Developing research questions

It is likely that at some point during your degree you volition exist required to create your own research question. The research question states the specific issue or problem that your assignment will focus on. It besides outlines the job that you will need to complete.

There is no universal set of criteria for a good research question. Different disciplines have different priorities and requirements. A skilful research question for a history paper will differ from a good research question for a biology paper. In full general, even so, a adept research question should be:

  • Articulate and focused. In other words, the question should clearly land what the writer needs to exercise.
  • Not too broad and not besides narrow. The question should have an appropriate scope. If the question is too broad it will not exist possible to answer it thoroughly within the word limit. If it is as well narrow you volition not have enough to write most and you will struggle to develop a strong argument (see the activity below for examples).
  • Not too like shooting fish in a barrel to respond. For example, the question should require more than a unproblematic yes or no respond.
  • Not too difficult to answer. You must be able to reply the question thoroughly within the given timeframe and word limit.
  • Researchable. You lot must have access to a suitable corporeality of quality research materials, such as academic books and refereed journal articles.
  • Analytical rather than descriptive. In other words, your research question should allow you to produce an analysis of an issue or trouble rather than a simple description of it (more on this beneath).

Activity: Is the question as well broad or too narrow?

Imagine that you have been asked to write a 2000 word essay well-nigh nuclear power in Australia. Which of these iii options is the best in terms of its scope? Drag and drib to match each question with the most accurate description of its scope.

How to create a research question

1. Determine the requirements

Earlier you can construct a good research question you will need to decide the requirements of your assignment.

What is the purpose of this assignment? Is it to test a proposition? Is it to evaluate a prepare of data? Is it to state and defend an argument? Check the assignment instructions and discuss the purpose with your tutor or lecturer.

Determining the purpose volition aid you to choose the about appropriate topic and give-and-take your question in the near useful way.

2. Cull a topic

Take y'all been given a list of topics to choose from or tin yous cull your own? Cheque the assignment instructions and if you are yet in doubt discuss the requirements with your tutor or lecturer.

The all-time arroyo is to choose a topic that you are interested in. If you are interested in your topic you lot are more likely to invest more time, effort, and inventiveness into your research and writing. The greater your interest, the more probable it is that y'all will produce an assignment that is interesting to read.

3. Bear preliminary inquiry

Before you lot write your question it is appropriate to read a small number of relevant bookish sources. Limit your reading to recently published textile and perhaps one or two influential works on the topic. The goal here is to familiarise yourself with the central debates in academic writing on the topic.

Reading in club to develop a inquiry question is different from reading in order to answer it. Focus on the primary ideas and arguments (these are normally establish in the introduction and the conclusion). You don't need to read every word or accept down extensive notes at this stage, equally you will probably come back to the text at a afterwards date.

iv. Narrow down your topic

Having conducted some preliminary research y'all should now be in a position to narrow down your topic.

In near cases you will need to narrow downwardly your focus to a specific event or debate within the broader topic. This is because it is much more effective to cover a single issue or dimension of a topic in depth than to skim the surface of several.

There are several ways that you might get nigh narrowing down your topic:

  • Think virtually the subtopics, specific problems, and key debates that exist within the broader topic.
  • Think about the value of focusing on a particular period of fourth dimension, a detail geographical location, a particular organisation, or a detail group of people.
  • Call back about what yous want to say in your assignment. What are the key points and arguments that you lot desire to get beyond? Which subtopic, timeframe or other limitation would allow y'all to make these points in the most effective way?

Activeness: Narrowing down your topic

  • Create 3 columns on a piece of paper, in a word document, or in a spreadsheet.
  • Select a wide topic for an upcoming assignment or choose a topic that yous are interested in.
  • In the offset column write down the items independent in the first column below. Add any other items that may be relevant to your topic.
  • In the second column write down potential sub-topics and other limitations. If yous get stuck use the examples in the second cavalcade below to guide you.
  • In the third column write the potential value of what you take written in the 2d cavalcade. What would that sub-topic or other limitation permit you to argue or demonstrate?
  • Circumvolve or highlight the items in column two that have the strongest potential value.

If you get stuck apply the example beneath to guide you.

Broad topic: Social impact of earthquakes. Relevant events: Haitian earthquake of 2010. Potential value: Very destructive in terms of lives lost and infrastructure damaged. Allows me to explore why some populations are more vulnerable to earthquakes than others. Relevant individuals and groups: Homeless citizens. Potential value: Homelessness was a major consequence. Homelessness increases exposure to other consequences such as outbreaks of disease. Sub-issues: Lack of building codes - One reason why the earthquake was so devastating. Role of NGOs and foreign aid - This has been widely criticised. Allows me to identify which efforts have worked and which have not. Other limitations: Could focus on those still homeless several years after the earthquake. Potential value: Might be a useful way of highlighting the role of social inequality in disaster relief.

5. Write your question

Now that you accept narrowed down your topic yous tin turn your attention to the diction of your research question.

As mentioned previously, the inquiry question must outline a clear task that you will need to complete.

Remember that you will need to keep the purpose of your assignment in mind when thinking near the wording of your question and that the purpose volition differ from discipline to discipline (run across one: Determine the Requirements).

In general, however, a good research question requires you to analyse an issue or problem. How and why questions are therefore more useful than what or describe questions. Other useful words that you might use are critique, argue, examine and evaluate. For definitions of these terms see Instruction Words.

Action: Which is the all-time worded question?

Imagine that yous accept been asked to write an essay about earthquakes. The broad topic that yous have chosen is the social impact of earthquakes. You take narrowed down your topic and decided to focus on the consequence of homelessness caused by the Haitian earthquake of 2010. You are specially interested in why there were high levels of homelessness several years after the earthquake. Which of these three options is the all-time research question? Elevate and drop to match each question with the almost accurate description of its effectiveness equally a inquiry question.