Research+Paper+3

=**Analyzing the writing situation**=

Any writing situation, academic as well as professional and personal, requires that you select and narrow your own topic.

Research and writing projects develop out of a specific situation, with a certain problem that needs to be solved or a goal that needs to be attained.

Whenever you are in a situation that presents the need to communicate, you experience **kairos**, a moment that inspires or compels you to write.

Taking advantage of //kairos//

Elements of //kairos//, or the "kairotic" moment, are usually present in both time and space.

In other words, written communication needs to take advantage of a timely issue and have the material components necessary.

To understand //kairos// better, think about how and why it is related to the concept of the **rhetorical situation**. Simply put, //kairos// presents the circumstance that then produces a **rhetorical situation** within which to research and write. You can test the tieliness, the //kairotic// fit, of an issue by analyzing whether the **rhetorical situation** emerging around your proposed topic "fits."

Take a look at the tables below to better understand //kairos//.

the past, or is happening in the present, that motivates research and communication? What will happen in the future that will require research and communication? || What has happened in the past, or is happening in the present, that motivates this audience to care about this topic? What will the audience need to do in the future to motivate reading and learning about the topic? || What has happened in the author's past, is happening in the present, or might happen in the author's future that motivates him or her to research and write? || things will be affected by the outcomes of this research? || What "real-world" things can the audience do to impact this issue based on the research and writing? || What resources does the author have to facilitate research, writing, and publishing on this topic? ||
 * || **Purpose** || **Audience** || **Author** ||
 * **Time** || What has happened in
 * **Space** || What persons, places, or

good at math in high school or college and dreaded taking this last math class. Haley was also taking a women's studies class and had been learning that the achievements of many women had been erased throughout history. || Haley knew that her math teacher wanted the students to recognize that math has a history and has developed and changed over time. She also knew that the math teacher was very interested in the history of math in different cultures. Finally, Haley knew her women's studies teacher would probably also like information about women in the history of math. || Haley want to survive this last math class, so she wants to do well on this report. She knows she wants to focus on a topic that keeps her interested so she does well in the class. || teacher was very excited by Haley's idea. The teacher told Haley that there are significantly fewer women in math and science majors and professions. || Haley's math teacher mentioned that a report on a woman in the history of math might motivate women to take more classes and possibly become math majors. || Haley is excited about her access to resources because she has been learning about various women's studies resources in her women's studies class. Her math teacher has also provided starting places for historical research in math. Finally, her first Google hit listed four books to check out! ||
 * || **Purpose** || **Audience** || **Author** ||
 * **Time** || Haley was never
 * **Space** || Haley's math

As you can see from the second table, Haley's situation has many factors that help develop a //kairotic// moment for her math research project. One of the strongest elements is that she is also taking a women's studies class. And after she did a little exploratory research on the topic, including talking to her teachers, she found that she has access to a variety of resources as well as a potential "real-world" purpose and audience. For Haley, this topic has moved beyond just a research project for a class into something that can change people's lives. By taking the time to explore the timeliness of her topic, both for herself and for the community, Haley has now focused on a research topic that is exciting and will motivate her when the work gets tough.


 * Identify //kairos//**

Answer the following questions to explore what elements of //kairos// might shape your research.


 * What is your motivation for doing this research and writing? course assignment and grades? interest in topic? need to do/change something in your life?


 * What is going on around you that affects your understanding of this research project and topic? at school? at work? at home? in the community?


 * What has happened in the past and present, and what might happen in the future, that affects your understanding of this research project and topic?


 * Analyze the rhetorical situation **

Start thinking about what is going on in your life and in your various academic, professional, and personal communities that might influence your understanding of possible research topics. Consider resources, both people and places, that you have access to while developing your research topic and/or during your research process. Focus on situations that would benefit from knowing more about your topic. How might your research impact the real world? Use the first table above to help analyze your research project's **rhetorical situation**.

