-Is the target population narrow or broad?
-Is the target population vulnerable?
-What are the eligibility criteria?
-What is the most appropriate recruitment strategy?
Occasionally, the intended population of the study needs to be modified, in order to overcome any potential ethical issues, and/or for the sake of convenience and feasibility of the project. Yet, the researcher must be aware that the external validity of the results may be compromised. As an illustration, in a randomised clinical trial, authors compared the ease of tracheal tube insertion between C-MAC video laryngoscope and direct laryngoscopy, in patients presenting to the emergency department with an indication of rapid sequence intubation. However, owing to the existence of ethical concerns, a substantial amount of patients requiring emergency tracheal intubation, including patients with major maxillofacial trauma and ongoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, had to be excluded from the trial.[ 14 ] In fact, the design of prospective studies to explore this subset of patients can be challenging, not only because of ethical considerations, but because of the low incidence of these cases. In another study, Metterlein et al . compared the glottis visualisation among five different supraglottic airway devices, using fibreroptic-guided tracheal intubation in an adult population. Despite that the study was aimed to explore the ease of intubation in patients with anticipated difficult airway (thus requiring fibreoptic tracheal intubation), authors decided to enrol patients undergoing elective laser treatment for genital condylomas, as a strategy to hasten the recruitment process and optimise resources.[ 15 ]
Anaesthetic interventions can be classified into pharmacological (experimental treatment) and nonpharmacological. Among nonpharmacological interventions, the most common include anaesthetic techniques, monitoring instruments and airway devices. For example, it would be appropriate to examine the ease of insertion of Supreme™ LMA, when compared with ProSeal™ LMA. Notwithstanding, a common mistake is the tendency to be focused on the data aimed to be collected (the “stated” objective), rather than the question that needs to be answered (the “latent” objective).[ 1 , 4 ] In one clinical trial, authors stated: “we compared the Supreme™ and ProSeal™ LMAs in infants by measuring their performance characteristics, including insertion features, ventilation parameters, induced changes in haemodynamics, and rates of postoperative complications”.[ 10 ] Here, the research question has been centered on the measurements (insertion characteristics, haemodynamic variables, LMA insertion characteristics, ventilation parameters) rather than the clinical problem that needs to be addressed (is Supreme™ LMA easier to insert than ProSeal™ LMA?).
Comparators in clinical research can also be pharmacological (e.g., gold standard or placebo) or nonpharmacological. Typically, not more than two comparator groups are included in a clinical trial. Multiple comparisons should be generally avoided, unless there is enough statistical power to address the end points of interest, and statistical analyses have been adjusted for multiple testing. For instance, in the aforementioned study of Metterlein et al .,[ 15 ] authors compared five supraglottic airway devices by recruiting only 10--12 participants per group. In spite of the authors' recommendation of using two supraglottic devices based on the results of the study, there was no mention of statistical adjustments for multiple comparisons, and given the small sample size, larger clinical trials will undoubtedly be needed to confirm or refute these findings.[ 15 ]
A clear formulation of the primary outcome results of vital importance in clinical research, as the primary statistical analyses, including the sample size calculation (and therefore, the estimation of the effect size and statistical power), will be derived from the main outcome of interest. While it is clear that using more than one primary outcome would not be appropriate, it would be equally inadequate to include multiple point measurements of the same variable as the primary outcome (e.g., visual analogue scale for pain at 1, 2, 6, and 12 h postoperatively).
