How to Write a Research Article (Open Activity)

1) ? RQ
2) Primary Data (first pass)
* 3) Secondary Research (published)
4) Design experiment--what do I need to know/show?, order of operations (preliminary data?)
[Doesn't need to be followed in numerical order.]

Freewrite (in a not so free format):

Who is the audience who needs to know?
English teachers, primarily, or any teacher interested in using literature in her/his classroom to foster strong discussion skills and a climate that encourages civil discourse would benefit from reviewing my research.

? RQ
What happens when students discuss controversial issues in a book club setting?

Design Experiment
What do I need to know?
I would like to have better insight into the conversations students are having as they discuss their book club books. The field notes I’ve collected and discussion logs I’ve collected give me some insight into what they discuss and how those discussions have gone, but I still feel like I am missing a component of those dialogues. This is why I would like to have the ability to tape record the students during their book club discussions next year.

Order of operations
Before school starts I need to complete and submit the permission form to PSD and/or the human subjects committee to gain permission to record book clubs in the fall.

Primary Data
My first pass over my data seems to indicate that when given permission to discuss a challenging or difficult topic the students will accept that invitation—most of the time. Telling students that our purpose in book clubs is to learn to discuss difficult subjects seems to allow them to more freely (and maturely in some cases) discuss the novel under examination.

Secondary Research
I still need to collect secondary research. I imagine that Cindy’s book and The Book Club Connection could both be starting points to point readers to, but I imagine that I should probably find more information about civil discourse and/or how to teach students to participate in these discussions.