When you complete your situated research, you will want to communicate it to others, in a variety of ways. All will involve summarizing your situated argument in what is generally called a thesis statement. Some good general advice on thesis statements is available here, here, and here; in the context of situated research, make sure your thesis statement does the following:
- It provides the gist of your answer to your focus question in a manner that also sheds light on your framing question. Remember from the above that focus questions are answerable, whereas larger framing questions usually are not; nonetheless, if your focus question follows from your framing question, the answer to your focus question should then offer some clarification on the framing question!
- Your thesis statement often involves both a descriptive/explanatory assertion (in relation to the focus question), and an evaluative/instrumental assertion (in relation to the framing question). (Indeed, one good resource on thesis statements mentions these as the four “types of claims.”)
A situated thesis statement thus builds on the hourglass approach by which you will do situated research. This is why it addresses both your focus and framing questions, and why it may include descriptive/explanatory and evaluative/instrumental assertions.