How to Write a Research Question

What is a research question?

A research question is the question around which you center your research. It should be:

  • clear: it provides enough specifics that someone can easily understand its purpose

  • focused: it is narrow enough that it can be answered (this is a big issue with beginning researchers-- they set out to try to do too much-- if you think it is narrow enough, you probably still need to narrow some more!)

  • concise: enough said.

  • complex: it is not answerable with a simple yes or no. It requires synthesis and analysis. See Rittel and Webber (1973) to understand what a 'wicked problem' is.

  • arguable: its potential answers are open to debate-- not a given and based in fact.




Why is a research question essential to the research process?

The research question guides the researcher and the reader on what is being explored. It gives the work a clear purpose and focus.

THE PROCESS

Before your write a research question, establish a Problem of Practice. Check out this page at Scribbr for an outline of how to establish a problem of practice.

Once you have your Problem of Practice established, consider the purpose of your research. What are you setting out to understand?

The steps to writing a good question:

1) Start with your topic. What gets you excited when you read different articles? You need to really study something you are interested in, as this will be a journey and you want to stay engaged and motivated! Brainstorming, concept mapping and iterating will help as you explore your topic.

2) Determine what the problem of practice is and how you are going to approach it. Before you can establish your problem and question, you need to explore your topic. Use this exploration to narrow down your focus, find out what others have said and what the gaps or missing understanding is related to your topic. What is the problem? Why is it a problem? Who is it a problem to? In follow up, what do you hope to accomplish by exploring this problem?

3) Iterate on your question. You need to continue reading, learning and rewriting your question based upon your understanding. Write, rewrite, and keep going until it feels about right. You can always come back to it later on and still tweak it as needed.

4) Evaluate your research question. After you’ve put a question or even a couple of questions down on paper, evaluate these questions.

    • Is your research question clear?

    • Is your research question focused?

    • Is your research question complex? Research questions should not be able to be answered with yes or no. They require research and analysis and might begin with HOW or WHY.

Tips

Your question should end in a question mark. This denotes a question.

Your question should be non-binary. That means no yes/no responses, no either or responses, and also don't use a categorical response as your outcome (ie, a question such as how much.)

Your question should be specific and concise.

Your question should be researchable-- that means that you can actually establish what to measure, how to measure it and come up with usable data.

You should ask a question about an issue that you are genuinely curious and/or passionate about.

Next, consider how you are going to write your literature review.

Rittel, H.W.J., Webber, M.M. Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy Sci 4, 155–169 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01405730