The Bedford Researcher -- Chapter 3 Summary

Mike Palmquist teaches the reader how to develop a research question in The Bedford Researcher Chapter 3: Developing Your Research Question and Proposal (DQP). The 18 pages contain insight as to how the reader can better "collect, critically read, evaluate, and take notes on [their] sources" (40). Step by step, DQP goes through the process of determining a research proposal. Step 1 is to "ask yourself whether what you've learned has changed your understanding of your writing situation" (41). Palmquist asks the reader to consider how their bias has influenced their perspective on an argument. According to Palmquist, step 2 is to generate research questions, and this can be done by focusing on the information, history, assumptions, goals, outcomes, and policies of the issue that the reader is writing about. "Step 3: Craft Questions that Reflect Your Writing Situation: Framing My Argument" (43) asks the reader to review potential research questions and select the most relevant question for their writing situation. Step 4 asks the reader to select and focus their research question to "achieve [their] purpose as a writer" (46). This can be done by referring to shared assumptions and existing conditions of the issue, and conducting preliminary searches on said issue. These steps will yield the best results in helping the reader create an excellent research question.