University of Phoenix Material

Research Plan

As part of your research plan, you must first draft a research question for your research paper that will guide the rest of your writing.

A research question, which is more specific and focused than a general topic, is the question that your research paper will be answering. For example, if your general area of interest is Social Security, a possible research question might ask “How could low-income families save more money if the United States had a reformed Social Security plan that included personal retirement accounts?”

As you develop a research question, keep in mind that you will need to research sources to support your topic. Do not pick a one-sided question that will limit your research. Instead, develop a research question that lends itself to further exploration and debate—a question you genuinely want to know the answer to. Try to pick a research question that is not too broad (covering too much) or too narrow (covering too little). It should be broad enough to be discussed in a short research paper.

|What is your general topic or area of interest? |Hate Crime |
|What is it about your general topic of interest that interests | About the importance of speaking out against hate crime. |
|you? | |
| | |
|What questions do you have about the topic that you would like to|What leads to hate crimes |
|investigate? List them. |What type of hate crimes are reported |
| |Which cities have the largest percentage of reported hate crimes |
| | |
|Would any of the questions you listed about the topic make a good|What factors lead individuals to commit hate crimes? |
|subject for a research paper? Pick or adapt one question and make| |
|it into a research question. | |
|Why do you think this research question is appropriate for a |I think it is important to understand why hate crimes exist. This|
|research paper? |question is appropriate for a research paper because this paper|
| |will examine factors leading to hate crimes will help my readers |
| |understand why hate crimes exist. |
|How is your research question significant or relevant to a wider |This research question is relevant because having knowledge about|
|community? |hate crimes will aid politician, law enforcement agencies, school|
| |leaders, ministers, and parents in understanding the effects hate|
| |crimes have on communities and families and hopefully aid |
| |relevant parties in handling and reversing hate crimes. |
|What background information provides the preliminary grounds for |Definition of hate crimes |
|your research? |Types of