=** Generating Topics **=

A common element of the **rhetorical situation** for many students is being assigned a general topic to research. Like Haley's math teacher, many teachers give students broad topics to research, usually based on the course's topics and/or themes. Your job in this situation then is to focus more carefully on a specific topic you are interested in researching within the guidelines of the assignment. However, if you are given free rein on your research topic, you may need to do a little searching for a general topic. Finding a general topic, and starting to narrow to a specific one, involves the same activities: finding out what is both important and motivating to you.


 * Find out what's important to you **

Take some time to explore the various communities that you participate in:


 * personal - home, family, leisure, and so on


 * academic - school, past, present, and future


 * professional - work and career, past, present, and future


 * civic - community, political (local, national, global), and so on

Answer the following questions about these four communities you live in.

1. What discussions (in writing, on the Internet, verbally) engage you and other members of the community?

2. What events or experiences have happened that you still remember and that left you, or other members of the community, with questions or concerns?

3. What problems or concerns exist in this particular community?

Focus on one or two of your answers by digging deeper with the following questions.

4. Who, which individuals and groups, is involved in this discussion, event, or problem? Why are they involved?

5. When and where did/does the discussion, event, or problem take place?

6. What exactly is the topic of the discussion, event, or problem?

7. Why is the discussion, event, or problem significant to the community members?

8. How does the community usually start to resolve the discussion, event, or problem?


 * Generate topic ideas **

As you think about topics to research, try writing down your responses to these steps.


 * Spend three to five minutes generating a list of topics that you find interesting and compelling (you might refer to your writing from the "Find out what's important to you" activity. List six to eight possibilities.


 * Go through your list and phrase each topic as a question. In other workds, what would you like to find out? For example. if you listed, "Parking at my school," then you might write, "How could the school provide more convenient parking options for students?" You might even generate more than one question for a topic?


 * Now look at your list of questions and choose one that sounds particularly interesting to you. Freewrite for five minutes on why you think this topic is interesting and what you know about it.


 * Look at your freewriting and highlight or underline the most interesting idea you came up with. Copy (or copy and past, if you're using a word-processing program) that idea below your freewriting and write about that idea for the next five minutes.


 * At this point, you might continue this exercise one or two more times until you find a focus that seems interesting to you. Or, if you find yourself stuck and think you might not want to research this topic, try one of your other questions and start the exercise at question 3 again.


 * Consider audience and purpose **

As you make a final decision on your topic for research, freewrite for five minutes on each of the following two questions.


 * What might your audience be interested in? How could you relate your topic to your audience's experience?


 * Will this topic satisfy the purpose of your writing and research? What criteria must you keep in mind to make sure that you are meeting your writing goals?

Your answers to these questions might help you choose the best topic from several that you are considering.

Selecting and narrowing a topic can be one of the most important things you do before engaging in a research process. Consider talking about your answers with friends, family, coworkers, and classmates. Try putting down the questions and answers and returning to them a couple of hours, or days, later. Do you have new ideas? Can you add to some of your other ideas?

You, the author, are an important part of the the **rhetorical situation**. If you are not engaged by the topic and motivated to learn about it, you will have difficulty being successful with your research project. Before committing to a specific topic, it is important that you explore various possibilities for your research. This is an opportunity for you to explore your own understanding of the topic. What issues and events is the topic related to?

=**Exploring and narrowing a potential topic**=

Once you have a general idea of a topic you are interested in researching, you will want to spend time exploring it further to see what specific elements within it interest you. You should explore your topic prior to committing to it for two reasons. First, you need to verify that there are resources out there (people, places, and resources in the library and online) to actually use in conducting the research. If you don't have access to the proper tools, you can't do the work!

A second reason you should explore your topic further before committing is to broaden your understanding of the topic. By gaining a better understanding of some of the complexities of the topic, you can identify subtopics of interest to further narrow your research focus. Beginning researchers should learn more about their topic so they can then focus on a smaller piece of it. For example, when Haley searched online for "women in math history," she found a page that listed ten women with brief descriptions of their impact on math. As an English major, Haley was fascinated to find out that the poet Lor Byron's daughter might have been the first person to write computer code. By doing a little preliminary research, or exploration, of her topic, Haley may have found a specific subtopic she is very interested in: therefore, she is more motivated to do the research. Narrowing a larger topic, like the one Haley started with, to a more focused subtopic will make your research project, and your writing task, much more manageable.


