LiDA100: Learning in a Digital Age

Stimulus Resources

Choosing a Research topic

• How Do I Choose a Research Topic?
• How to Select a Research Topic

Analytical Essay

• Writing an Analytic Essay from the University of Toronto.
• Writing an Essay from Queensland University of Technology.

Purpose

The purpose of this mini challenge is to choose a topic that is suitable for academic writing. Academic writing is based on research outputs from credible sources, rather than unjustified personal opinion. In this unit, you will demonstrate how to apply digital literacies when preparing and writing an analytical essay.

Tasks

Familiarize yourself with the purpose, format and structure of an analytical essay and how it differs from other types of essay. Remember, the purpose of an analytic essay is not to persuade the reader that your ideas are right while those of others are wrong. Instead, your goal is to provide critical interpretation using credible sources to support your analysis of the topic.

Choose a disciplinary area of focus; for example: education, business, health, agriculture, computer science, economics, law, psychology, biology, chemistry, engineering, law, etc.

• If you are taking this course as an elective within a designated qualification (for example, a diploma in tertiary education), you may be required to choose a topic in teaching and learning for this course. Consult with your education provider for acceptable topics.
• You may be taking this course to support your learning and preparation for a designated research assignment in another course which will influence your choice of topic.
• If you are taking this course out of pure self interest, feel free to choose your disciplinary area.

Conduct a general Internet search for “Topical Issues in Business” or “Topical issues in Higher Education” and decide whether any of these issues interest you. Choose your topic.

State your topic in the form of a question. For example:

• How will robotics impact on the future of work?
• What can businesses do to run successful loyalty programs?
• How can technology prepare learners for a future that is increasingly defined within the context of globalization and technology?
• How will mobile technology impact on diagnosis and health care?

Review your draft research question taking into account:

• Personal interest: Does the research question interest you?
• Suitability for academic investigation: Some questions are not possible to answer through academic enquiry, for example “How beautiful is the color orange?” Identify a few keywords related to your proposed research question and conduct a general search to determine if there is published and accessible research outputs related to your question.
• Attainability: Make sure you can answer your question in the amount of time you have. For example, you might be able to write an entire book about a topic that is too broad, such as “How do we solve global disease?” Whereas the question, “What is my neighbor’s favorite color” is too narrow. You should target eight to 15 scholarly references to prepare an annotated bibliography that includes reputable books, journal articles, and website references to support your analytical essay.

Discussion

Choosing a research question can be a repetitive process. Your research question will evolve as you learn more about the topic. Sharing your initial ideas on the forum may help you formulate your question in writing. If other students are online at the same time, you may get feedback from your fellow learners.

1. Share your draft research question on the discussion forums.
2. Tell us why you chose this topic.
3. Justify why you think this is a good question for academic research.

Feel free to reply to posts and offer support and/or advice to your peers.