Composite outcomes, in which multiple primary endpoints are combined, may make it difficult to draw any conclusions based on the study findings. For example, in a clinical trial, 200 children undergoing ophthalmic surgery were recruited to explore the incidence of respiratory adverse events, when comparing desflurane with sevoflurane, following the removal of flexible LMA during the emergence of the anaesthesia. The primary outcome was the number of respiratory events, including breath holding, coughing, secretions requiring suction, laryngospasm, bronchospasm, and mild desaturation.[ 16 ] Should authors had claimed a significant difference between these anaesthetic volatiles, it would have been important to elucidate whether those differences were due to serious adverse events, like laryngospasm or bronchospasm, or the results were explained by any of the other events (e.g., secretions requiring suction). While it is true that clinical trials evaluating the occurrence of adverse events like laryngospasm/bronchospasm,[ 16 , 17 ] or life-threating complications following a tracheal intubation (e.g., inadvertent oesophageal placement, dental damage or injury of the larynx/pharynx)[ 14 ] are almost invariably underpowered, because the incidence of such events is expected to be low, subjective outcomes like coughing or secretions requiring suction should be avoided, as they are highly dependent on the examiner's criteria.[ 16 ]
Secondary outcomes are useful to document potential side effects (e.g., gastric insufflation after placing a supraglottic device), and evaluate the adherence (say, airway leak pressure) and safety of the intervention (for instance, occurrence, or laryngospasm/bronchospasm).[ 17 ] Nevertheless, the problem of addressing multiple secondary outcomes without the adequate statistical power is habitual in medical literature. A good illustration of this issue can be found in a study evaluating the performance of two supraglottic devices in 50 anaesthetised infants and neonates, whereby authors could not draw any conclusions in regard to potential differences in the occurrence of complications, because the sample size calculated made the study underpowered to explore those differences.[ 17 ]
Among PICOT components, the time frame is the most likely to be omitted or inappropriate.[ 1 , 12 ] There are two key aspects of the time component that need to be clearly specified in the research question: the time of measuring the outcome variables (e.g. visual analogue scale for pain at 1, 2, 6, and 12 h postoperatively), and the duration of each measurement (when indicated). The omission of these details in the study protocol might lead to substantial differences in the methodology used. For instance, if a study is designed to compare the insertion times of three different supraglottic devices, and researchers do not specify the exact moment of LMA insertion in the clinical trial protocol (i.e., at the anaesthetic induction after reaching a BIS index < 60), placing an LMA with insufficient depth of anaesthesia would have compromised the internal validity of the results, because inserting a supraglottic device in those patients would have resulted in failed attempts and longer insertion times.[ 10 ]
A well-elaborated research question may not necessarily be a good question. The proposed study also requires being achievable from both ethical and realistic perspectives, interesting and useful to the clinical practice, and capable to formulate new hypotheses, that may contribute to the generation of knowledge. Researchers have developed an effective way to convey the message of how to build a good research question, that is usually recalled under the acronym of FINER (feasible, interesting, novel, ethical and relevant).[ 5 , 6 , 7 ] Table 2 highlights the main characteristics of FINER criteria.[ 7 ]
Main features of FINER criteria (Feasibility, interest, novelty, ethics, and relevance) to formulate a good research question. Adapted from Cummings et al .[ 7 ]
Component | Criteria |
---|---|
Feasible | -Ensures adequacy of research design -Guarantees adequate funding -Recruits target population strategically -Aims an achievable sample size -Prioritises measurable outcomes -Optimises human and technical resources -Accounts for clinicians commitment -Procures high adherence to the treatment and low rate of dropouts -Opts for appropriate and affordable frame time |
Interesting | -Engages the interest of principal investigators -Attracts the attention of readers -Presents a different perspective of the problem |
Novel | -Provides different findings -Generates new hypotheses -Improves methodological flaws of existing studies -Resolves a gap in the existing literature |
Ethical | -Complies with local ethical committees -Safeguards the main principles of ethical research -Guarantees safety and reversibility of side effects |
Relevant | -Generates new knowledge -Contributes to improve clinical practice -Stimulates further research -Provides an accurate answer to a specific research question |
Although it is clear that any research project should commence with an accurate literature interpretation, in many instances it represents the start and the end of the research: the reader will soon realise that the answer to several questions can be easily found in the published literature.[ 5 ] When the question overcomes the test of a thorough literature review, the project may become novel (there is a gap in the knowledge, and therefore, there is a need for new evidence on the topic) and relevant (the paper may contribute to change the clinical practice). In this context, it is important to distinguish the difference between statistical significance and clinical relevance: in the aforementioned study of Oba et al .,[ 10 ] despite the means of insertion times were reported as significant for the Supreme™ LMA, as compared with ProSeal™ LMA, the difference found in the insertion times (528 vs. 486 sec, respectively), although reported as significant, had little or no clinical relevance.[ 10 ] Conversely, a statistically significant difference of 12 sec might be of clinical relevance in neonates weighing <5 kg.[ 17 ] Thus, statistical tests must be interpreted in the context of a clinically meaningful effect size, which should be previously defined by the researcher.
