A 4-Step Guide to Developing a Strong Research Question: How to Write a Research Question Effectively

Understanding the Fundamentals of a Research Question

What Makes a Strong Research Question?

• A strong research question (RQ) is focused, clear, and specific.
• It must be researchable, meaning that it can be answered with available data or evidence-based research.
• A good research question should be feasible, considering your time and resources.
• It needs to be answerable, meaning there should be a clear method, such as quantitative or qualitative research, to answer it.
• Narrowing your research question is crucial to avoid it becoming too broad or vague, which can derail the research process.
• It should address a specific issue or problem that has relevance to your field or academic discipline.
• The potential value of your research should be evident—this includes its relevance and how it will contribute to existing knowledge in your field.
• Your research question should be manageable within the timeframe of your research project and suitable for the sample size available.

The Importance of a Good Research Question in Academic Writing

• A well-constructed research question is the backbone of any research paper, guiding both the research design and the methodology.
• It sets the direction for the research process, helping you stay focused and ensuring you don’t waste resources on unrelated tasks.
• It determines the research methodology—whether you will use quantitative or qualitative research methods.
• The research question acts as a thesis statement for your work, offering a clear purpose and outlining what you aim to answer.
• Research questions should not only guide your research but also serve to produce knowledge and advance understanding in your field.
• The question should be answerable with the available research gaps and existing knowledge, ensuring that your research can meaningfully contribute to the literature.
• A good research question is aligned with current trends and addresses recently published findings, ensuring your research remains pertinent and actionable.

Types of Research Questions and Their Role in Research

• Descriptive Research Questions: These are designed to describe the characteristics of a population to be studied. They help answer what something is or how something occurs.
• Analytical Research Questions: These are focused on explaining relationships or causes, typically asking why or how something happens.
• Comparative Research Questions: These involve comparing two or more groups, variables, or phenomena to highlight differences or similarities.
• Qualitative Research Questions: These often explore perceptions, behaviors, or motivations, and are typically open-ended, aiming to explore broad issues.
• Quantitative Research Questions: These are focused on measurable data and often involve statistical analysis. They require hypotheses that can be tested with specific research methods.
• Your research questions will depend on the research methodology and the type of research design you choose. Quantitative and qualitative research both require different approaches, but both aim to guide you to answer the question at hand.
• The research question must align with existing knowledge and the research gaps you’ve identified in your preliminary research to ensure that it is researchable.

Formulating Your Research Question: Key Considerations

• The research question should be developed after preliminary research to ensure that it addresses a research gap or a specific issue in the existing literature.
• A good research question must be focused and narrow enough to be manageable, ensuring it doesn’t overwhelm the researcher with too broad a scope.
• Feasibility is critical—your research question should be achievable within the time and resources available for the project.
• Be mindful of research gaps: Your question should either address an existing gap in the literature or build upon recently published findings.
• If you’re tackling a complex issue, consider conducting preliminary research to narrow the scope and ensure that you can answer the research question effectively.
• Examples of research questions might start as broad topics like homelessness, which can later be refined to specific questions that can be answered through quantitative research or qualitative methods.
• Key points to remember when developing a research question:
  • It must be answerable.
  • It should align with your research methodology (quantitative or qualitative).
  • It must be manageable given your research resources.
  • It should have potential research value for future research and contribute meaningfully to your field.
  • Make sure the question is specific and researchable.
• The research question should also be comparative or actionable if you are working on topics that require intervention, such as public health or clinical research.
• Avoid developing research questions that are too vague or too broad to answer effectively. Instead, focus on formulating a single research question that drives your study.

Key Criteria for Developing a Good Research Question

• Specificity: A good research question must address a specific issue or problem. Avoid asking general questions that could lead to vague or inconclusive results.
• Clarity: The question must be clear and concise, with a clear purpose that guides your research.
• Answerable: Your research question must be formulated so that it can be answered with available data or through a specific research methodology.
• Feasibility: Consider the time, resources, and data available before you commit to a research question. Ensure that you can complete the research and answer the question within the limitations of your research design.
• Relevance: The question should be of interest to the academic community or specific field of study, and it should have the potential to fill a gap in existing knowledge.
• Potential Value: Your research question should produce valuable findings that could influence future research or practical applications.

Developing a research question is a critical part of the research process. It is the foundation upon which your entire research project rests. By considering key elements such as feasibility, relevance, and specificity, you can formulate a question that not only guides your research and writing but also contributes meaningful insights to your field.

Quick Links to Introduction Chapter Resources – Learn More

• Discover how to write background section in your dissertation/research paper effectively by reading our article on Background of the Study Example | Top 6 Sections.
• Understand how to clearly write primary purpose of your study by reading our article on Example of Purpose of the Study | Purpose Statement.
• Learn how to write a compelling problem statement in your dissertation/research paper by reading our article on Write an Effective Problem Statement: A 5-Step Guide.
• Highlight the importance and contribution of your study by reading our article on How to Write Significance of the Study Example in 7 Steps.
• Craft a powerful introduction chapter of your dissertation by reading our article on Writing A Dissertation Introduction Chapter | 8 Key Sections.
• Learn how to develop smart objectives for your research by reading our article on What’re Research Objectives | 5 Step Guide for Good Research.

