Overview: Question and Explore Chapter Notes | AP Research – AP Students - Grade 11 PDF Download

Introduction to AP Research

This chapter introduces students to AP Research, the second course in the AP Capstone program. This course focuses on allowing students to explore their interests through independent research, emphasizing the development of a unique research question and topic of inquiry. Unlike AP Seminar, which relies on existing evidence, AP Research requires students to collect original data through studies, experiments, or analyses. This chapter guides students through the process of identifying a discipline, narrowing down a topic, and finding a gap in existing knowledge to create a meaningful research project. It highlights the importance of feasibility, credibility, and thorough research to ensure a successful outcome.

What is AP Research?

The flexibility of AP Research is its hallmark. Past high-scoring papers have explored topics such as:

• Enhancing LGBTQ+ inclusivity in health education in Vermont schools
• Motivations behind executives joining socially responsible companies in India’s construction sector
• The science behind K-Pop’s global success

These examples highlight the course’s emphasis on original research that contributes to a body of knowledge. Your paper will follow a structured format with five key sections: an introduction, a literature review, a methodology, results and analysis, a conclusion, and a bibliography.
A word of caution: Procrastination is the enemy in AP Research. The course requires consistent planning and execution to produce a meaningful project. If you struggle with time management, consider whether this class aligns with your strengths.

How to Find a Topic of Inquiry

What Even is a Topic of Inquiry?

A topic of inquiry is the specific focus of your research paper. For instance, a topic like “the effects of flipped classrooms on academic performance in high school math courses” is precise and targeted. Unlike a broad discipline (e.g., education or chemistry), a topic of inquiry is narrow and unique to your project. It should be so specific that it distinguishes your work from others in your class, even if you share the same discipline.

Selecting a Discipline: Start by choosing a discipline that excites you, whether it’s a field you plan to pursue in college, a personal passion, or something new you’re curious about. While prior knowledge can be helpful, don’t shy away from exploring unfamiliar areas. Be prepared for your initial ideas to evolve. For example, one student planned to study flipped classrooms but ended up researching Marxist themes in the sci-fi film Moon after their interests shifted. Your perfect topic often reveals itself organically as you explore.

Finding a Broad Focus

The first step in choosing a research topic is selecting a discipline. This could be something you're passionate about, interested in studying further, or simply curious to explore. It helps to choose an area you already know a bit about, though it’s completely fine to dive into something unfamiliar.

Keep in mind, even if you start research with what feels like a solid plan—a research question and a clear topic—it’s very likely that things will shift as you go. For example, when I began AP Research, I was completely focused on educational topics. My original idea was to explore how flipped classrooms affected different types of courses like AP and honors. It seemed perfect. But not long after, that plan fell apart. By October, I had switched to analyzing the film Moon by Duncan Jones, a science fiction movie I’d seen in chemistry class a year earlier.

In my experience, you don’t necessarily “find” your ideal topic by searching too hard. If you keep second-guessing yourself, you’ll end up stuck in indecision. Instead, the right topic tends to reveal itself when you’re not expecting it. As cheesy as it sounds, you’ll just feel it when the topic is right. (My teacher even joked that choosing your topic is like getting married—seriously, they said it at least three times!) For me, what started as a casual movie viewing eventually led to a deep dive into Marxist themes I hadn’t even planned to explore.

Narrowing a Focus and Finding a Gap in the Research

So, you’ve chosen a broad area to focus on—what comes next? Now it’s time to narrow it down. This means taking your general idea and digging deeper (yes, that means doing some research!) to transform it into a specific and focused topic of inquiry. But before diving into that process, let’s talk about identifying gaps.

What is a Gap?

In AP Research, your main objective is to identify and address a gap in the existing knowledge. Let’s break this down using some new terms.

The body of knowledge includes everything already known and researched about your general area of interest. For example, if you’re thinking of studying how different age groups perceive advertising, that general subject has already been researched extensively. So, the body of knowledge consists of all the questions and topics that have already been explored.

Your job is to find a question that hasn’t been answered yet—this is the gap. Get used to this word! A gap refers to that small piece of information that’s still missing from current research, and it’s your task to explore it. That’s the essence of AP Research: discovering and addressing an unexplored area.

Now, finding a gap can feel overwhelming—and that’s completely normal. The idea of discovering something no one else has studied sounds daunting because, honestly, it is. It's impossible to read every study on every related topic. But don’t worry—you’re not expected to make a world-changing breakthrough. You don’t have to cure diseases or solve massive global issues.

Instead, focus on a small, specific niche within your topic that hasn’t been fully studied yet. It can still be meaningful and valuable to your field of study.