Among FINER criteria, there are two potential barriers that may prevent the successful conduct of the project and publication of the manuscript: feasibility and ethical aspects. These obstacles are usually related to the target population, as discussed above. Feasibility refers not only to the budget but also to the complexity of the design, recruitment strategy, blinding, adequacy of the sample size, measurement of the outcome, time of follow-up of participants, and commitment of clinicians, among others.[ 3 , 7 ] Funding, as a component of feasibility, may also be implicated in the ethical principles of clinical research, because the choice of the primary study question may be markedly influenced by the specific criteria demanded in the interest of potential funders.
Discussing ethical issues with local committees is compulsory, as rules applied might vary among countries.[ 18 ] Potential risks and benefits need to be carefully weighed, based upon the four principles of respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice.[ 19 ] Although many of these issues may be related to the population target (e.g., conducting a clinical trial in patients with ongoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation would be inappropriate, as would be anaesthetising patients undergoing elective LASER treatment for condylomas, to examine the performance of supraglottic airway devices),[ 14 , 15 ] ethical conflicts may also arise from the intervention (particularly those involving the occurrence of side effects or complications, and their potential for reversibility), comparison (e.g., use of placebo or sham procedures),[ 19 ] outcome (surrogate outcomes should be considered in lieu of long term outcomes), or time frame (e.g., unnecessary longer exposition to an intervention). Thus, FINER criteria should not be conceived without a concomitant examination of the PICOT checklist, and consequently, PICOT framework and FINER criteria should not be seen as separated components, but rather complementary ingredients of a good research question.
Undoubtedly, no research project can be conducted if it is deemed unfeasible, and most institutional review boards would not be in a position to approve a work with major ethical problems. Nonetheless, whether or not the findings are interesting, is a subjective matter. Engaging the attention of readers also depends upon a number of factors, including the manner of presenting the problem, the background of the topic, the intended audience, and the reader's expectations. Furthermore, the interest is usually linked to the novelty and relevance of the topic, and it is worth nothing that editors and peer reviewers of high-impact medical journals are usually reluctant to accept any publication, if there is no novelty inherent to the research hypothesis, or there is a lack of relevance in the results.[ 11 ] Nevertheless, a considerable number of papers have been published without any novelty or relevance in the topic addressed. This is probably reflected in a recent survey, according to which only a third of respondents declared to have read thoroughly the most recent papers downloaded, and at least half of those manuscripts remained unread.[ 20 ] The same study reported that up to one-third of papers examined remained uncited after 5 years of publication, and only 20% of papers accounted for 80% of the citations.[ 20 ]
Formulating a good research question can be fascinating, albeit challenging, even for experienced investigators. While it is clear that clinical experience in combination with the accurate interpretation of literature and teamwork are essential to develop new ideas, the formulation of a clinical problem usually requires the compliance with PICOT framework in conjunction with FINER criteria, in order to translate a clinical dilemma into a researchable question. Working in the right environment with the adequate support of experienced researchers, will certainly make a difference in the generation of knowledge. By doing this, a lot of time will be saved in the search of the primary study question, and undoubtedly, there will be more chances to become a successful researcher.
Conflicts of interest.
There are no conflicts of interest.
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Published on 30 October 2022 by Shona McCombes . Revised on 12 December 2023.
A research question pinpoints exactly what you want to find out in your work. A good research question is essential to guide your research paper , dissertation , or thesis .
All research questions should be:
How to write a research question, what makes a strong research question, research questions quiz, frequently asked questions.
You can follow these steps to develop a strong research question:
The way you frame your question depends on what your research aims to achieve. The table below shows some examples of how you might formulate questions for different purposes.
Research question formulations | |
---|---|
Describing and exploring | |
Explaining and testing | |
Evaluating and acting |
Example research problem | Example research question(s) |
---|---|
Teachers at the school do not have the skills to recognize or properly guide gifted children in the classroom. | What practical techniques can teachers use to better identify and guide gifted children? |
Young people increasingly engage in the ‘gig economy’, rather than traditional full-time employment. However, it is unclear why they choose to do so. | What are the main factors influencing young people’s decisions to engage in the gig economy? |
Note that while most research questions can be answered with various types of research , the way you frame your question should help determine your choices.
