BADKE’S RESEARCH QUESTION SNAFUS

Which Is Your Poison? (Answer: None, Hopefully)

GOOD RESEARCH QUESTIONS…

Are notably narrow in focus

Are action-oriented, goal-driven, and research-inspiring

Are largely selfless and empathic—you do this for the world’s benefit as much as your own

Center on the how and the why over the what and the who

AND THE BAD…?

Miss the Mark. Let us count the ways…

THE ARROW THAT ISN’T THERE

THE BLUNT ARROW

What were the events that led up to World War I?

THE TRIDENT (OR FORK)

What were the causes of World War I, why is war the ultimate evil, and how could

WWI have been avoided?

THE FUZZY TIP

What was going on with Archduke Franz Ferdinand

when he was shot and WWI began?

THE “SHIV”

Would World War I have started if August 1914

never happened?

PLAGIARISM

What does Barbara Tuchman say were the causes of World War I?

WERE YOU LISTENING?

Of what Badke error is the following research question guilty?

What is the connection between the Prohibition movement and the Suffrage

movement? Did Prohibition make alcoholism worse in America, and if so, how?

+ RQ / Δ RQ ?

What are the implications of human cloning for our definition of a “person?”

Of which Badke error is the following research question?

Does our posture affect how we feel

about ourselves?

Of which Badke error is the following research question?

When does a satire go too far in terms of critiquing

society on serious issues, or is it just a way for

racists and bigots to keep getting away with their

prejudices, including a disclaimer at the beginning?

+ RQ / ΔRQ

What is the best approach to reducing homelessness

in an urban setting?

Of which Badke error is the following research question?

How do literary devices work in

Dostoevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov?

+ RQ / ΔRQ

How might a child’s ability or inability to participate in regular imaginative play affect his/her critical problem-

solving skills later in life?

+ RQ / ΔRQ

Who was the real John Brown?

+ RQ / ΔRQ

What were the political and social reasons for creating Atlantic City?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Badke, William. Research Strategies (2nd Edition). iUniverse:

New York, 2004.

Chandler, M.J et al. (2003). Personal Persistence, Identity, and Suicide: A Study of Native and Non-

Native North American Adolescents. Monographs for the Society of Research in Child

Development, Vol. 68, No. 2. Available at: www.ccyp.wa.gov.au

www.diabetesmine.com (image)

www.jillclarkspeaks.com (image)

“Sample Research Questions.” Columbia University.

Available at: www.columbia.edu/itc/psychology/H2