My original question addressed my Spring Break trip to Italy, and sought to gather information on the country. However, upon further thought, I changed my question to one which would be easier for me to research given the scope of databases available via the UNC libraries. Thus, I changed my question to the following:
What are the positive and negative effects of running? What steps can be taken to avoid the negative effects and enhance the positive effects?
As I began my search I used the following concepts:
1) running (terms = “running OR jogging”)
2) health (terms = “health OR medical”)
3) effects (terms = “effects or results”)
I found these concepts to be very useful in searching the databases,
web-based search engines, and reference works which I used to gather information
for the project. There were no changes to the question itself, but
some of my results forced me to consider aspects of the question which
I hadn’t considered:
- the health effects caused by car exhausts, which runners are exposed
to when running on city streets
- the effects of the running environment, which included temperature,
to aggressive dogs, to the possibilty of crimes committed against runners.
These were aspects of the question which I had not considered, but which I did include in my final paper. Thus, it is clear that my search shaped my results. My pre-conceived ideas on the topic were not all inclusive, and the searches I conducted were useful in gathering information and ideas which had not been previously considered. I feel as if my question was effective. That is why I did not have to change it. It was broad enough to include unforeseen results, yet narrow enough to return the results which I sought.