In lesson one, I introduced the thesis statement. The focus of lesson two was a philosophy of research. Now that we’ve determined the thesis is the basis of our argument—one which must be discovered out of a good research philosophy—we now need to employ profitable research methods that will bring us to that aforementioned place in our writing. That will be the objective of this lesson.
We Will Ask the Questions!
Harvey Spector (Suits)
Dwight Schrute (The Office)
Hopefully that fun little detour will serve to remind you that good research methods begin with good compelling questions—and lots of them.
The First Step in Research
Specifically, good research methods require us to ask the right questions of the proper sources. That means nailing down a subject of interest, and a topic within that subject that will sustain your interest long enough to finish your project heartily—especially if you’re writing a thesis or dissertation. With that in mind, we should learn the difference between a subject and a topic.
A subject is a broad or expansive area of knowledge. For instance, Shakespearean drama is a subject. A topic, on the other hand, is a specific area of interest within that subject. Shakespeare’s unique approach to tragedy in early modern drama is a topic. Moreover, as Bizup and Fitzgerald note in The Craft of Research, “finding a topic is not simply a matter of narrowing your subject. A topic is an approach to a subject, one that asks a question whose answer solves a problem your readers care about” (33).
For example, a researcher might ask why Shakespeare’s tragedies always leave everyone dead on stage whereas the Greek tragedies, while certainly evoking fear and pity in their audience, tend to offer them catharsis; and, subsequently, how do these varied dynamics reflect the respective cultural mores and inform modern approaches to tragic drama?
In sum, the first principle in our method of research is to ask a question about a topic of interest within your subject area whose answer would solve a problem both you and your readers care deeply about. The answer you discover will be your thesis and the arguments that support your answer will ultimately serve as your topic sentences. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Nota bene: If you are writing a thesis or dissertation for an academic institution, there are a few reasons finding a worthy topic might be challenging.
You may be confined to a subject area that does not interest you.
Or, perhaps, you’ll be given a prompt to argue a position on a topic you don’t really care about.
You may also find that you have a professor or advisor who has the attitude that “the best dissertation is a done dissertation.”
In some rare cases, you may have an advisor or thesis committee member who is competitive or more interested in hearing themselves pontificate on your topic than on helping you with research.
Do your best to navigate such scenarios with grace and consider the experience it’s own kind of lesson in negotiating the human experience.
Getting at the Real Question You Want to Answer
Assuming you have some liberty to research a topic of genuine interest, getting at the ultimate question you want to answer—the one that solves a problem you and your readers will care about (your thesis)—will require asking some preliminary questions and doing some exploratory writing along the way. This work is not about forming your arguments yet; rather, it will serve to focus and orient you toward the topic you intend to research. (Keep in mind, this is legitimate writing!)
Use the Right Map
Think of focus and orientation in writing as knowing which map to use to get to your destination (humor me and pretend the GPS on your phone doesn’t exist yet). If you were driving across town to meet a new friend for dinner, it wouldn’t be helpful to pull out a globe or a world map. Such a trip would require a street map of your home town. On the other hand, if you were planning a trip to Europe, you wouldn’t be helped by using the same street map of your home town (assuming you don’t live in Europe). You would need a map of the country you are visiting.
Ask Journalistic Questions
To narrow your topic, start by asking as many basic journalistic questions as possible: who, what, when, where, and especially why and how e.g., Who is involved in your topic of interest? Who are the scholars who have already completed research? What is the topic’s place or influence in the subject area—or the world? When did it come into being (or, what is its history)? Where is it heading? Where would you find more information about it? Why does it matter? How would it change the situation if it were addressed adequately, poorly, or if left alone? Answering these (and other questions like them) will get you closer to your ultimate question and guide your initial research. That’s why you should pose as many of them as possible.
Statis Theory or Invention
Next, it’s important to ask inventory (L. inventio) questions (in classical rhetoric this is called invention or stasis theory):
Ask conjectural questions (Did it happen?): Where is the evidence? Who are the witnesses? What is the likelihood: Is it possible? Is it probable? Is it likely? Is it certain?
Ask definition questions (What is it?): What is its nature, genus, species, and/or properties? What is not included in the boundaries of its definitions?
Ask qualitative questions (What kind of thing is it?): good/evil? just/unjust?expedient/inexpedient?
Ask jurisdictional questions (Is this the right one?) Is this the right court? Is this the right person?
Ask circumstantial questions (some of these answers can come from your journalistic questions): What was the time? The place? The motive? Was there opportunity? What is the thing’s or person’s reputation?
From here, the next step is to research the available literature that will help you get answers to your questions which will get you closer to your ultimate question. This is where a good librarian or research advisor can be helpful.
Exploring possible answers to good questions in profitable sources now positions you to ask the most important question—the question whose answer solves a problem your readers care about.
With all the preliminary research you’ve completed, you can now assert a hypothesis, an educated supposition, a proposed explanation, or a probable answer to your question. The next step will be to prove your hypothesis’s validity (or invalidity) with a level of certainty you’re comfortable defending.
In the next lesson, we’ll tackle more methods of good research.