HAROLD L. DRIMMER LIBRARY

Westchester Community College, Valhalla, New York

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• VIRGIL: Choose a Module
• 1. Keywords
• 2. Book Catalog
• 3. Databases
• 4. Internet
• 5. Citing Works

VIRGIL 3.0: Online Research Tutorial

1.2: Phrasing your Topic as a Research Question

What makes a good Research Question?

• It can't answered simply by "Yes!" or "No!"
• It can be answered by research using source materials.

Questions you could ask about Movie Censorship:

• What kind of censorship am I thinking of? sex? violence? politics? religion?
• Do I want to examine the censorship of one particular movie?
• What is the real problem: self-censorship by the movie industry? interference by governement or church?
• What are the published guidelines for censorship beyond the ratings system?
• Am I interested in a general history of movie censorship?
• How do broader issues of mass media impact the film industry?

NEXT: Create Keywords from your Research Question