Week 10 From Research Questions Bib. to Claims

1.

FROM BIBLIOGRAPHIES & RESEARCH
QUESTIONS TO CLAIMS
Heading to an argument

2.

TIPS FOR FINDING MORE SOURCES
Pay attention to authors you find useful, i.e. authoritative, unbiased (or, declarative
and ethical in their bias), thorough, good writers, etc.
Mind the reference lists of scholarly articles!!! This is a rabbit hole that can be
incredibly useful.
Blend Source Types: Scholarly & Popular
Do you need a minimum of 3 scholarly sources for the Bibliography, and for Essay #2? Yes.
Do popular sources need even more critical assessment than scholarly? Yes.
Can popular sources be more opinion-based & biased than scholarly? Yes.
Does that mean popular sources are not useful. No!
One very strong popular source can also lead you down a rabbit hole of information
that includes both primary and secondary sources!

3.

POPULAR SOURCE ASSESSMENT
Normal CRAAP Test Evaluation
Especially:
Is the website frequently updated?
Is there an author? Who are they? Do you have to do a lot of digging, or is there a quick hyperlink to their bio?
A hyperlink is a clickable reference to data; in popular media these effectively act in place of a reference list of
sources.
If a popular source is lacking hyperlinks (and doesn’t have a reference list at the end) and/or has links that are
out of date or broken, that is a red flag.
Avoid tertiary sources like WebMD, Psychology Today, etc.; you are university-level researchers now!
Are there hyperlinks within the body of the article that take you to both referenced primary and secondary
sources?
Example of a non-profit organization: Human Rights Watch
Example of a credible popular source: The Atlantic Monthly
Let’s check out this popular article “The Paradox of Sour Food” from The Atlantic Monthly.

4.

BALANCING QUALITATIVE
& QUANTITATIVE DATA
Unlike in the Scribbr video, you will not be collecting
your own data sets; however, much of the same
approach applies, i.e. you need to pursue research
that presents both types of data.
Just like blending scholarly and popular sources, and
like synthesizing different ideas from different
sources, you want to create a balance in your essay
between these two types of data.

5.

EXAMPLES: QUANTITATIVE VS. QUALITATIVE
Quantitative
Temperature: 4 degrees Celsius
Baked Goods: 6 muffins & 4 scones
Qualitative
Temperature: cold
Baked Goods: blueberry, cranberry,
chocolate chip

6.

CRAFTING A RESEARCH QUESTION
Students should have ideas for two chosen research topics; they should be
honing in on their niche topics.
Revising and reworking in question form is an excellent, divergent way to
consider a topic.
The stronger the research question, the stronger the thesis! Criteria for a strong
research question:
Not too big (open) & not too small (closed). Remember Masha and The Three Bears: just right.
There is existing research on this topic.
The question is one which is arguable, i.e. open.
The topic is related in some way to utopianism/protopia.
Precision: the question must be focused (niche), rhetorically clear, and concise

7.

FRAMING A RESEARCH QUESTION FOR
A FUTURE ARGUABLE CLAIM: AVOIDING THE REPORT
You will not be writing a report paper, i.e. a paper that objectively reports an answer to a
research question.
Here’s an example of a research question for a report: How does Vitamin D deficiency
effect children in developing nations?
Your thesis for such a report would mirror back existing data discovered that answers this
question.
Instead, what you will do is write an argumentative paper with the same rhetorical structure as
Essay #1, but longer and with more research.
If your topic is Vitamin D deficiency, the above research question is a closed (but multifaceted) question that you need to ask and answer in order to develop a working
knowledge of the problem.
Remember: first identify and understand the problem.
Your own (eventual) research question must be more open and complex.

8.

FRAMING A RESEARCH QUESTION FOR
A FUTURE ARGUABLE CLAIM: GETTING IT RIGHT
Fact: Vitamin D deficiency is very common (in Northern Hemisphere especially)
Recent claim: Because of increased indoor time due to the pandemic, the percentage
of Vitamin D deficiencies has increased globally.
Recent claim: As is often the case, people in certain developing nations are hardest
hit by this problem.
Closed contextual question: Which countries are suffering from this new Vitamin D
deficiency problem?
Rough, potential research question: Who should be in charge of helping citizens who
have severe Vitamin D deficiency in developing nations?
How is this last question working toward an argumentative claim?

9.

EXAMPLE OF A BURGEONING RESEARCH
QUESTION
Topic: “Contemporary technologies”
How technologies lower the threshold of resorting to war? (student)
How do technologies lower the threshold of resorting to war?
How do certain technologies lower the threshold of resorting to war?
How do certain technologies, such as drones, lower the threshold of resorting to war?
Do certain technologies, such as drones, make it easier to rationalize resorting to war?
Potential Claim: Drone technology is dangerous because it has made it easier for certain nations to
rationalize involvement in combat.
Potential Claim: Drone technology is beneficial to society because it has reduced the need for in-person
combat, in turn reducing the military personnel mortality rate for countries that employ such tech.

10.

