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the_quest:asking_a_question [2015/01/24 16:23] – Ryan Schram (admin)the_quest:asking_a_question [2021/06/29 02:27] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1
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 It’s the sweet spot of the unknown that we want to aim for (this is Aristotle, after all). Are there questions for which we don’t know the answer, but could know, if only we thought more deeply? Yes, and they are…:  It’s the sweet spot of the unknown that we want to aim for (this is Aristotle, after all). Are there questions for which we don’t know the answer, but could know, if only we thought more deeply? Yes, and they are…: 
  
-**Type III: Research questions**. These are questions which motivate research, not simply to find a factual answer, but to complicate our understanding of the topic (see Step 1: [[Choosing a topic]]). Research questions force us to think about things in a new way. The answer to a research question is not a fact, nor is it an opinion, it is an explanation of the deeper reasons for why things are. That word - why - is, I believe, key. The best questions are the child’s questions: why questions. Why does the dog chase the cat? Why do we dream? Why is this sign post wearing a sweater? Why do people fight? Why are there people? Why is there something, rather than nothing? Why questions are, in other words, questions whose answers develop our knowledge, thinking, perspective, and indeed, our wisdom. A child asks in order to grow. +**Type III: Research questions**. These are questions which motivate research, not simply to find a factual answer, but to complicate our understanding of the topic (see [[Choosing a topic]]). Research questions force us to think about things in a new way. The answer to a research question is not a fact, nor is it an opinion, it is an explanation of the deeper reasons for why things are.  
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 +That word - why - is, I believe, key to Type III questions. The best questions are the child’s questions: why questions. Why does the dog chase the cat? Why do we dream? Why is this sign post wearing a sweater? Why do people fight? Why are there people? Why is there something, rather than nothing? Why questions are, in other words, questions whose answers develop our knowledge, thinking, perspective, and indeed, our wisdom. A child asks in order to grow. 
  
 Incidentally, these are not the ‘levels of questions’ taught in many high schools (Bloom et al. 1956). Also, as one can see, Type I questions blur into Type III questions, so this schema is not absolute either. Think of this way: Type I questions lead to information on which we base our understanding of a topic, and that leads to problems. We solve these by asking Type III questions.  Incidentally, these are not the ‘levels of questions’ taught in many high schools (Bloom et al. 1956). Also, as one can see, Type I questions blur into Type III questions, so this schema is not absolute either. Think of this way: Type I questions lead to information on which we base our understanding of a topic, and that leads to problems. We solve these by asking Type III questions. 
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 Many Type I questions are very hard to answer. What is the weight of Saturn? How many exoplanets are there? Yet just because people search for the answer does not mean that the answer is the goal. The answer changes the way we see things, and then we get into the real questions. Why are there so few Earth-like exoplanets? Why do Earth-like exoplanets, like Earth, have life?  Many Type I questions are very hard to answer. What is the weight of Saturn? How many exoplanets are there? Yet just because people search for the answer does not mean that the answer is the goal. The answer changes the way we see things, and then we get into the real questions. Why are there so few Earth-like exoplanets? Why do Earth-like exoplanets, like Earth, have life? 
  
-In a research paper, you always want to ask a question of Type III. How can you tell? A Type III question has more than one possible answer, but some answers are better than others. The answer to a Type III research question is a thesis statement, or a claim. More on that later... But as you probably know, you have to argue for a thesis statement. You support a thesis statement with reasoning and evidence because there is more than one possible answer, but you want to show that some answers are better than others. Develop a research question on your topic, and then try to think of all the possible thesis statements one could put forward as answers. +In a research paper, you always want to ask a question of Type III. How can you tell? A Type III question has more than one possible answer, but some answers are better than others. The answer to a Type III research question is a thesis statement, or a claim. More on that later... But as you probably know, you have to argue for a thesis statement. You support a thesis statement with reasoning and evidence because there is more than one possible answer, but you want to show that some answers are better than others. Develop a research question on your topic, and then try to think of [[Stating a thesis|all the possible thesis statements]] one could put forward as answers. 
  
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the_quest/asking_a_question.1422145428.txt.gz · Last modified: 2015/01/24 16:23 by Ryan Schram (admin)