Overview

For Weekly Writing 5, will write about the scholarly research topic you're planning to focus on for your paper. 

Instructions

• What topic(s) are you researching further on AI in your field? What do you already know about it? What's interesting about it to you? 

Be answerable. By examining multiple sources and interpreting the information, you should be able to get to an approximation of an answer.  In particular, it needs to be answerable through scholarly peer-reviewed research. While I'd love to know if the multiverse theory is true, you won't be able to answer that question with any sort of objective authority at this time.

Be arguable. You will need to take an arguable position for your paper. This doesn't mean "argument" in the sense of trying to convince someone by any means. But your paper will need to make a point even while looking at the complexity of the issue. 

Be complex. If the topic could be answered in a simple online or encyclopedia article like "What AI is being used in medical imaging?", it's not complex enough for this paper. The question should be open and explorable. It shouldn't have a simple answer but, instead, should generate more questions and possibilities.

For example, if you were to ask "What types of AI are being used in healthcare?" there will be an answer Then the question is answered and there's no more to discuss. An open question, however, such as  "What are the implications of using AI powered medical imaging?" is explorable. There may be ways in which this technology is improving patient results, but there may also be concerns around accuracy or privacy. It's not quickly or easily answerable, but there are some answers.

Be reasonable in scope. The topic will need to be broad enough that you'll be able to find research on it and narrow enough that you can discuss it with some level of complexity (see above) in a 6-8 page paper. If you find yourself skimming the surface of the issue, you likely need to narrow down your topic. 

• Brainstorm several ideas before you commit to any.

• Your research question can be tangentially related to your community, as long as you can show how the issue relates.

• Do a preliminary search in Macomb's databases or Google Scholar to ensure that research has been done on this topic. You may need to tweak the keywords several times to find the right combination.

• Pick a topic you are interested in. 

• Pick a topic that you can be objective about. While you want to care about the topic, if it is something that you feel so strongly about that you will not be able to be objective during your research, either commit to working through your biases this semester or choose another topic. You will need to be able to address this topic with complexity, which will require being open to being wrong about your current ideas about this topic. The research may show that the issue is not as simple as you think.