Guide to the Research Process: 1b. Formulate Research Questions

Good Research Questions are:

• Relevant - They arise from issues raised in the literature or in practice
• Manageable - You will have sufficient time and resources to access the data required
• Substantial - You are not simply copying questions already addressed
• Clear and simple - Muddled questions are likely to generate muddled data

 “Well-crafted questions guide the systematic planning of research. Formulating your questions precisely enables you to design a study with a good chance of answering them.” (Light, Singer, Willett, By Design, 1990)

Once you have selected an initial topic, you need to find a question that clearly identifies what you hope to learn. To begin:

• Write down what you already know or don't know about the topic.
• Using the information you wrote down, develop questions you'd like to answer when doing your research.
  • Use probing questions such as why? how? what if? should?
  • Avoid questions that can be answered with yes or no.