Formulating a Research Question
Formulating Good Research Questions
What makes a good "research question"? Well, for one thing, it depends on you and what you want to accomplish. So, it's important to know what your purpose is in doing research. For example, do you need to compare things, situations, products, approaches, political parties, etc.? Are you merely describing something, or do you need to evaluate (make a judgement) about a situation or character or product? Perhaps you need to be able to make a recommendation at the end of your research process. No matter what your purpose, you need to formulate a question that gets you where you want to go. In other words, start with the goal in mind.
Some Examples
Purpose Example Question
Describe What characteristics make Piggy so irritating?
Compare What are the similarities and differences between these two mobile devices?
Evaluate Which leader in Lord of the Flies is better and why?
Recommend Are genetically modified organisms safe to consume? Why or why not?
Koechlin and Swaan suggest using one or more words from the "Focusing Questions" and "Look For Relationships" sections of the chart below in order to create a strong research question that will meet the following criteria:
- Stimulates your curiosity
- Encourages you to dig deep for your information
- Challenges you to think about your discoveries
- Prompts you to analyze your findings
- Guides your research quest
- Keeps you on track
- Sparks your imagination
- Helps you to make personal meaning
Words That Help to Make Strong Research Questions1
1This chart is from Koechlin and Swaan's Quest Tasks, 2006