• Activity 1: Looking at Examples of Research Questions (45 min) Large and small group. Participants explore what is meant by a "good" research question.
  
  
• Activity 2: Arriving at the Research Question (1hr) Large and small group. Participants draft their initial research questions.

Activity 1: Looking at Examples of Research Questions*

Group Process:

Explain that the first activity in Session 5 focuses on the question: What comprises a good research question?

1.Ask participants to look at the handout Road Map for Conducting Practitioner Research, which they received earlier in the meeting. Briefly mention what the group has accomplished so far and then talk a bit about the work/activities that lie ahead. Now pin point the section that's devoted to developing a research question.

2.Next, introduce the main points on the road map related to where the group is now - i.e., developing and refining a research question. Explain that this activity provides participants with the basic information they need to draft their individual questions for research. Help prepare participants for what to expect by telling them that arriving at a good research question is a process in itself involving multiple steps. Explain clearly to the participants that their first draft questions will probably need revising and refining to be "good" research questions. In other words, participants should know that revising and refining the research questions is part of the process.

3.Now hand out Criteria for a Good Research Question. Tell participants they will use these criteria to evaluate some sample practitioner research questions. The intent of the activity is to help participants get acquainted with different kinds of research questions and to get clear about what constitutes a "good" question.

2.Divide participants into groups with four or five people in each.

3.Pass out the packets of research questions, one per group. Each group's envelope should contain a different selection of research questions (approximately five questions per group).

4.Tell participants to examine each question and decide if it meets the criteria for a good research question, and how. Tell the groups to discuss each question thoroughly.
(30 minutes)

5.Reconvene the larger group to debrief the activity. Ask each group to identify and comment about the particular questions they thought were good research questions, and why.

6.Facilitate a short discussion to elevate or emphasize the most important points about developing good research questions.

Be sure to cover the two basic types of research questions with participants. Ask the group to give examples for each.

• There are questions that ask, "What happens when…?"
  
• There are questions that ask, "What's going on here…?"

Explain that a practitioner researcher would pursue a "What's going on" type of question to understand better a current situation...

On the other hand, a "What happens when" type of question helps us see the results of some strategy or intervention/innovation the researcher has decided to use to address a particular issue or problem.

7.Check participants' understanding about the two types of basic questions. (15 minutes)

____________________________________________________________________
*Adapted from the NCSALL activity, Developing Your Research Question, Southeast PDRN Practitioner Research Group Facilitation Manual, l998.

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Activity 2: Arriving at the Research Question*

Group Process:

1.Tell participants this activity models the process they will use to identify their own initial research questions.

2.Pass out copies of the sample problem statement or post it on newsprint for everyone to view.

3.Begin the process of brainstorming potential research questions by writing the words,
"I wonder…" at the top of a sheet of newsprint.

4.Ask participants to spend a minute or two thinking silently about what a research question for this problem might be. Participants should write their thoughts down.

5.Next ask for volunteers to share the research questions they thought of for this issue. As they call out their questions, post them on the newsprint for everyone to see. It's not important for everyone to contribute a question, but it is important for the group to generate a good mix of several different questions to discuss. (10 minutes)

6.Now the group will evaluate and refine the questions that you brainstormed and posted on newsprint. Divide people into small groups of three-four participants each. Then divide the draft research questions among them. Give each group a different set of questions, two or three questions per group is sufficient. Explain that the groups' task is to:

1.discuss each question,
2.determine how well it meets the criteria for a good research
   question,
3.edit or revise the question as necessary.

A group may decide the question satisfactorily meets the criteria and is fine as is. In the process, they may also generate new questions about the issue. If the groups decide to revise their questions, they must be prepared to cite the particular criteria that guided the revision making process. (20 minutes)

7. Before participants return to the larger group, tell the smaller groups to have posted the following items on newsprint:

1.the question(s) they reviewed,
2.any revisions they made to it,
3.the criteria they used to revise the question,
4.new research questions about the issue they generated.

8.Use a gallery review (like a poster session) to share the results of this activity. One person should remain with the group's material to help answer questions as the other participants walk around to view what's hanging on the wall. (10 minutes)

9.Bring everyone back together to debrief the small group work and reports. Ask participants to describe what was most difficult or confusing about the process they used. Ask how they feel, in general, about developing their own questions for research.

10.Finally, facilitate a short discussion to reiterate the most important points about developing good research questions. For example:

• It is doable, given your time and material constraints

• It is researchable, meaning you are able to collect evidence that would answer the question

• It cannot be answered by "yes" or "no"

• It challenges you to question your own assumptions about teaching and learning

• It inspires you and has the potential to hold your interest over several months

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