Apply Theories to a Research Question

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Instructors often ask students in the social sciences to critically examine theories relevant to research questions such as “Why do some college students abuse alcohol?” or “What leads to infant neglect?” A theoretical research presentation typically addresses the following:

  1. Introduction of the research question
  2. Discussion of relevant theories of how and why it occurs, as described by the research
  3. Evaluation of the research and suggestions for future research

Narrow Your Topic

Since most of your social scientific research and literature review presentations will be relatively brief, make sure to sufficiently narrow your topic or research question and scale your findings to fit the time allotted. To ensure that you report the research accurately, maintain a working bibliography of your sources.