Empoword

Part Three: Research and Argumentation 279 Techniques Inquiry-Based Research It’s possible that you’ve already written research papers by this point in your academic career. If your experience has been like mine was, writing these papers went one of two ways: c) The teacher assigns a specific topic for you to research, and sometimes even a specific thesis for you to prove. d) The teacher provides more freedom, allowing students to choose a topic at their own discretion or from a set of options. In both situations, my teacher expected me to figure out what I wanted to argue, then find research to back me up. I was expected to have a fully formed stance on an issue, then use my sources to explain and support that stance. Not until graduate school did I encounter inquiry- based research, which inverts this sequence. Put simply, inquiry-based research refers to research and research writing that is motivated by Non-Inquiry-Based Research Inquiry-Based Research Your research begins with an answer and seeks out evidence that confirms that answer. Your research begins with a question, reviews all the evidence available, and then develops that answer. For example, a murder occurs and I get a bad vibe from the butler. I look for all the clues that confirm that the butler did it; assuming I find what I need, I can declare that the butler did it. For example, a murder occurs. I look for as many clues that I can, then determine the most likely culprit based on that evidence. It’s quite possible that the butler did do it, and both logical processes might lead me to the same conclusion. However, an inquiry-based investigation allows more consideration for the possibility that the butler is innocent.