Research is a quest to find answers. Any study or research begins with a research question. A research question is a question that a study or research project aims to answer. This question often addresses an issue or a problem, which, through analysis and interpretation of data, is answered in the study’s conclusion. As their name implies, a research question is often grounded on research. As a result, these questions are dynamic; this means researchers can change or refine the research question as they review related literature and develop a framework for the study. While many research projects will focus on a single research question, larger studies often use more than one research question.
A good research question defines your study and helps you seek an answer to your research. A strong research question guides the design of a study. Moreover, it helps determine the type of research and identify specific objectives. Research questions state the specific issue you are addressing and focus on outcomes of the research for individuals to learn. Therefore, it helps break up the study into easy steps to complete the objectives and answer the initial question.
Research questions can be classified into different categories, depending on the type of research to be done. Knowing what type of research one wants to do—quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods studies—can help in determining the best type of research question to use.
Tips: Somewhere in between your initial idea and settling on a research question, you’ll need to do background research on how scholars in a particular subject area have discussed your topic. You may find background research in your textbook or class readings, academic books in the library’s collection, or reference sources.
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