Research questions anchor your whole project, so it’s important to spend some time refining them. The criteria below can help you evaluate the strength of your research question.
Criteria | Explanation |
---|---|
Focused on a single topic | Your central research question should work together with your research problem to keep your work focused. If you have multiple questions, they should all clearly tie back to your central aim. |
Answerable using | Your question must be answerable using and/or , or by reading scholarly sources on the topic to develop your argument. If such data is impossible to access, you likely need to rethink your question. |
Not based on value judgements | Avoid subjective words like , , and . These do not give clear criteria for answering the question. |
Criteria | Explanation |
---|---|
Answerable within practical constraints | Make sure you have enough time and resources to do all research required to answer your question. If it seems you will not be able to gain access to the data you need, consider narrowing down your question to be more specific. |
Uses specific, well-defined concepts | All the terms you use in the research question should have clear meanings. Avoid vague language, jargon, and too-broad ideas. |
Does not demand a conclusive solution, policy, or course of action | Research is about informing, not instructing. Even if your project is focused on a practical problem, it should aim to improve understanding rather than demand a ready-made solution. |
Criteria | Explanation |
---|---|
Cannot be answered with or | Closed-ended, / questions are too simple to work as good research questions—they don’t provide enough scope for robust investigation and discussion. |
Cannot be answered with easily-found facts | If you can answer the question through a single Google search, book, or article, it is probably not complex enough. A good research question requires original data, synthesis of multiple sources, and original interpretation and argumentation prior to providing an answer. |
Criteria | Explanation |
---|---|
Addresses a relevant problem | Your research question should be developed based on initial reading around your . It should focus on addressing a problem or gap in the existing knowledge in your field or discipline. |
Contributes to a timely social or academic debate | The question should aim to contribute to an existing and current debate in your field or in society at large. It should produce knowledge that future researchers or practitioners can later build on. |
Has not already been answered | You don’t have to ask something that nobody has ever thought of before, but your question should have some aspect of originality. For example, you can focus on a specific location, or explore a new angle. |
The way you present your research problem in your introduction varies depending on the nature of your research paper . A research paper that presents a sustained argument will usually encapsulate this argument in a thesis statement .
A research paper designed to present the results of empirical research tends to present a research question that it seeks to answer. It may also include a hypothesis – a prediction that will be confirmed or disproved by your research.
As you cannot possibly read every source related to your topic, it’s important to evaluate sources to assess their relevance. Use preliminary evaluation to determine whether a source is worth examining in more depth.
This involves:
An essay isn’t just a loose collection of facts and ideas. Instead, it should be centered on an overarching argument (summarised in your thesis statement ) that every part of the essay relates to.
The way you structure your essay is crucial to presenting your argument coherently. A well-structured essay helps your reader follow the logic of your ideas and understand your overall point.
A research hypothesis is your proposed answer to your research question. The research hypothesis usually includes an explanation (‘ x affects y because …’).
A statistical hypothesis, on the other hand, is a mathematical statement about a population parameter. Statistical hypotheses always come in pairs: the null and alternative hypotheses. In a well-designed study , the statistical hypotheses correspond logically to the research hypothesis.
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.
McCombes, S. (2023, December 12). Writing Strong Research Questions | Criteria & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 2 July 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/the-research-process/research-question/
Other students also liked, how to write a research proposal | examples & templates, how to write a results section | tips & examples, what is a research methodology | steps & tips.
by Antony W
March 10, 2023
If you’re looking for the complete guide to research questions, this article is for you. In this in-depth post, you’ll learn:
Plus, we’ll provide some example of research questions in the last section of this guide to make everything clear.
Keep in mind that coming up with relevant research questions is the first step to writing a killer thesis, a dissertation, or research paper .
The question you come up with should not only provide a path for the research and writing process, but also help you to about being generic and focus on an arguable, specific concept instead.
A research question is the main focus of a research project. By definition, this is the question around which you’ll center your research writing.
Good research question should be:
A research question may be around an issue that you’re either curious or passionate about. In some cases, your instructor may give you a topic for your research project.
Either way, you’ll have to develop relevant research questions and pick the most relevant one for the project.
