Associate Level Material

As part of your Research Plan, you must draft a research question for your research paper. A research question, which is more specific and focused then a general topic, is the question that you will answer in your paper. For example, if your general area of interest is Social Security, a potential research question might ask, “How might low-income families save more money under a reformed Social Security plan that includes personal retirement accounts?

As you develop a research question, keep in mind that you will research sources with both supporting and different viewpoints. Do not select a narrow or one-sided issue that will limit your research; instead, develop a research question that lends itself to further exploration and debate.

What is you topic or area of interest?
My topic area of interest is early media exposure and the subsequent attention problems in children.

In what ways is this topic appropriate for a persuasive essay? This topic is appropriate for a persuasive essay because it asks what attention problems can occur from children being exposed to media at an early age. One of the attention issues that this could entail is attention deficit disorder.

What is your research question?
My research question is does early exposure to television and internet relate to attention, behavior and sleep problems in children.

How is your research question significant or relevant to the wider community?

My research question is relevant to the wider community because the audience reading the paper would include parents, teachers, and those working with children.

What background information provides the preliminary grounds for your research?

The background information that provides the preliminary grounds for my research are studies I found conducted by child psychologists, and pediatricians.

What are some expert or authoritative sources of information for your topic? I plan to use the graphs, and information from studies conducted from child psychologists and pediatricians within my paper to give a broader scoop of the negative and positive effects media has on children.

What types of materials do you expect to review for your research paper? I expect to review books, news articles, and research materials such as graphs and chart when conducting my research on this subject.

What procedures will you follow to conduct your research?
I will follow the procedures of the SQ3R system, as well as APA format. I will also use webs and graphs to jot ideas and free write.

What difficulties do you anticipate in conducting your research and supporting your side of the issue? The only difficulties I anticipate in conducting my research is writers block and the possible lack of valid source options as I hate to use wikipedia and blogs in any paper they simply are not credible nor appropriate for a college level paper.