ARGUMENTATION: CLAIMS, REASONS, AND
EVIDENCE
Argument is what argument does”
1). A process of inquiry: “A responsible search for the best course of action. . .which
considers all available information and points of view.”
2). A product: “The culmination of this process, in which—drawing on the results of our
inquiry—we make a claim (stake out a position and justify/support it in order to get
our audience to accept it)” (Arvatu, 2020).
Note: “Justify” = offering support/providing reasons via source evidence; the more
credible, balanced, and well-synthesized one’s justifications are, the better one’s
argument.

11.

CLAIMS: POSITION VS. OPINION
A Position = Main claim, thesis statement, and/or conclusion; it’s a supported opinion,
i.e. supported by legitimate evidence.
An Opinion = A subjective belief/opinion/theory, not necessarily predicated on
evidence. We all have them, but we need to be careful of our cognitive biases,
personal beliefs, etc. in order to maintain our ethos.

12.

AN EFFECTIVE THESIS STATEMENT
(I.E. CLAIM)
Arguable Is not an established fact
Considers the audience
Supportable-Can you develop your thesis
with the sources you have available to you?
Original-Are you simply restating or
summarizing someone else’s argument, or are
you adding something to a conversation?
Precise In topic-it frames the scope of your discussion.
In language-it is clearly worded
Substantial-Answers the questions Why, How,
or So what?
Tip: The reader should be able to
clearly understand the topic and
anticipate the main points in an
argument based on the thesis
statement.
Dr. Arvatu: “Arguments have a
directionality; they’re not just piles
of ideas and data that we just
throw together.”
This directionality begins with the
initial focus presented in the thesis
statement!

13.

THINGS THAT ARE NOT PROPER CLAIMS
1). Descriptions (This paper is about free will.)
2). Subjective Opinions (Choco pies are delicious.)
3). Compare & Contrast (This paper will look at the pros and cons of fracking.)
4). Report (This report will explain the four main parenting styles and their
advantages and disadvantages.)

14.

THE NEED FOR REASONING:
“THE EVIDENCE DOESN’T LIE. . .”
Yes, you need a clear, debatable claim.
Yes, you need to provide evidence to support that claim.
However, you also need strong reasoning, i.e. logical (and verbal) bridges to link
these things!
Anyone can claim that a piece of evidence “doesn’t lie.”

15.

REASONING VS. EVIDENCE
“We think up reasons to support our
claims. . .[they’re] in your mind; you
construct them, you build them up;
it’s the glue, how you’re going to
build your argument” (in Essay #1
your A, B & C, i.e. the because).
Evidence: “You go for evidence
elsewhere” (Arvatu, 2020).
Both reasoning & evidence work
together to support your main
claim.

16.

RAW DATA VS. EVIDENCE
Evidence = “evidence of” or “evidence for”
What does this mean? Evidence you use in your essay is not raw data;
it is interpreted data.
“It’s data that’s been collected, sorted, analyzed, interpreted and presented; there’s nothing raw about
evidence. . .you’re not going to find it in the wild” (Arvatu, 2020).
Data = bear tracks found in the snow
Evidence = these bear tracks indicate x, y, and z about bear migration/eating patterns, etc. once the raw
data has been managed by an expert in that field

17.

REVIEW: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY EXAMPLE
Annotated Bibliography
Open Inquiry Question: In what ways is institutionalized racism being perpetuated
in Hollywood?
Evans, S., & Nestor, F. (2011). Hollywood's civil rights movement. Back Stage,
52(36), 2-3. Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.limcollege.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/
8940 3214?accountid=45025
In this article, Nestor and Evans use quotes and statistics from industry insiders to
address the lack of diversity in Hollywood both on screen and behind the scenes.
With numerous statistics and testimonials from the Screen Actors Guild, Nestor
and Evans seek to shed light on the misrepresentation of minorities in Hollywood,
while also looking forward to a more diverse future for the industry.
The overall goal of this article is to present both facts and observations about the
diversity problem in Hollywood. Written in 2011, this article is current and
relevant in the context of this topic, because it provides information about when
the issue of diversity began to be addressed eight years ago; this provides
important temporal context for this issue. Both well-published, vetted sociologists
from the University of California, Irvine, the authors are authorities on this
subject, and they use accurate statistics as well as personal interviews. The
purpose of this article is to objectively inform an academic audience, and the
article as a whole does a fairly good job of staying unbiased.
This source should fit into the paper well because of its statistical evidence.
Furthermore, since the source is fairly objective, the personal interviews can be
used to provide anecdotal evidence (i.e. an appeal to pathos).
Tips
1). Get the formatting right!
2). Read the article thoroughly—I can tell from
summaries if this hasn’t happened & I will go check
the source myself. If I find a student has summarized
the abstract it will jeopardize their grade.
3). Each annotation—and each paragraph in each
annotation—is formulaic. Be thorough but also be
concise—practice tightening your language at the
sentence level with this assignment.

18.

NEXT STEPS
1). This week you should start gathering 3 peer-reviewed or scholarly sources about
your topic. You should also search for 3 additional credible sources, either scholarly or
popular.
2). Closely read and take notes on these 6 sources!
3). Look over course calendar to see rest-of-semester pacing, read the Essay #2
guidelines.
4). Begin drafting your Annotated Bibliography—read the guidelines carefully and
review how to practice concision at the sentence level.
WWA #11 (Draft research question and reference list of sources in APA style) due
Saturday, October 26.
Annotated bibliography due Wednesday, October 30.