There are two main type of research questions. These are qualitative and quantitative research questions. Each of the type has other subtypes, and we discuss them below:
This type of research question focuses on exploring meaning and experience.
It focuses on a larger group and seeks to understand a concept or experiment. It's open ended in structure as it focuses more on the experiences of more than one person.
Formulate questions from data collected from case studies, focus groups, and surveys.
There are three types of qualitative research questions and they are as follows:
The type of question you ask because you want to understand a topic.
These kind of questions don’t require a preconceived notions or bias. You ask because you want to understand a topic.
Examples:
We come up with these kind of questions because we want to learn and understand how a group of people view and interpret shared experiences.
Plus, the question focuses on how they attribute those experiences to different phenomena in life.
When you ask this kind of question, you’re mainly interested in understanding the feedback on a group’s behavior.
Predictive questions are the kind you ask if you’re concerned about the future outcome of an event or an action.
As a researcher, you’ll use the past information to predict reaction to an event.
Here, researchers use empirical evidence and measurable data to give an explanation for an occurrence.
This one is common in historical, statistical, marketing and psychical research studies.
Often used to confirm or disapprove a hypothesis through comparisons, descriptions, and relationships.
Relationship-based questions .
Relationship based questions are the ones you ask if you want to know the effect of two or more variables on one of more groups.
From a statistics viewpoint, relationship-based questions fall in the experimental research design where we measure the cause and effect between two or more variables.
It’s different in dissertation, especially at the undergraduate and master’s level, as the questions are often based on quasi-experimental and relationship-based research design. In this case, it’s impossible to account for casual relationship between variables. There are only trends and associations.
We start relationship-based research questions with the phrase “what is the relationship?” followed by the terms “between or amongst”. Then we list an independent and a dependent variable.
If you want to know why, how, when, or where something occurred, then you should use descriptive questions.
This is where you use question phrases such as “what proportion?”, “how often?”, “how much?”, and “what percentage?” to quantify the variable under examination.
You’ll have to use data and stats to describe an event, a group of people or things, or a phenomenon.
These are the types of questions to ask when you want to compare one occurrence or group with another.
Your goal is to examine the difference between groups on one or more variables. This type of research question will start with the phrase “What’s the difference in?” followed by the dependent variable.
More often than not, a comparative research question uses a single dependent variable when comparing concepts or groups, but it’s also common to come across some complex questions in which case the dependent variable consists of two or more items.
Example:
Now that you know the different types of research questions, let’s see how you can come up with a best research question for your study.
We recommend you start with a broad topic because it gives you the opportunity to explore plenty of avenues that you can use to come up with as many research questions as possible.
By going broad, it becomes easier to find a topic, develop it into subtopics, and then come up with potential questions or your research project. At this stage, you should pay more attention to brainstorming and mapping your concept while organizing your thoughts at the same time.
Don’t choose a broad topic based on its popularity. Instead, make sure the area of study is something you are passionate about and genuinely interested in examining. At the end of the day, you don’t want to focus on a topic that will demotivate your level of research when you’re even barely halfway the job.
Start doing preliminary research on the broad topic that you chose in step 1.
Here, your goal is to discover issues that scholars and researchers discuss so you’re up to date on the topic.
Also, this is the stage where you identify gaps and limits on the current knowledge of the topic. Often, these gaps make the best focus area for research questions.
You’ve gathered a lot of information in step 2.
Now it’s time to narrow down the topic to a more specific area of the study. While you have many options here, we recommend that it’s best to focus on the existing gaps that you identified in the previous step.
Here, you’re using the gap spotting approach first developed by Alvesson and Sandberg in 2011 to come up with research questions that touch deeply on the areas of study that researchers have overlooked.
You can use your personal experiences to develop a research question. According to Lipowski, a researcher can identify problematic areas of their practice and come up with questions to address.
Alvesson even provides a problematization technique, which mainly allows you to challenge and scrutinize a theoretical position, makes it easy for you to come up with research questions that can easily challenge your knowledge and view of the area of study.
You have a number of research questions at this stage already, but not all of them are sound to begin with.
So how do you know you have a good research question? You do that by using the FINER criteria developed by Hulley Et Al in 2007.
In other words, your research questions should be:
The last step in developing a research question is to use the right framework to structure the question properly.
