One of the first steps of the research process is generating a research question. Researchers do this by starting with a topic of interest, a phenomenon they want to learn more about, or a problem they want to solve. For example, a researcher might want to learn more about what promotes happiness. Another researcher might have read a news story stating that the rate of high school dropouts is increasing in his town and decide s/he wants to learn more about this problem. A third researcher might have a child who is experiencing cyber-bullying and want to learn more about that phenomenon. Once a researcher has a topic, phenomenon, and/or problem s/he wants to learn more about, s/he can proceed with the steps of the scientific method. Imagine that you are a researcher and you have been given a grant to conduct a research study on any topic of your choosing, and please respond to the following: Formulate a research question you would like to answer. In 1–2 sentences, discuss how this question could be answered using one of the non-scientific thinking methods discussed in the Reading (ex. tenacity or authority). List the steps of the scientific method and discuss how, using the steps of the scientific method, the research question could be studied. Do you think scientific or non-scientific thinking would provide information that is more useful? Why?
