Introduction to Research Context, Problem and Research Question

1.

Astana IT University
Department of General Education Disciplines
Academic Writing
Week 3
Lecture 1: Introduction to Research Context, Problem
and Research Question
Lecture 2: Defining Research Aim and Objectives
Seminar 1: Practice: Formulating Research Problem
Seminar 2: Developing Research
Context
Seminar 3: Language focus: Paraphrasing and
Summarizing

2.

Objective of the
Seminar
• Developing a research context.

3.

Task Instructions:
Group Task 1
Developing a research context
1.
Find a template on Moodle and work with 5 scholarly
articles relevant to your topic.
2.
In the first column, you should write titles of 5 articles.
3.
In the "Purpose/Relevance" column, you should explain
why each source is relevant and how it contributes to
the research context.
4.
In the third column, you should give specific extracts or
key points from the articles that will be used to establish
the research context.
5.
In the fourth column, you should provide language
chunks(https://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/referri
ng-to-sources/) that you will use to present the
paraphrased extracts.
6.
Generate the APA references of the articles and insert
them into your paper.
7.
Submit your table to Moodle.
Note: this task is not assessed, but you will it in Research
context submission (10%).

4.

Example

5.

Language chunks
Use the chunks below to write your own contexts incorporating the sources from the table.
Chunk 1. Researchers have long assumed that __________. For instance, one eminent scholar
of computer science, ___________, assumed in_________, her seminal work on artificial
intelligence and machine learning, that AI algorithms________. As________ herself put it,
“___________” (p.124). Another leading scientist, _____, argued that AI algorythms
“___________” (p. 23). Ultimately, when it came to human-AI interactions, the basic
assumption was that_________.
But a new body of research shows that these interactions are far more complex and that
_________.

6.

Patterns for writing the existing debates and
controversies in the field
Chunk 2. When it comes to the topic of_________ , most of us will readily agree that________ .
Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of ____________ . Whereas some
are convinced that____________ , others maintain that___________
Chunk 3. In discussions of X, one controversial issue has been __________ . On the one
hand,_______ argues_______ . On the other hand,________ contends________ . Others even
maintain_______.

7.

Do you have any questions left?
Thank you for your participation!