While there are many research question frameworks that you can use, the PICOT and PEO are the most commonly used.
About the author
Antony W is a professional writer and coach at Help for Assessment. He spends countless hours every day researching and writing great content filled with expert advice on how to write engaging essays, research papers, and assignments.
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At the heart of every research endeavor lies a fundamental driving force: the research question. It not only defines the scope and direction of inquiry, it also inspires people to seek knowledge. In the complex journey of the research process , key questions act as guiding stars. In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about research questions and provide various examples.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
A research question is a clear and concise inquiry around which you center a research study. It helps to define the scope of the study and provides a basis for gathering and analyzing a variety of data.
A research question is a concise inquiry that guides the direction of a research study or investigation. It articulates the specific type of subject that the researcher aims to explore, often framed in a way that suggests investigation or analysis . It serves as a fundamental element in the research process, guiding the selection of appropriate methodologies, the collection of evidence, and the interpretation of results. In essence, a research question serves as the starting point for scholarly inquiry, driving the pursuit of knowledge and understanding within a particular field.
The characteristics of a research question play a pivotal role in shaping the direction and success of a research study. The inquiry not only guides the research process, but also ensures its effectiveness in addressing key issues within the field of study.
It should serve three key purposes:
Furthermore, a good research topic should answer three questions:
By answering these questions and ensuring that your research question is interesting, well-defined, and tractable, you can establish the relevance and significance of your research within the field.
Formulating an impactful research inquiry can be quite difficult. Nevertheless, by employing a comprehensive multistep approach, this task may turn out to be more manageable for you.
Begin by identifying a broad area of interest within your field of study and generate questions based on curiosity and knowledge gaps. This could be based on current trends in the field or gaps in existing literature.
Explore existing literature related to your topic to understand what has already been studied and what questions remain unanswered. This will help you identify potential gaps or areas for further exploration, and narrow your focus . Consider the characteristics mentioned earlier.
Reflect on who your specific target audience is — whether it’s academic researchers or the general public. Tailor your research question to be relevant and accessible for your primary audience, considering their interests and level of expertise.
Gradually narrow down your topic to a specific research question or a couple of questions based on the gaps found in existing research.
Now that you have found your niche, consider all the steps above and start asking open-ended “how” and “why” questions about your topic. A framework such as SMART Goals , PICOT , or FINER , which we will elaborate on in a later section more thoroughly, might be helpful when generating your key questions.
Now that you have written down your questions, evaluate them to establish if they are effective or if they need further refinement . For this step, look at the characteristics above again, and determine if they answer all the questions and check all the boxes. Is the research question well-defined and interesting to you and your audience? Think about the possible paths your research could take, which is the question, that effectively captures the essence of your research and aligns with your overarching objectives? It shouldn’t be too broad and also not easily answerable with quick searches.
Research questions can be classified into various types, depending on the types of studies to be undertaken. Below, we will discuss each one of them, and their specifics.
Quantitative, mixed-methods.
A qualitative question is concerned with comprehending a phenomenon , and focuses on finding , explaining , and exploring . Qualitative research is primarily used in social sciences and uses open-ended research questions, and seeks to uncover rich and descriptive data .
The most common types of qualitative questions include:
A quantitative question is used to prove or disprove a researcher’s hypothesis through descriptions , comparisons , and relationships . It typically involves the population to be studied, identifying independent vs. dependent variables , and the research design. Quantitative questions are created to express the causality between variables and whether this relationship is relevant.
The most common types of quantitative questions include:
Mixed methods research involves the integration of both qualitative and quantitative approaches within a single study, and for this reason, it’s a popular research method for researching nowadays. Mixed methods research combines both quantitative and qualitative data to explore a research question more thoroughly, and is often used in the behavioral, health, and social sciences.
Mixed methods research questions can help you achieve a more comprehensive picture than a standalone quantitative or qualitative question. However, they can be difficult to implement and come with the same risk of research bias as standalone studies.
In this section, we will provide you with numerous research question examples for each type of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method question.
Exploratory question
Predictive question
Interpretive question
Descriptive question
Comparative question
Relationship-based question
Mixed-methods questions
Crafting effective research inquiries is most important for guiding your study and achieving your research goals. Below, you’ll find various question formats, designed to inspire and guide your inquiry. Refer to the accompanying picture for a comprehensive range of question formats suitable for a variety of research purposes and contexts.
