Research Question and Issue Statement

MODULE 3 – Major Research Project – Research Question and Issue Statement

Directions: Using information you learned about current issues being researched and debated in your
discipline (while completing previous Modules in this class, or from lectures, readings, and projects in
classes in your discipline), write an Issue Statement and a Research Question.

For this first step that begins the Major Research Project/Literature Review (which will be due in
Modules 4 and 5), you must select an issue (think, problem) that is currently being written about in
scholarly journals in your discipline, or discussed at conferences sponsored by your professional
associations, or debated in blogs, podcasts, etc. on the Web, or discussed in your discipline classes. For
example, in the field of marketing, a current issue/question is “Do the traditional theories and
approaches work in an omni-channel world?” (from
https://www.ama.org/publications/MarketingNews/Pag… ).

Format of Module 3

Once you have selected an issue and put it in the form of a RESEARCH QUESTION, submit 1) your
Research Question AND 2) your Issue Statement of one-two well-developed paragraphs that concisely
explain

WHY you selected this issue
HOW you discovered it
WHAT background about the issue you already know

As always, use MLA heading, pagination, and double-spacing for your document. The title of your
document should be Module 3 – Issue Statement and Research Question for Major Research
Project/Literature Review. Submit ONE document that contains both the Issue Statement and the
Research Question.

REMINDER: You are NOT completing the Literature Review in Module 3. Instead, you are only
selecting a current issue in your discipline, composing a RESEARCH QUESTION, and WRITING an ISSUE
STATEMENT. I must approve your Research Question BEFORE you can begin the Literature Review in
Modules 4 and 5.