
Even early in your project, write out your answers as fully as you can. It is easy to think that you have a clear idea when you don't. Putting a foggy idea into words is the best way to clarify it, or to discover that you can't.
3.1.1 Decide on a Working Hypothesis
If one answer seems most promising, call it your working hypothesis. Even the most tentative working hypothesis helps you to think ahead, especially about the kind of evidence that you'll need to support it. For example, will you need numbers? Quotations? Observations? Images? Historical facts? If you can imagine the kind of evidence you'll need before you start looking for it, you'll recognize the data you need when you see them.
Some new researchers are afraid to consider any working hypothesis early in their project, because they fear it might bias their thinking. There is a risk, if that hypothesis blinds you to a better idea or keeps you from giving it up when the evidence says you should. As in all relationships, don't fall too hard for your first hypothesis: the more you like it, the less easily you'll see its flaws. Even so, it's better to start with a flawed hypothesis than with none at all.
If you can't imagine any working hypothesis, consider changing your question. That might cost time in the short run, but it may save you from a failed project. Under no circumstances put off thinking about a working hypothesis until you begin drafting your report or, worse, until you've almost finished it. Drafting and revising can be acts of discovery, and as you develop your report, you may discover a better answer to your question. Just don't wait until the last page to make that discovery.
3.1.2 If You Can't Find an Answer, Argue for Your Question
We have focused on answering questions so much that you might think that your project fails if you can't answer yours. In fact, many important researchers have argued that a question no one has asked should be, even though the researcher can't answer it. You can write a good paper explaining why your question is important and what it would take to find a good answer.