There are three types of frameworks you can use as foundational elements to ensure that your research question is succinct.
Below, we have illustrated each framework with appropriate questions you can ask yourself in order to find out if your research question can be improved.
Below you’ll find an illustration depicting what you should do and what you should not do when it comes to research questions.
Below you’ll find a table with numerous good and bad examples of research questions together with explanations for each of them.
Too narrow. Avoid questions that can be answered with a simple statistic or a mere “yes” or “no.” | A proper amount of specificity. Results could serve as grounds for constructing an argument. |
This question is extremely broad, which would make research methodology fairly difficult. | This question has a very clear focus for which data can be obtained, analyzed, and discussed. |
This question allows the collection of data, but it can't be used to create a valid argument given that the data is just factual information. | This is a more subjective question that may lead to the formation of an argument based on the results and analysis of the data. |
This information can be obtained without the need to collect unique data. The question could be answered with a simple search and does not allow for analysis. | This question is more complex and requires both investigation and evaluation, which will lead the research to form a compelling argument. |
Sub-questions can be essential in research for clarifying complex topics and providing depth to the analysis when your main research question can’t be answered all at once. They are optional and should be used only if necessary to address the main question. If the main question is straightforward, sub-questions can be omitted. Let’s say that the main research question is “How has the transition to online schooling during COVID-19 pandemic affected sophomore and junior students’ academic performance and engagement?”. Some potential sub-questions could be:
Crafting a good research inquiry is a critical step in conducting a successful research project, as we have learned. The selection of successful research topics is crucial for guiding the direction of a study and ensuring that the research addresses relevant issues within the field. Here are some general tips to help you develop a strong research question.
The most important thing is that whatever subject you focus on, it should be interesting to you and your field. Because that way, the writing and analyzing process will be much more enjoyable and rewarding.
Note : Do not figure out your research question after you have finished your research paper .
A well-developed research question identifies the main issue that the researchers want to investigate and provides a framework for gathering data to address that issue and also proposes a conclusive solution depending on the research type. It serves as a foundation for the writing process and guides the research project.
Research questions can be classified into three types:
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Home / Why the research question is so important
04/05/2018 at 5:42 am
A research question is a sentence that defines what you will examine, within which population, and what the outcome of interest will be. Defining a clear research question is the first and most important part of the project. Though it sounds simple, writing a research question is tricky even for experienced researchers. This video will build your understanding of where to start looking for research questions, how to write them, and why it is important to work with a solid research question from the beginning of the project.
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Links to useful research papers.
Farrugia P, Petrisor BA, Farrokhyar F, Bhandari M. Research questions, hypotheses and objectives. Canadian Journal of Surgery. 2010;53(4):278-281. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2912019/
Aslam, S., & Emmanuel, P. (2010). Formulating a researchable question: A critical step for facilitating good clinical research. Indian J Sex Transm Dis, 31(1), 47-50. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21808439
Beitz, J. M. (2006). Writing the researchable question. J Wound Ostomy Continence Nurs, 33(2), 122-124. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16572009
Centre for Clinical Effectivenbess
http://www.monashhealth.org/page/Resources
Centre for Evidence Based Medicine
https://www.cebm.net/category/ebm-resources/tools/
Libraries in SWSLHD
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https://www.swslhd.health.nsw.gov.au/ccq/library/
https://www.swslhd.health.nsw.gov.au/Fairfield/library/
https://www.swslhd.health.nsw.gov.au/bankstown/library/
Research questions examples
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Definition: Research questions are the specific questions that guide a research study or inquiry. These questions help to define the scope of the research and provide a clear focus for the study. Research questions are usually developed at the beginning of a research project and are designed to address a particular research problem or objective.
A good research question is essential to guide your research paper, dissertation, or thesis. All research questions should be: Focused on a single problem or issue. Researchable using primary and/or secondary sources. Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints. Specific enough to answer thoroughly.
A good research question usually focuses on the research and determines the research design, methodology, and hypothesis. It guides all phases of inquiry, data collection, analysis, and reporting. You should gather valuable information by asking the right questions.
