Week 4: Research Journey
Mieke’s journey started with asking a question. It took her on a long research path. She travelled across Europe as well to the United States to find out more about her research question. Our inquiry questions at the start were:
- How did the black liberators contribute to the liberation of the Netherlands?
- How did WWII impact the civil rights movement?
- How are our perspectives shaped by history?
- How can sources help us to look at history in a different way?
- How important is our knowledge to complete our view on WWII?
- Was the memory of the black soldiers “whitewashed”?
- Is our knowledge about the liberation of the Netherlands complete or are there gaps.
With the help of a more specific topic you are going more in-depth to find answers to our inquiry.
Finding a research question is sometimes challenging. I advise you to do a broad reading first about a topic to your liking, before you narrow it down to a research question. We often use the following framework to find a question:
In the past weeks several topics related to the liberation of the Netherlands came across:
- D-Day
- The role of African- American soldiers
- The Battle of the Bulge
- The NSB and the Waffen SS/ Dutch SS
- Children of Black liberators
- Segregation in the USA
Now it is your turn!
Combine the inquiry with a topic and try to formulate a research question.
The inquiry and list of topics are meant to help you structure your research, if you find another topic or focus question, discuss it with your teacher.
Choose one of the topics and do more research. You will present your research as a Google site in which you use primary and secondary sources, correct referencing and captions. You will guide your reader along your path of research, and explain your research question and sub-questions. Remember to use knowledge and understanding when you write about your topic. Make sure you use evidence and examples in order to paint a clear historical picture.
