Tips on Formulating a Great Research Question!
But, before you get to the RQ, the toughest part can be finding topic ideas...
Before you finalise your research question, you must submit your extended essay PROPOSAL.
Your first check-in session with your supervisor is a good opportunity to discuss your ideas and get guidance as you put together your essay proposal.
Antes de finalizar tu pregunta de investigación, debes presentar tu PROPUESTA de monografía.
La primera sesión informal con tu supervisor es una buena oportunidad para discutir tus ideas y recibir orientación para desarrollar tu propuesta de monografía.
Refining your idea and crafting a good research question
The research question should:
encourage critical analysis rather than a descriptive or narrative response
allow for the development of a strong line of argument
avoid combining more than one question (i.e. “double-barrelled”), in which case the scope of the essay would probably be too broad
avoid questions that are liable to lead to writing a descriptive essay; you should aim to be analytical and evaluative
use higher-order questions that engage deeper thinking processes—wording such as “how significant …?”, “how successful …?”, “to what extent …?” or “what if …?” is more likely to engage you with analysis and inspire critical evaluation of your research findings
not lead the reader to a self-evident answer; rather, the question should create an opportunity for you to research the topic thoroughly and construct a line of argument that is not immediately obvious from the question itself.
Source: IBO.org
The document below gives you useful vocabulary for narrowing the focus of your research question.
Useful phrases for starting a research question
Q: How do I know it's a good research question?
A: If it fulfills the criteria below.
Example Research Questions
What is methodology? How do I decide what methodology to use?
Fermin de la Osada has put together this explanation...click here if you can't see the doc
De La Osada & Chat GPT, 2023