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SP 2003

The Research Question

"Liberating education consists in acts of cognition, not transferrals of information."
Paulo Freire, "The 'Banking' Concept of Education" (265).

This semester, you are asked to develop and complete a researched analysis. I consciously avoid using the term "Research Paper," as it seems that many students have a fixed perception as to what a paper that requires research must be. College research papers--at least in this class-- should not manifest themselves as the regurgitation of others' writings on your paper. Your research paper represents your dialogue with other writers, researchers, and thinkers on a specific topic. The research that you have done helps you to develop your credentials as an author-ity in your field. The purpose of your research is not to find a bunch of people with lots of letters after their names who agree with you on a topic; you may find that your most effective writing comes about when you work to point out the flaws or even simply pose questions to other writers/theorists/researchers.

So what is the research question?

The research question is the way in which and the terms by which you will enter into the conversation. Simply put: don't bank. Questions that are answered with a "yes" or a "no" do not engage conversation or foster discussion, they effectively end it. 

How about some examples?

Okay!

Are any topics off limits?

Yes:

Why?

When expressed as research questions (and later, as researched analyses), these topics tend to get trapped in the same ruts. These are issues that are so frequently dichotomized in our culture that I think that it's difficult not to.

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