S574: Wondering

I am kind of relieved to be doing the wondering step because finally getting all of the questions that have been bopping around in my head down on paper (or the net as it were) will help me focus on what I need to learn more about.  I know how important forming questions is from reading about McKenzie's Research Cycle model (Callison 56), where the thrust of the model is on continually refining your questions and the research that answers them, so you end with with a well thought out, thorough product.  In the relation to the wondering step of the 8Ws, the Research Cycle would put me in a the questioning step.  Lucky for me, I found the ideal tool for getting all of my questions out of my head and organized:  http://mywebspiration.com/.  It was really easy to use; just click to add a bubble and type in the text.  Here is my chart I came up with.

Once I had decided that I wanted to do my project on what it would take to farm, I wondered what I actually meant by that.  I decided that I would focus my research on what it would take to get started farming.  Thus, the three big topics that I think I'll need to research are:  buying land, getting equipment and choosing a crop.  I'm not actually sure yet if that's all I'll need to research, if I'm forgetting a major component (which I probably am), but I figure that will surface once I start researching.  Like our readings stress, inquiry is not a linear process (Callison 51)!

In case you're not able to read my document for some reason I'll list the questions I came up with for each subtopic.
For choosing a crop:
     What equipment will I need depending on what crop I pick?
     How much will I get per acre?
     How much would I need to buy?
     What grows here best?
     What would I like to grow?
     Where should I buy from?
     What seed is the cheapest now?
For buying land:
     Where has the best soil?
     How much land should I get?
     How much land will sustain my family?
     Who would be a reliable resource to help me choose?
     What soil is best for my crops?
     How much does land cost per acre?
     How much land earns a profit?
For getting equipment:
     How much will it cost?
     How many machines will I need?
     Do I have to buy all of them?
     Will I need to store my crop?
     Where could I borrow some things from?
     Where would I buy from?
     Where will get me the best prices?
     Is a certain brand better?

When I was brainstorming about my topic, I didn't try to go in a logical order, I just wrote down whatever questions came to mind.  As I get further in the inquiry process, I'll be able to see what questions I need to elaborate on or what ones I can eliminate.  I really just tried to write down everything I could think of that farmers might need to do or consider when they are farming their land.  After writing down all these questions, I can see that my emerging focus for my project is going to be about starting and establishing a farm, rather than just farming in general.  I want to make sure the scope of my project is manageable, so I can do a thorough job in my research.

Since I am about to go to the library, I think this I have done the wondering step at exactly the right time.  With these questions to guide me,  I will have a good idea of what I need to look for at the library.  Wish me luck!