Expanding a Too-Narrow Topic

End-of-lesson check

15 questions · take it digitally for instant feedback at tendril.neural-forge.io/learn/quiz/end-builders-research-expand-topic

1. When Google returns zero meaningful results for your research question, you should:

   1. Broaden the question by removing one specific detail at a time
   2. Give up on researching that topic entirely
   3. Only use sources from the first page of search results
   4. Make the question even more specific to narrow down results

2. A student asks 'How do robots help 3rd graders in Portland with math homework?' This question is likely:

   1. Not a valid research question
   2. Already thoroughly studied by researchers
   3. Too narrow to have existing research
   4. Too broad for a school project

3. You want to research 'How does AI affect elementary teachers in Ohio?' and find no results. What should you do first?

   1. Add more specific details about the teachers
   2. Assume the topic has no value
   3. Only use opinion articles from Ohio
   4. Remove 'in Ohio' and search again

4. In which situation is a narrow research question actually acceptable?

   1. When you're conducting your own survey or experiment
   2. When you want to use Wikipedia as a source
   3. When you need to find published studies
   4. When writing a literature review

5. A student searches 'How do video games affect attention spans in 7th graders?' and finds no studies. What should they try first?

   1. Broaden to 'How do video games affect attention spans in teenagers?'
   2. Only use sources from video game companies
   3. Make it about college students instead
   4. Give up on the topic completely

6. What is the main goal of broadening a too-narrow research question?

   1. To avoid doing any actual research work
   2. To make the project take longer and seem more serious
   3. To find existing research on related topics that you can apply to your case
   4. To find a topic you don't actually care about

7. What does zero search results most directly indicate about your question?

   1. You need to use more technical search terms
   2. No one has ever studied anything related
   3. It's too narrow and needs broadening
   4. It's not a good research topic

8. Which question is most likely to have published research available?

   1. How does AI affect Mrs. Johnson's 4th grade class in Boise?
   2. How will AI change teaching in the year 2099?
   3. How does AI affect my specific school?
   4. How does AI affect K-12 teachers?

9. After finding broader research on a topic, you should:

   1. Ignore the broader research since it's not exactly about your question
   2. Change to a completely different topic
   3. Apply those general findings to your specific case in your discussion
   4. Copy the findings word-for-word without citation

10. Which statement about broadening questions is accurate?

    1. You should never broaden your question — stay narrow
    2. Broadening is only necessary for science fair projects
    3. You should broaden just enough to find research, but not so much that you lose interest
    4. You should always broaden to the broadest possible topic

11. Why might 'How does AI affect elementary teachers?' be easier to research than 'How does AI affect elementary teachers in Ohio?'

    1. Elementary teachers in Ohio are fundamentally different
    2. More existing studies likely cover the broader topic
    3. The lesson proves this is always true
    4. It's a more specific question

12. A student wants to research 'How does coffee affect test scores at my school?' This question is:

    1. Likely too narrow for published research, so they may need to broaden or conduct their own survey
    2. Too broad to study effectively
    3. Perfect as-is with plenty of existing research
    4. Not a valid research question

13. What is an example of original research that allows for a narrow question?

    1. Reading a published book
    2. Googling existing articles
    3. Running your own survey
    4. Using an encyclopedia

14. A student searches for 'How does AI affect 2nd grade teachers in Seattle?' and finds no results. The best approach is to:

    1. Make the question about principals instead
    2. Only use sources from Seattle
    3. Give up on researching how AI affects teachers
    4. Remove 'in Seattle' and then possibly '2nd grade' to find related research

15. The lesson recommends removing details from your question:

    1. After you finish your entire bibliography
    2. One specific detail at a time until you find research
    3. Only when your teacher specifically asks you to
    4. All at once to get the broadest possible results