Thinking of conducting research for your PhD programme. Got your research theme? Well if yes, then you are probably at the step of writing your research question. Writing your research question is the most critical step of writing a research paper. As your whole research is based on your research question, without a focused and clear question, you will go off-course or will end up with some vague and unclear findings. A research question helps to pinpoint exactly what you want to find with your research work.
In this comprehensive blog, we will cover a step-by-step guide to help you craft a compelling research question. We designed this to assist students in identifying and crafting a perfectly polished research question. This guide will help you write a successful research paper.
Also, if you need any guidance with your academic writing, then we recommend that you get some online dissertation help from professionals. Let’s first understand why it’s essential to craft a strong research question.
Why is it crucial to formulate a compelling research question?
Before writing the actual research question, it’s important to know why it’s crucial to craft a strong and compelling research question and why it matters so much for your entire research. Well, a well-crafted research question must:
- Show the direction for the research: Your data collection, research methodology, and even analysis – everything is based on the research question.
- Keep everything focused: When your research question is clear and focused, it ensures that you don’t go off-topic or avoid including irrelevant or unnecessary information.
- Assures relevance: A well-crafted research question ensures that your theme is important and aligns with the latest scholarly discussion.
- Inform your findings: The quality of your research question decides he quality of your findings.
As a result, designing a clearly focused and targeted research question is not just a requirement but an essential step to carry out your worthwhile and significant research.
A Step-By-Step Guide To Crafting A Refining Research Question.
Here, we provide students with detailed guidance to help them formulate a compelling research subject for their scholarly works. Let’s discuss the steps in detail.
1. Determine your area of research interest.
Before you delve into writing your research question, you must identify your area of interest. When you work on something that intrigues your interest, it helps you get motivated throughout the entire process. With your interest, you will be more passionately involved in the research and explore things.
- Consider your personal interest: It doesn’t matter if it’s related to your field of study or something general or trending; just make sure that your question interests you the most.
- Examine the recent literature: To develop a strong research question for the recent literature, examine the current body of knowledge, figure out the gaps that you can address and craft a solid question based on them.
- Brainstorm ideas: Make a list of topics and concepts, both broader and shorter. That intrigues your interest.
By doing this step, you will be more able to look into the number of themes or areas that interest you and can be part of your research question. Remember that. This step is to identify your interest, not to develop the entire research question. This is the beginning of developing the research question.
2. Shorten Up the Topic
As you identify and decide on the area of interest, you should narrow down your research focus. The broader the topic, the harder it will be to develop a focused research question. Shortening up will help you craft a strong question.
(A). Ways to narrow down the focus
Geographical scope: Concentrating on one specific region and area.
Time frame: decide a time period or limit it to certain years or eras, like a historical era or something.
Population: pay attention to a certain demographic or group of individuals.
Aspect: Concentrate on the facet of a wide subject.
Narrowing down your topic and focusing on small issues can help you conduct a more in-depth and focused study. You will be able to yield more accurate and useful findings, and research will lead you to actionable results.
3. Conduct a literature review.
As you find your area of interest and narrow down the area to a specific focus, it’s time to review the current literature on it. Reviewing the literature helps you understand which part of the study and what models and theories need to be explored further, and what has already been done. You will find out the gaps in knowledge that you can address in your question.
(A). How to conduct a literature review
- Search scholarly databases: To find published papers, peer-reviewed articles, and books related to your particular theme, you can use tools like Google Scholar, JSTOR, and other academic websites.
- Determine the main themes: while reviewing the literature, look for the current disputes or any latest topics and arguments.
- Identify gaps: Take note and keep track of what has been explored thoroughly and what remains to be explored.
- Make thorough notes: As you review and read the papers and articles, note down the important queries, thoughts, and ideas, or any insight you got during the process. It will help you formulate a strong research question.
This phase is important to conduct because it ensures that your research question aligns with the existing body of knowledge and positively contributes to the specific field of study.
4. Formulate an initial research question.
Once you are done with your literature review and have gathered all the initial information, develop a preliminary research question for your paper. It can be rough, vague and general with all the information you have, but once you start, it will be refined as you research further.
(A). Key elements of a good initial research question
- Clarity: The question must be clear and concise enough to understand for anyone. He must deliver the right context for your idea.
Focus: Keep in mind that the question is narrow enough to define a specific issue but broad enough to explore to address it.
Feasibility: Make sure that your research question is feasible enough to get answered within the given time and availability of resources.
Relevance: Ensure that the question you develop is related to your field of study and contributes positively to it to enhance the body of knowledge.
5. Refine your research question.
As you have developed your preliminary question, it’s time you refine it over time. You can ask yourself a few critical questions that can help you refine it.
Questions to ask for question refinement
- Is the research question clear and concise enough?
If it’s not clear enough, then remove unnecessary words and jargon. - Is it too narrow or too large?
Make sure that your research question is focused enough but still open-ended for further exploration. If it’s too broad and general, then break it into small, manageable queries. But if it’s too narrow and limited, then think about adding more elements. - Is it researchable?
Can you gather the information and assess the results to answer this question, or is it a question that needs to be researched and answered? It’s time to rephrase the question if you don’t believe that. - Is it original?
Make sure that your research question is original and that must contributes to the field and challenges the existing body of knowledge. So, if your question is not doing any of these things, then consider presenting it from a different angle.
- Is it important?
Look to see if your research question answers a real-life problem or not. Is it enhancing any academic knowledge or solving any significant problem? Ensure that point.
6. Try out your research question.
Now that you are done with developing your research question, it’s time to test it. Before you finalise your question, check for clarity and relevance. You can ask your peers and professor to review it for you and ask for their feedback. Their suggestion will help you know the weaknesses of your question and parts that can be improved.
Use this checklist to test your question
- Is your question specific enough to direct your research process?
- Does your research question direct your research process in a significant way?
- Are there enough resources available, or do you have an appropriate time period to answer this question?
- Does it challenge the existing body of knowledge or push any boundaries or existing literature?
- If you are positive about all these pointers, that means you are working in the right direction.
7. Finalise your research question.
This is the last step, where you finalise your research question after writing and refining it. Make sure it is clear, concise and focused. Also feasible enough to get answered within the time period. This question will be the foundation of your entire research paper. From data collection to analysis to conclusion, your paper will be based on your research question.
Wrapping It Up
Formulating a research question is a critical step, and it requires critical thinking and an active mind. To refine your question, just narrow it down enough and review the existing literature. You can easily develop a focused and polished question that will guide your research throughout the process. Ensure that your research question is strong enough because it will lead your research to significant and impactful findings. With this, you will gain valuable skills for both your academic and professional life. You can also get some academic help in crafting your research question and your entire research paper.
