Transcript Gen Tech 1TI3 Technology Inquiry

Writing an Inquiry
Cam Churchill
Program Chair
Civil Engineering Infrastructure Technology
McMaster University
JHE 337
Extension: 23179
[email protected]
Agenda
• What is an Inquiry
• The Process
• Kinds of Understanding
• Elements of a good Central Question
• Anticipated Findings
• EPP and Inquiry
What is Inquiry?
• Inquiry is a search for understanding through
a process of asking questions and seeking
answers through research.
Inquiry is a
question-driven search for understanding.
Inquiry Involves
• formulating good questions
• identifying issues and anticipating possible
findings
• searching out evidence (includes
interviews)
• interpreting and evaluating evidence and
arguments
• arriving at well-reasoned conclusions
Kinds of Understanding
Understanding:
•
•
•
•
•
a phenomenon
a presumed relationship or claim
a controversy
a theory or concept
a process
Understanding a Phenomenon
• Factors, conditions, or causes that give rise to
something, barriers that prevent something, or
the effect of something
• Why has the income gap between rich and
poor in North America increased in recent
times?
• What are the effects of urban sprawl in the
Niagara peninsula on the environmental
sustainability of the region?
Understanding a Presumed
Relation
• Something that has been posited or claimed
• Is human activity a significant cause of global
warming?
• Does the overuse of public healthcare
service in Canada contribute significantly to
the soaring costs of the system?
Understanding a Controversy
• What underlies or is at the heart of a
controversy
• Why do scientists disagree about global
warming?
• What accounts for the dispute over whether
tougher sentencing reduces crime rates?
Understanding a Theory or
Concept
• The relation between theory and evidence,
or just a better understanding of an
important concept
• Is Fueud’s interpretation of dreams
consistent with what is currently known
about dreaming?
• What is the meaning of “addiction”?
Understanding a Process
• How something works
• How does the federal government of Canada
decide what Third World countries will
receive what amounts of foreign aid?
• How does the AID’s virus attack the immune
system?
Understanding Options for
Change
• What responses to a situation have already
been tried
• How might more people be encouraged to live
in downtown Hamilton?
• What are the policy options for controlling
stem-cell research?
What Inquiry is Not
• Presenting descriptive information on a
topic
• Supporting a thesis by developing only one
side of an issue
• Offering a solution to a problem as in a
design project
Choosing a Central Question
• Start with your area of interest
• Brainstorm a number of different questions
• Categorize the questions
• Go through a process of elimination
Characteristics of Good Central
Questions
1. The question must be one the researcher
genuinely wants to understand
2. The question must be relevant and
important
3. The question must require more than a
passive review of the literature
4. Basic terms and assumptions involved in
the central question are clear or can be
made clear
Characteristics of Good Central
Questions
5. The question lends itself to the anticipation
of different kinds of findings or possible
answers
6. The question is researchable
7. Does not require speculation about the
future
8. Is not a problem to be solved
9. Is not too broad or general
Anticipated Findings
• Done before research truly begins
• Spend 15 minutes and come up with
possible conclusions
• Use these answers as a guide
• Revisit them at the end of your paper
EPP Inquiry
• Length no longer than 40 pages double
spaced
• Must be policy driven
• Policy implications and recommendations
at the end of the Inquiry
Essential Elements
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Background and Motivation
Central Question
Anticipated Findings
Evidence and Arguments
Policy Recommendations
Future Research (optional)
Conclusion
Questions?