Before you formulate your research question, you should carefully read and analyze the assignment. Understanding the assignment will allow you to develop a better research question, help you organize your findings, and save you time in the long run. When reviewing the assignment, you should:
- Identify words telling you what to do:
- Summarize
- Evaluate
- Compare
- Explain
- Argue
- Identify limiters:
- "two case studies"
- "peer-reviewed research"
- "strengths and weaknesses"
- Identify the key theme:
- "a known treatment for low back pain from our class discussions"