6 Developing Your Research Question
Lindsey MacCallum and Teaching & Learning Ohio State University Libraries
Because of all their influence, you might worry that research questions are very difficult to develop. Sometimes it can seem that way. But we’ll help you get the hang of it and, luckily, none of us has to come up with perfect questions right away. It’s more like creating a rough draft and then improving it. That’s why we talk about developing research questions instead of just writing them.
Steps for Developing a Research Question
The steps for developing a research question, listed below, can help you organize your thoughts:
Step 1: Pick a topic (or consider the one assigned to you).
Step 2: Write a narrower/smaller topic that is related to the first.
Step 3: List some potential questions that could logically be asked in relation to the narrow topic.
Step 4: Pick the question that you are most interested in.
Step 5: Revise that question you’re interested in so that it is more focused.
MOVIE: Developing Research Questions
As you view this short video on how to develop research questions, think about the steps. Which step do you think is easiest? Which do you think is hardest?
Practice
Once you know the steps and their order, the following work is involved in developing a research question:
- Imagining narrower topics about a larger one;
- Thinking of questions that stem from a narrow topic, and;
- Focusing questions to eliminate their vagueness.
Every time you use these skills, it’s important to evaluate what you have produced—that’s just part of the process of turning rough drafts into more finished products.
ACTIVITY: Developing a Research Question
Maybe you have a topic in mind, but aren’t sure how to form a research question around it. The trick is to think of a question related to your topic, but not answerable with a quick search. Also, try to be specific so that your research question can be fully answered in the final product for your research assignment.
ACTIVITY: Thinking of Questions
For each of the narrow topics below, think of a research question that is logically related to that topic. (Remember that good research questions often, but not always, start with “Why” or “How” because questions that begin that way usually require more analysis.)
Topics:
- Canadian investors’ attitudes about sustainability
- University students’ use of Snapchat
- The character Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird
- Nature-inspired nanotechnologies
- Marital therapy
After you think of each research question, evaluate it by asking whether it is:
- Logically related to the topic
- In question form
- Not answerable with a quick Google search
- Specific, not vague
Sometimes the first draft of a research question is still too broad, which can make your search for sources more challenging. Refining your question to remove vagueness or to target a specific aspect of the topic can help.
ACTIVITY: Focusing Questions
The first draft research questions below are no