Formulating and Refining Your Research Question

A 4-Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Research Question

• Step 1: Identify the Research Problem or Issue
  • The first step in developing your research question is to clearly identify the issue or problem you want to address.
  • It’s essential that the problem is relevant, specific, and actionable, with the potential to produce meaningful results.
  • This stage should involve thorough literature review to determine existing knowledge and gaps that need to be addressed.
  • This will allow you to create potential research questions based on research gaps in health research, social science, or other disciplines.
• Step 2: Narrow Down Your Focus
  • Once you’ve identified the general research problem, narrow it down to a specific and feasible question.
  • A good research question should focus on a manageable scope that is achievable within your available time and resources.
  • Ensure your question is answerable with the methodology you plan to use (qualitative or quantitative) and that it aligns with your research design.
  • Exclusion of irrelevant or broad topics helps in ensuring your research question is focused.
• Step 3: Develop the Question Using the Right Criteria
  • Use the criteria for a good research question to help refine your question.
  • A good question should be:
    • Specific: Addressing a clear issue or problem.
    • Feasible: Achievable with available resources and time.
    • Answerable: Can be answered through research and data.
    • Relevant: Linked to the field and important for advancing knowledge.
  • The question should also be researchable and allow for effective communication of findings.
  • Consider whether your research is health research, social science research, or any other discipline, and adjust the question accordingly.
• Step 4: Refine the Research Question Based on Findings
  • After formulating your initial research question, refine it based on feedback, further literature research, and any preliminary findings.
  • Incorporate input from relevant authorities or experts in the field, like Sandberg and Alvesson, to ensure your question is grounded in theory and practical applications.
  • This stage may involve problematization, which challenges assumptions and broadens the scope for actionable research.
  • Ensure your research question is now clear, focused, and has the potential to address important gaps in the literature.

How to Create a Research Question That Aligns with Your Topic

• A good research question should be based on the research topic you are addressing.
  • Understand the focus of your topic—whether it’s a clinical research issue, a health research question, or an actionable research inquiry.
  • The research question must align with the methodology you choose: qualitative, quantitative, or a mixed-methods approach.
  • Be sure that your research question is specific enough to guide your research without being overly broad. It should directly relate to the topic’s key themes, such as population to be studied, research design, and theoretical frameworks like Hulley’s concepts of hypothesis development.
• When creating a research question, think about how recent research and theoretical frameworks from Sandberg and Alvesson can influence or shape your question.
• Your question should help you explore specific aspects of your research topic, whether it’s exploring homelessness, health disparities, or any social issue. Make sure it supports a narrow focus on a specific issue while allowing for the examination of underlying patterns and causes.

Examples of Good and Bad Research Questions

• Good Research Question:
  • “How does access to mental health services affect the recovery outcomes of individuals experiencing homelessness?”
  • Why it’s good: This question is focused, answerable, and addresses an actionable research problem in the context of public health. It is specific, making it feasible for a research project and can be measured using quantitative or qualitative methods.
  • Bad Research Question:
  • “What are the causes of homelessness?”
  • Why it’s bad: This question is too broad and lacks a clear scope. It is difficult to research without focusing on a particular aspect or population. It would require narrowing to make it a manageable and researchable question.
• Example 1:
  • Good: “What is the effect of public health interventions on the mental health of homeless populations in urban areas?”
  • Bad: “How do public health interventions work?”
  • Why it’s bad: This lacks specificity, and “work” is too vague to formulate a clear and measurable research question.

Using Recent Research to Formulate Your Research Question

• It’s crucial to build your research question upon recently published studies, as these provide context and help identify gaps in the literature.
  • Recent findings on health research, clinical research, and social research can guide you in identifying potential research questions that reflect the latest knowledge in the field.
  • Recent research can also help you refine your research question by highlighting research gaps and suggesting areas that need further exploration.
  • For example, recent studies on homelessness might reveal exclusionary practices in social services, which can then be incorporated into your research question.
• Following research and understanding its evolution will allow you to formulate a good research question based on what has already been studied.
  • Look at how research gaps or contradictions in the existing literature can be leveraged to create actionable research.

Key Considerations for Formulating a Good Research Question

• Ensure that your research question meets the criteria for a good research question:
  • Be specific and focused on a clear topic.
  • Be manageable within the context of time, resources, and sample size.
  • Ensure it aligns with the research methodology and is feasible for investigation.
  • The research question should be researchable and capable of contributing new insights to your field.
  • Effective communication of the research question to your peers, supervisors, or appropriate authorities is key to developing a well-structured research question.

Creating a strong research question requires a clear understanding of your topic, thorough literature review, and careful formulation based on research methodology and available resources. By following this 4-step guide, you can refine your question and ensure it is manageable, actionable, and valuable for addressing the research gap in your field.