Arizona State University Rise in Criminal Activities Writers Journal BACKGROUND Deciding on a research project can be daunting for many students; after al

Arizona State University Rise in Criminal Activities Writers Journal BACKGROUND

Deciding on a research project can be daunting for many students; after all, at the end of the project they must produce something–some sort of artifact–based on their research. There are ways, however, that researchers can both alleviate their anxiety and ensure that their research process will be more effective and engaging.

PURPOSE

In this Writer’s Journal, you will reflect on an initial central research question (CRQ) for you to explore throughout this course. If you are able to begin your course-long research project with a CRQ that is both precise and interesting, you will find it easier to stay motivated and be effective as you work through subsequent research steps.

SKILLS AND OUTCOMES
Recognize a local problem or issue (Critical Thinking, Reading, and Composing; Processes)
Explain why a local problem or issue is interesting (Rhetorical Knowledge; Critical Thinking, Reading, and Composing)
Generate a productively-complicated central research question (Rhetorical Knowledge; Processes)
HABITS OF MIND PRACTICED
Curiosity
Openness
Engagement
Metacognition
TASKS
In your journal entry, you should first describe a problem or issue in your local community. Your “community” can be where you live, where you work, or even a group with common interests that you belong to.
Next, explain why this problem or issue is interesting to you AND why it may be interesting to others. If it is not interesting, or if you have a difficult time describing why it is interesting to you AND others, you should consider a different problem that is more interesting to you.
Finally, use the resources we have already covered in this module to craft a CRQ (be sure to see “Strategies for Complicating a CRQ”).

*NOTE: There are many different ways to approach these tasks, but you should aim to be as thorough as possible in your response (approximately 500 words is a good target length).

CRITERIA FOR SUCCESS

In each Writer’s Journal, you should:

clearly address each question or task;
employ many details, examples, and explanations in answering each question or task; and,
create an internally organized text, employing sentences (or notes where applicable) that clearly relate to one another.