Formulating a
Research Question

Goals:

• Recognized the role of the research question in historical research
• Develop strategies for crafting a strong research question

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Topics

• Find a topic that interests you
• Find the connection to the course

Share

• Intellectual interest
• Hobby/pastime/ passion

Make the connection

You have a (possible) topic!

Preliminary Research

• course readings
• encyclopedias
• library catalog
• scholarly literature

guides.library.jhu.edu/history

Ask questions

• how...?
• why...?
• what caused...?
• what is the relationship between continuity and change...?

Narrowing

• chonology
• geography
• groups/people
• framework/methodology

Feasibility

• Do the sources exist?
• Can you access them?
• Can you understand them (language)?

Try it!

More Research

Check your question: is it...

• challenging?
• researchable?
• grounded?
• properly scoped?

More Research!
And Analysis!

Thesis

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