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McLean High School Library Website: Creating Good Research Questions

 Creating Strong Research Questions

Guidance

What is a research question?

A research question is the question around which you center your research. It should be:
  • clear & focused: Clearly states what the writer needs to do.
  • Appropriate scope--not too broad or narrow: narrow enough that it can be answered thoroughly within paper or assignment word/page limit.  If it is too narrow you will not have enough to write about
  • Complex and Answerable: it is not answerable with a simple “yes” or “no,” but rather requires synthesis and analysis of ideas and sources prior to composition of an answer.  The question should not be so complex that you are unable to answer within the word limit and timeframe.
  • Researchable: You have access to suitable quality and quantity of research materials, including relevant scholarly sources.
  • Analytical: Your question allows you to produce analysis of a problem or issue (not describe a problem or issue)
  • Arguable: potential answers are open to debate, not accepted facts.

Why is a research question essential to the research process?

Research questions help writers focus their research by providing a path through the research and writing process. The specificity of a well-developed research question helps writers avoid the “all-about” paper and work toward supporting a specific, arguable thesis.

 

Video: Creating Research Questions

Steps to Developing a Research Question

1) Check the Assignment
Before you start crafting your research question, look at the assignment requirements.
  • What is the purpose of the assignment?  
    • Considering the purpose of the assignment will help you pick an appropriate topic and help you word your question
  • What is the length? 
    • This will help you determine the appropriate scope/size of your research question
2) Choose a Topic
Choose a topic that you are interested in and that fits the assignment requirements.  If you're interested in your topic, you'll enjoy the process more! 
3) Do some Preliminary Research
Get some background information about your topic.  At this point, the purpose is to learning something about your topic will help you craft a better question--you don't need to be an expert yet!
4) Narrow Your Topic
Most of the time you will need to narrow your topic to a specific issue or debate within a broader topic.  You can cover a smaller topic with greater depth, rather than covering a broader topic at a surface level.
Ways to Narrow Your Topic:
  • Identify subtopics, specific issues and key debates within a broader topic
  • Consider limiting your topic to
    • A specific time period
    • geographic location
    • organization
    • group of people/characters
What subtopics or limits would allow you to present your work most effectively?
5) Draft Your Research Question
A good question addresses the course assignment and typically has you analyze an issue or problem.
Helpful Words for Framing Your Research Question
  • Try using How or Why? (instead of what or describe)
  • Critique, Argue, Examine and Evaluate
6) Revisit Your Research Question
As you learn more about your topic and dive into your research, you may find that your first question no longer fits your research or interests.  That's ok!  Your research question can evolve over time.  Just make sure to revisit your assignment and then update your research question.