Focusing a Question

Characteristics of Good Research Questions

• More than one answer is possible

• Sufficiently focused for the length of your assignment

• Can be answered through evidence and data (not just beliefs or opinions)

• Interesting and/or important to you and others

• Challenging, but not so difficult or technical that you won't be able to understand

• Is an actual question (not just a topic area)

• Meets the requirements of your assignment

• Makes you think!

Writing a Statement of Intent

After you have read and absorbed an overview of your topic, you may be asked to develop a statement of intent where you explain in greater detail what you want to learn during your research.

You can ask yourself the following questions to develop a statement of intent:

• What interests me about this topic? What do I want to learn or achieve?

• What sub-questions will I need to address? These may be factual, providing background information to the reader, or require more interpretation or analysis on your part. Later, these sub-questions will guide your note-taking.

• What key terms are important to my topic?

• What are some potential resources I can use?

• What will your final product be or look like?

• What problems do you anticipate? Who can help you?

If you are asked to write a statement of purpose, you may begin with an "I want to learn about" statement. Here are examples of how some writers went from a general topic to a statement of purpose.

• air pollution > I want to learn what the government can do to stop air pollution.

• smart phones and tablets > I want to learn how the touch-screen of smart phones and tablets work.

• contemporary skyscraper architecture > I want to learn how new building and environmental technologies have influenced the ways cities are developing.

It’s important to make sure your statement of intent is specific enough for your research. As you learn a little more about your topic, you may have to narrow your focus to make it manageable.

Writing a Research Question

Your teacher may also ask you to develop a specific research question you want to answer about your topic. This will help you when you begin researching by helping you focus on just the information relevant to your assignment.

It can be difficult, if not impossible, to write a good research question until you know something about your topic, which is why you should do preliminary reading on your subject before you begin to take notes.

Consider the following types of questions for inspiration:

Hypothetical. How would things look different today if something in the past had changed.

• • How would the world be different today if the United States had not invaded Iraq in 2003?

Predictive. How will something look in the future based on what it is like today?

• How will social networking and government surveillance affect how people think of privacy in the future?

Problem/Solution. What solutions can be offered to a problem?

• What policies can the government enact to ease the effects of childhood hunger in the United States?

Comparison/Contrast. What are the similarities and differences between two subjects, time periods, etc?

• How are the events of The Lord of the Flies similar to and different from the Cambodian genocide?

• How is the legacy of muckraking still reflected in contemporary American journalism?

Judgement. Based on the information you’ve found, what is your informed opinion about a subject?

• Should it be illegal for minors to buy electronic cigarettes?