Asking a Good Research Question

When writing a research paper, your goal is to choose a topic and write a paper/create a podcast or StoryMap that:

1. Asks a good question
2. Connects ideas to previous work by other art historians
3. Offers a well-organized and persuasive thesis

1. Asking a good question:

A good historical question demands an answer that is not just yes or no, such as:

• Why and how questions
• questions that ask you to compare and contrast a topic in different locations or time periods 
• questions that ask you to explain the relationship between one event or process and another.

A good research question is broad enough to interest you and your classmates. If you think interracial relationships are an interesting topic and you find the 1940s to be an equally fascinating time period, come up with a question that incorporates both these interests.

After selecting a broad topic of interest, narrow it down by putting some limitations on the question's range, such as:

• geographic place (a specific location)
• subject group (who? what groups?)
• periodization (from when to when?)

2. Connecting your ideas to previous work by other historians: 

Once you have a topic in mind, you need to find out what other scholars have written about your topic. If they've used the same sources you were thinking of using and reached the same conclusions, there's no point in repeating their work, so you should look for another topic. Most of the time, though, you'll find that other scholars have used different sources and/or asked different questions, and that reading their work will help you place your own paper in perspective.

When you are writing your paper, you will cite these historians—both their arguments about the material, and also (sometimes) their research findings.

Example: "As Tera Hunter has argued concerning Atlanta's laundresses, black women workers preferred work outside the homes of their white employers"(and then you would cite Hunter in a footnote, including page numbers).

3. Offering a well-organized and persuasive thesis.

Think of your thesis as answering a question. Have your thesis answer a "how" or "why" question, rather than a "what" question.

The thesis paragraph usually has three parts: (1) the subject of your paper, (2) your argument about the topic, and (3) the evidence you'll be using to argue your thesis.

Consider the following questions when reviewing your thesis paragraphs:

• Does the thesis answer a research question?
• What sort of question is the thesis answering?
• Is the thesis overly descriptive? Does it simply describe something in the past? OR,
• Does the thesis present an argument about the material?
• Is the thesis clearly and succinctly stated?
• Does the thesis paragraph suggest how the author plans to make his or her argument?

See also: Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: A Guide for College Students at Bowdoin College

Adapted from Writing at the University of Toronto

A good thesis derives from a good question.

A thesis is the conclusion to a scholarly argument, the answer to a question. The best theses are good precisely because the questions they answer are significant, complex, and original.

A good thesis engages with research sources.

A good thesis is the product of an exploration of your source material and its meaning.You need to ask thoughtful questions of your topic and primary source material to develop a good thesis.