Citations
Popular Style Guides
Research Questions vs. Thesis Statements
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If your research question is: To what extent should the government have known of the risk of the 9/11 disaster before it happened?
Your thesis statement could be: There was sufficient warning of a 9/11-type disaster before it happened, so the government should have been well prepared for its occurrence.
Or: Despite the signs of a potential terrorist attack, there is no way that the government could have had sufficient information to be prepared for the 9/11 disaster.
**For either statement, it is your responsibility to provide convincing evidence to support your thesis (as well as giving appropriate consideration to the contradicting evidence).
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If your research question is: Are government-sponsored programs or non-profit charitable programs better able to address the needs of homeless people in urban areas?
Your thesis statement could be: Non-profit charitable programs are better able than government-sponsored programs to address the needs of homeless people in urban areas.
OR: Despite several effective non-profit charitable programs, government-sponsored programs are ultimately better able to address the needs of homeless people in urban areas.
**Again, for either statement, it is your responsibility to address first the opposite side and then your own side, providing convincing evidence to support your thesis statement.
Creating a Preliminary Outline
The lack of proper structure in a paper causes problems. You can solve this by outlining early in the research process.
Why outline early?
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Steps to a Good Outline
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2. Determine the scope of your paper
In the question above, it would be:
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3. Begin thinking about order
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4. Germinate
The information on this page was obtained from:
Badke, W.B. (2008). Research strategies: Finding your way through the information fog. iUniverse, Inc.