 * How can I make a topic manageable?**

When choosing a topic for writing, it is important to make sure that your topic is actually manageable and appropriate for the specific writing situation. Before continuing with your writing, take a moment to reflect on the topic you are working with by responding to the following questions:

1. How appropriate is this topic to the writing situation? In other words, will this topic fulfill the requirements of the assignment if you are writing for a class? If you are motivated by a situation at school or in your personal life, will exploring this topic satisfy the need that first prompted you to explore this topic?

2. How interested are you in your topic? Will you be able to sustain your interest long enough to complete the writing and research necessary? Is there a specific aspect of your topic that hold more interest for you that would be a good place for you to focus?

3. How doable is your writing task? Consider how broad your topic is right now. Will you have time to explore this topic thoroughly? Is there too much information available about the topic? If so, you might need to narrow if further. Is it difficult to find information about your topic? If so, you might need to refocus of broaden your topic.


 * Focus your research topic**

Take five minutes to brainstorm a list of the things that people debate regarding your topic. Think of conversations that people would have about your topic and points of disagreement. You might think of these as subtopics within the larger topic you're exploring. If you are in a classroom setting, pass your list on to your classmates and have them add to it. If you don't have access to other students, ask your friends and family to add to the list.

Once you have your list of related topics and subtopics, try visually depicting your topic by drawing a cluster map. Start by writing your topic in the center of a piece of paper. Write your various subtopics on branches. If you can break down any of the subtopics further, create additional branches that stem from the subtopics. You might see that some branches generate more ideas than others, and you may find that you are more interested in one or two branches than others. These observations can help you pick a narrowed focus within your topic. You will probably want to focus your research and writing on one of the second- or third-generation branches away from your central, broad topic.

=**Developing a research question**=

Once you have discovered a topic that fits your **rhetorical situation**, and you've narrowed it down to a workable subtopic, it's time to really begin your research. Sometimes it is difficult to determine where to start, however. One of the most effective ways to get started on your research is to think of your topic in terms of a question you would like to answer: your **research question**. Your natural inclination when you hear a question is to respond to it, and phrasing your chosen topic as a **research question** can motivate you to begin thinking of ways to answer. If you were having trouble narrowing your focus on your topic, writing it in the form of a **research question** is another way to work on focusing.

A **research question** should be clearly stated and provide the specific focus and scope of your research. For example, Haley might write a research question that looks something like this:

What influence did Ada Lovelace have on the development of computer code?

Try to avoid yes/no questions because they won't help you generate as much research and writing. For example, if Haley asked the following question,

Was Ada Lovelace the first person to write computer code?

then it could be answered either "yes" or "no," but she might not have much more to say. An exception to this rule might be if there were a controversey surrounding the answer; in that case, Haley could write about the controversy. Even so, a more accurate research question would be:

What is the controversy surrounding whether Ada Lovelace was the first person to write computer code?


 * Write a research question **

1. To start developing possible research questions, begin with some basic question words. Try to write at least one question that someone might raise about your issue that starts with each of the following words: // who, what, when, where, how, why, should, would. //

2. Think about what your goal is in writing. Do you want to share information about your issue? Are you defining terms or aspects of your issue? Are you evaluating something or comparing/contrasting it with something else? Are you identifying a solution? Take a look at your questions and circle any that specifically match your goal. Cross out questions that do not fulfull that goal.

3. Go back to the writing and thinking you have done about your audience and purpose in writing. Who are you writing to? What are their interests? What is your purpose in writing?

4. Use your responses to these questions to consider each of your preliminary questions from step 1. Cross out questions that would not meet the needs of your audience or fulfill your purpose in writing.

5. Finally, choose the one remaining research question that interest you most. Are there any terms you should define more clearly? Show your question to someone else and ask if it is clear. You might exchange your question with a classmate, a friend, or family member.