A good research question is one that requires impartial responses and can be answered via existing sources of information. Also, a good research question seeks answers that actively contribute to a body of knowledge; hence, it is a question that is yet to be answered in your specific research context. Open-Ended Questions
Based on the research question definition provided, formulate your query. If you are looking for criteria for a good research question, Stone (2002) says that a good research question should be relevant, decided, and meaningful. Creating a research question can be a tricky process, but there is a specific method you can follow to ease the process.
As the name suggests, these types of research questions seek to explore the relationships between variables. Here, an example could be something like "What is the relationship between X and Y" or "Does A have an impact on B". As you can see, these types of research questions are interested in understanding how constructs or variables ...
The first question asks for a ready-made solution, and is not focused or researchable. The second question is a clearer comparative question, but note that it may not be practically feasible. For a smaller research project or thesis, it could be narrowed down further to focus on the effectiveness of drunk driving laws in just one or two countries.
What Is a Good Research Question: Full Definition. Good research questions provide a concise definition of a problem. As a scholar, your main goal at the beginning is to select the main focus. It should be narrow enough so you could examine it within your deadline. Your work should be focused on something specific.
The research question is refined over time and ultimately drives the research process. The topics discussed herein provide a framework upon which a research question may be generated. When charting the course of a project, utilizing the FINER criteria serves as a reminder to consider a topic and methodology that is feasible, interesting, novel ...
Assess your chosen research question using the FINER criteria that helps you evaluate whether the research is Feasible, Interesting, Novel, Ethical, and Relevant. 1. Formulate the final research question, while ensuring it is clear, well-written, and addresses all the key elements of a strong research question.
Choose a broad topic, such as "learner support" or "social media influence" for your study. Select topics of interest to make research more enjoyable and stay motivated. Preliminary research. The goal is to refine and focus your research question. The following strategies can help: Skim various scholarly articles.
This column is about research questions, the beginning of the researcher's process. For the reader, the question driving the researcher's inquiry is the first place to start when examining the quality of their work because if the question is flawed, the quality of the methods and soundness of the researchers' thinking does not matter.
The process of formulating a good research question can be challenging and frustrating. While a comprehensive literature review is compulsory, the researcher usually encounters methodological difficulties in the conduct of the study, particularly if the primary study question has not been adequately selected in accordance with the clinical dilemma that needs to be addressed.
In essence, the research question that guides the sciences and social sciences should do the following three things:2. 1) Post a problem. 2) Shape the problem into a testable hypothesis. 3) Report the results of the tested hypothesis. There are two types of data that can help shape research questions in the sciences and social sciences ...
A research question is "a question that a research project sets out to answer". Choosing a research question is an essential element of both quantitative and qualitative research. Investigation will require data collection and analysis, and the methodology for this will vary widely. ... Good research questions seek to improve knowledge on an ...
A good research question is essential to guide your research paper, dissertation, or thesis. All research questions should be: Focused on a single problem or issue. Researchable using primary and/or secondary sources. Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints. Specific enough to answer thoroughly.
A research question is the main focus of a research project. By definition, this is the question around which you'll center your research writing. Good research question should be: 1. Clear and easy to understand without the need for additional explanation. 2. Relevant to your field of study. 3. Arguable and open for debate, not acceptable as ...
Definition: Research Question. A research question is a concise inquiry that guides the direction of a research study or investigation. It articulates the specific type of subject that the researcher aims to explore, often framed in a way that suggests investigation or analysis. It serves as a fundamental element in the research process ...
This paper, on writing research questions, is the first in a series that aims to support novice researchers within clinical education, particularly those undertaking their first qualitative study ...
A research question is a sentence that defines what you will examine, within which population, and what the outcome of interest will be. Defining a clear research question is the first and most important part of the project. Though it sounds simple, writing a research question is tricky even for experienced researchers. This video will […]
Attributes of a Good Research Question. As discussed in the previous section, the characteristics of good research bridge the gaps (a) in understanding and/or (b) practical efficiency. And, asking good research questions is central to bridging these knowledge gaps. In this section, we will expound on what makes a good research question.
To write an effective research question, researchers should follow these steps: 1. Select a general topic of interest. 2. Ask questions about the topic. 3. Write an effective question based on the ...
Learn how to formulate a good research question for your academic project with tips and examples from George Mason University Library.