- Description
COM 156 Week 1 Research Plan
Select a general topic for your research paper from the following list:
- Animals
- Cancer
- Colonization
- Consumerism
- Culture
- Drugs
- Environment
- Education
- Generation X
- Hate crimes
- Healthy eating
- Literacy
- Media
- Music censorship
- Recycling
- Technology
- Television and children
- Vegetarianism
- War
- Another choice approved by your instructor
Hint. Refer to the narrowing and selecting a topic activity from your COM/155 class.
Complete the University of Phoenix Material: Research Plan.
Review the additional resources from the Center for Writing Excellence for further support:
- The Prewriting Process – Preparing to Write
- Developing the Topic
Research Plan
As part of your research plan, you must first draft a research question for your research paper that will guide the rest of your writing. A research question, which is more specific and focused than a general topic, is the question that your research paper will answer.
For example, if your general area of interest is social security, a possible research question might ask, “How can low-income families save more money if the United States had a reformed social security plan that includes personal retirement accounts?”
As you develop a research question, remember that you need to research sources to support your topic. Do not pick a one-sided question that will limit your research. Instead, develop a research question that lends itself to further exploration and debate—a question you genuinely want to know the answer to.
Try to pick a research question that is neither too broad (covering too much) or too narrow (covering too little). It should be broad enough to be discussed in a short research paper.
Part 1: Complete the Research Plan
| What is your general topic or area of interest? |
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| What is it about your general topic that interests you?
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| What questions do you have about the topic that you would like to investigate? List them.
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| Would any of the questions you listed make a good subject for a research paper? Pick or adapt one question and make it into a research question.
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| Why do you think this research question will be appropriate for a research paper?
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| How is your research question significant or relevant to a wider community? |
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| What background information provides the preliminary grounds for your research? |
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| What are some expert or authoritative sources of information on this research question? |
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| What type of materials will you need to review for your research paper? |
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| What procedures will you follow to conduct your research? |
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| What difficulties do you anticipate in conducting your research? |
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Part 2: Summarize Your Research Plan
Write a 250- to 300-word paragraph summarizing your research plan. Include the following:
- The topic you have chosen for your final project
- What you hope to learn from your research
- What aspect of your topic you plan to focus on in your research and writing
- The purpose of research writing and the process you will follow