Getting to your Research Questions

Read these guidelines from Dr. Vikneswaran Nair (Dean, Professor and Researcher at the University of The Bahamas). Then write your own research questions and objectives.

To come up with optimal research questions first be clear with what is the title of your research all about (at least your working title).

You may not know right away what your research question is. Gather information on the broader topic to explore new possibilities and to help narrow your topic.

•     Choose an interesting topic. If you’re interested in your topic, chances are that others will be, too. Plus researching will be a lot more fun!

•        Gather background information (do a good literature review).

•        Ask yourself:

- What subtopics relate to the broader topic?

- What questions do these sources raise?

- What do you find interesting about the topic?

- Who would be interested in the issue?

After choosing a topic and gathering background information, add focus with a research question.

•        Explore questions:

- Ask open-ended “how” and “why” questions about your general topic.

- Consider the “so what” of your topic. Why does this topic matter to you? Why should it matter to others?

- Reflect on the questions you have considered. Identify one or two questions you find engaging and which could be explored further through research.

•        Determine and evaluate your research question:

- What aspect of the more general topic you will explore?

- Is your research question clear?

- Is your research question focused? (Research questions must be specific enough to be well covered in the space available.)

- Is your research question complex? (Questions shouldn’t have a simple yes/no answer and should require research and analysis.)

•        Hypothesize. After you’ve come up with a question, consider the path your answer might take:

- If you are making an argument, what will you say?

- Why does your argument matter?

- How might others challenge your argument?

- What kind of sources will you need to support your argument?

In short the research questions must be relevant, manageable in terms of research and in terms of your own academic abilities, substantial and with original dimensions, consistent with the requirements of the assessment, clear and simple and interesting.

Choose a research topic

The research project is a key task in level 3. Read the following guidelines to find out more about it and suggest possible topics you could work on.

§  Introduction: The purpose of this section is to provide an overview of the project. The subject of study, the context in which it was carried out, the objectives and the research questions must be clearly formulated.

§  Theoretical framework: The conceptual framework can include a literature review on the topic studied. The theoretical and/or practical background of the topic and previous investigations should be identified, along with related theories and key concepts.

§  Research design: The methodological approach must be described, as well as the research instruments used, how data were collected, and how processing and analysis were planned.

§  Results: The results obtained by means of the data collection instruments must be presented graphically.

§  Conclusions: In this final section the initial research questions must be answered. Moreover, this section must show to which degree the set objectives have been achieved, and the whole project must be evaluated. The limitations of the study and unresolved issues must also be stated. Lastly, possible future research lines must be proposed.

§  References: The bibliography used to develop the project may be mentioned.

Ready to start your research projects? Post your topic proposals and the names of your team members.

A new academic year starts

Welcome to a new academic year!

In this introductory session you're required to carry out two production tasks.

1. Written expression. Write a story in pairs using as many as the following words as possible:

-Actually

-Career

-Despite

-Regardless of

-Had she/he only known

Swap your texts with another pair after 10 minutes and go on writing them until all of you have contributed to all the stories. Use your imagination and be creative!

2. Oral expression. Rank the following concepts according to your personal priorities in life:

-Family

-Friends

-Health

-Money

-Politics

-Romance

-Sex

-Sport

-Studies

-Work

Make a list individually and then compare it to other students' choices to reach a consensus and create a single list. Once you've finished, join another pair to follow the same process and come up with a single list you all agree with. Provide arguments for this pyramidal discussion until all the class produces a common ranking.

Job interview simulations

Watch the job interview simulations and post your comments on the following aspects:

• Language use (grammar/vocabulary accuracy, range & adequacy)
• Task achievement (efficient achievement of communicative purpose, content relevance & extent)
• Fluency & pronunciation (speech flow, intonation, stress & rhythm)
• Communicative resources (use of linguistic and non-linguistic resources, supporting material, attitude)

Progress report on the research project

As you are halfway through your project, prepare an oral presentation to report on it. Each team will have to account for the following aspects:

-Name of team members         

-Project title

-Project outline and structure

-Introduction

-Methodology

-Questionnaire and survey results

In addition, comment on the following questions:

-What were the objectives of your project? Have they changed since you started?

-Are you happy with your work timing? How have you organised your work?

-What have you done so far?

-What is happening at the moment?

-What problems have there been? Have you solved them? How?

-What hasn’t been done yet?

-What is the next step?

-How is your teamwork progressing?

-Are you satisfied with each member’s contributions?

-Are you receiving enough guidance from your teacher?

-What are the positive aspects of having to do this project? And the negative ones?

Back to work!

The most curious Christmas videos

This year hotels have resorted again to videos to wish a merry Christmas to customers, suppliers, partners and media with very different approaches. Here is a selection, including fun examples with the participation of employees, focusing on the Corporate Social Responsibility strategy, or simply thanking their clients for their loyalty and wishing them a happy 2017.

http://www.hosteltur.com/119665_videos-navidenos-curiosos-hoteles-cadenas.html?fromNewsletter=com&fromNewsletterDate=2016-12-27

Watch them and choose the one you prefer. Write a post stating which is your favourite and why. Also mention the one you dislike the most and the reasons for your choice. Think about the corporate values underlying those two videos, what were the aims and if you consider that those objectives have been achieved, and also try to make improvement suggestions.