Another key point is feasibility. As you narrow your focus, remember that you have around 10 months to plan, research, write, and present. So, keep your topic manageable. Don’t take on projects that are too large, expensive, or time-consuming.

For example, if you want to study "migration patterns of blue whales between June and September in the Northeast Atlantic," it sounds fascinating—but it’s not practical. It requires travel, time, and resources most students don’t have. In such cases, you may need to adjust your topic or, if necessary, choose a new one that fits your timeframe and resources better. By making your topic more doable, you’ll create a stronger and more achievable project.

Finding the Gap With the Power of Little-R Research

Now that you know what a gap is and why it matters, let’s look at how to actually find one. The short answer? Research! But here, we’re talking about “little-r” research—that means using tools like databases to explore existing studies, much like what you did in AP Seminar. On the other hand, “big-R” Research refers to the original research you’ll be doing, where you gather your own data and contribute something new.

When doing little-r research, your goal is to collect a wide range of existing work—aim for around 50 or more sources. As you read through them, you’ll begin to notice what’s already been studied and develop your own questions and interests. This deep dive will help you narrow your focus and eventually identify a gap in the knowledge.

This process isn’t quick or simple—it takes time, effort, and a lot of thinking. But once you’ve gone through it, you’ll end up with a very specific and original topic of inquiry, and you’ll probably know more about your subject than almost anyone else around you!

​Tips:

• Use tools like Zotero (free and easy to use) or Mendeley to organize your sources—they’ll make your research life much easier.
• If 50 sources feels overwhelming or you’re stuck, check out the bibliographies in the papers you’ve already found. They often point to other useful and relevant research, and they might help you spot new gaps.

A Note on Credibility and Choice of Sources

While doing your little-r research, it's essential to understand updated standards for judging credibility and how to choose your sources wisely. In AP Seminar, credibility often meant checking for degrees or professional titles—like someone holding a PhD. But in AP Research, credibility goes deeper. It’s not just about qualifications anymore—it’s also about how relevant someone’s past research is to your specific topic. As your topic becomes more focused, the experts you rely on need to be just as focused.

For instance, let’s say you’ve narrowed your topic from general advertising perceptions to how Baby Boomers and Gen Z respond to ads on social media, specifically comparing TikTok and Instagram. Now, your sources should come from researchers who have direct experience with social media marketing or generational consumer behavior, not just general degrees in advertising.

Also, the type of sources you use will depend on your discipline and topic. Research in medicine will use very different kinds of sources compared to history or economics. So, it’s important to learn how your specific field conducts research and which types of sources are considered most appropriate.

Conclusion

AP Research is a challenging yet rewarding course that empowers you to become an expert in a topic of your choice. By carefully selecting a discipline, narrowing your focus, and identifying a gap through thorough research, you’ll lay a strong foundation for your project. Stay organized, avoid procrastination, and embrace the process of discovery. In our next guide, we’ll dive into crafting a compelling introduction for your paper. Happy researching!

Key Terms

• AP Capstone: A program from the College Board that focuses on improving students' skills in research, analysis, and teamwork. It includes two key courses—AP Seminar and AP Research—that help students investigate real-world problems and share their findings effectively.
• Bibliography: A detailed list of all the sources used or referred to while researching a topic. It helps track what materials were used and allows others to find and verify those sources, supporting the trustworthiness of the research.
• Credibility: The degree to which a source, idea, or argument can be trusted. Credibility is important when judging the truth or accuracy of information and influences how believable or reliable it is considered by others.
• Data Collection: The organized method of gathering information to answer research questions. It helps turn abstract ideas into measurable data and ensures that results are based on solid evidence, not guesses or opinions.
• Formal Literature Review: A structured and in-depth study of past research on a topic. It looks at what has already been discovered, evaluates its quality, and finds areas that still need more research.
• Literature Review: A thorough overview of past studies and publications about a particular topic. It helps researchers understand what is already known and where more investigation is needed.
• Mendeley: A tool that helps researchers manage references, share papers, add notes to PDFs, and create citations. It’s especially helpful for organizing sources during the writing and research process.
• Methodology: The strategy and thinking behind the research methods used in a study. It explains why certain methods are chosen and how they shape the way data is collected and analyzed, affecting the overall quality of the research.
• Research Question: A specific, well-defined question that guides what a study will explore. It sets the direction for the research and helps focus on the purpose, content, and limits of the study.
• Topic of Inquiry: A narrow and specific subject or issue a researcher investigates. It helps focus research efforts and break down broader topics into something more manageable and meaningful.
• Zotero: A free tool that helps collect, organize, and share research sources. It’s especially useful in the early stages of research for keeping track of useful materials and generating citations.