Readings:
Research Starts with Answers – Alison Witte
Research Starts with a Thesis Statement – Emily Wierszewski
Summaries
Alison Witte, in Research Starts with Answers, discusses the current method of students conducting research papers for school, and how it is not beneficial. She mentions things such as it being misleading, impractical, and not useful for researching real-world problems where the answer is not already discovered. In Research Starts with a Thesis Statement, Emily Wierszewski explains how starting research with a thesis statement instead of problems or questions that need solved inevitably makes the arguments more one sided, and may never move past the general information to find new ideas or data findings.
Prompts:
#3 - Wierszewski gives an example in Research Starts with a Thesis Statement that provides a deeper understanding of what she is trying to convey.
“Here’s a practical example of the difference. Just imagine the results of a research process beginning with a thesis like “Human trafficking should have harsher legal penalties” versus one that starts with an open-ended question like “Why does human trafficking persist in the democratic nation of the United States?” In the thesis-first model, a researcher would likely only encounter sources that argue for her pre-existing belief: that harsher penalties are needed. She would probably never be exposed to multiple perspectives on this complex issue, and the result would just be confirmation of her earlier beliefs. However, a researcher who begins with an open-ended question motivated by curiosity, whose goal is not to prove anything, but to discover salient ideas about a human rights issue, has the chance to explore different thoughts about human trafficking and come to her own conclusions as she researches why it’s a problem and what ought to be done to stop it, not just create stronger consequences for it.”
Another example that may help to emphasize this point is when you go to the doctor when you are feeling sick. You start out by realizing there is a problem, and maybe google your symptoms. If they are concerning or do not improve in a few days, you would go to the doctors and get an expert’s opinion on the symptoms and find ways to help treat the issue. With the help of the Doctor, you find out you have the flu. If you had gone into your initial research with the idea, or thesis, that you just have a cold, you could have swayed your search results in an attempt to cure the cold. Had it been serious enough, the flu could have killed you if not treated properly. So, if you have a more open-minded idea of what to research, you would be more likely to stumble across something you may not have found with a more narrowed research interest. Since you found out that the flu has similar symptoms to a cold, and you should see a doctor for proper diagnosis. In this instance, it should be easy to see why going into any research with an open-ended question rather than a narrow thesis is better for finding information that may counter any pre-existing beliefs.
#2: Alison Witte has a lot of good points in Research Starts with Answers. Some of my favorites include:
“To be successful, students, and any researchers, must have a working knowledge of the question they are investigating. However, that information serves as a starting point for researchers, who then ask further questions to spur and design their own primary research… The need for such adaptability breaks students of the conception that there is a way to get the answers that they need, preparing them to be adaptable in situations beyond the classroom… Having students design and pursue genuine research projects that generate rather than simply locate information teaches them that research is about innovation—about doing what hasn’t been done” (228-229).
I relate to this set of quotes because I have seen first-hand how this can happen. In my marketing classes, research is very prominent. One of the main points that they emphasize in the major is that there is so much research that still needs to be done, but it is getting more complex. When conducting marketing research, not only is it very important to know how to write the questions, but equally important to know how to create the questionnaires in a unique, creative, and effective way. If marketing researchers only conducted research by collecting and combining secondary research, it would be inaccurate for the company doing the research (as any secondary research would be from other companies that have conducted their own research based on their business plan, products/services, or brand in general; it would not be the same for any other companies to look at). This relates to other areas as well, but this is one specific example that I have experienced within my major.
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