=** Situating the writer in the research **=

Throughout this discussion of research, you have learned about the importance of choosing something to research and write about that interest you. Furthermore, the activities have encouraged you to choose a topic in which you are //invested//. In other words, you have a stake in the outcome of your research.

For example, if you are researching whether you should purchase a standard automobile or one that uses alternative fuel, you have a stake in the outcome of your research. The answer you discover might determine what type of car you purchase. You are //invested// in your research because it will have an impact on you. You might be specifically invested in the topic because of various influences in your life - you might be living on a tight budget, so cost is a major factor for you. Or, you might be concerned about the environment and the emission of chemicals from standard automobiles. Any of these factors might influence the way that you conduct your research, the sources that you choose, the way you read and use those sources in your writing, and the criteria you develop for choosing the best answer to your research question. We call this **bias**, and it is the unique perspective that you bring to your research.


 * Bias** is not a negative word - everyone has **bias**. We all have unique experiences and backgrounds that influence the way that we see an issue. As you conduct your research, however, be //aware// of your **bias** and consider how it might influence the way that you research and write about your topic. It's really not possible to be completely objective about an issue - we all see the world and the issues surrounding us through the lenses of our own perspectives, influences, and experiences. The audience that you envision for your research might not share your specific **bias**, though, so you will need to consider this if you are trying to persuade your audience to take action on your topic.


 * What is the writer's place in the rhetorical situation?**

Reflect on how and why you are interested in your narrowed issue and research question. Consider the following questions as you compose this reflection.


 * What initially sparked your interest in this issue?


 * What did you already know about the issue, and how ell could you answer your research question right now?


 * After conducting a preliminary exploration of the issue, have those interests been confirmed?


 * What has surprised you as you've conducted the preliminary exploration?


 * Why do you value this issue?


 * What is your perspective on this issue?


 * Who might your values and perspective influence your research and writing on this issue?


 * What specific experiences have you had with this issue (friends, family members, community, news, movies, etc.)?

While answering these questions, you will want to be sure to explore past events that have molded your values and beliefs about this topic and issue. Do not simply discuss how you feel. Instead, focus on why you feel that way. What experiences have you had that make you believe what you believe? While discussing the experiences, use concrete details (sight, sound smell, touch, taste, specific emotions, etc.) to make the reader feel like he or she has had the same experience.

=**Your knowledge of your topic**=

If you have chosen a topic in which you are interested and invested, chances are that you already know something about it. You might not be an expert, but you will still find it helpful to reflect on what you already know about your topic before you begin to think about what other resources you will need to find.

If you choose something that you are //invested// in, however, then you have a specific **bias** about that topic. Therefore, you must not only identify what you already know, but also look for different perspectives in order to understand the complexity and controversy surrounding the issue. If you are researching the debate about marriage equality, for example, you will want to look at arguments for the extension of marriage rights to all people as well as arguments defending the preservation of marriage between a man and a woman. If you already have a specific opinion on the issue that you are research, be very careful to find resources that both agree and disagree with your opinion. If you start with what you know and believe, however, you will be able to piece together a plan for what you still need to find out. The first step, though, is determining what you already know.


 * Take an inventory of what you know**

As you make your final decision about the topic you will research and write about, take a personal inventory of what you know.


 * What is the central issue that people debate when they talk about your topic or discuss your research question? In other words, what is the main controversy (or what are the main controversies)? What do people disagree about?


 * What do you believe about this topic? What evidence makes you believe this? Where did you find or learn about this evidence?


 * What different people, or groups of people, are interested in your research question? What do you believe others think about this topic? What evidence do you believe they base their opinions on? Where do you think they found that evidence?


 * Where do these people discuss their positions on your issue? In other words, where would you go to find out what people are saying?


 * Based on what you already know, what perspectives do you need to learn more about?

Try conducting this activity more than once, returning to it numerous times as you research. And don't do this activity alone - get friends and family members to participate in a dialogue with you. Keep in mind that there is a difference between what we know as fact and what we think we know. This activity should not only help you figure out what you know as fact, but it should also give you a sense of what you think you know but need to verify.