Creating a Research Question
Using a Topic to Create a Question
Questions require answers.
A topic is hard to cover completely because it typically encompasses too many related issues; but a question has an answer, even if it is ambiguous or controversial.
Questions give you a way of evaluating answers.
A clearly stated question helps you decide which information will be useful. A broad topic may tempt you to stash away information that may be helpful, but you're not sure how. A question also makes it easier to know when you have enough information to stop your research.
A clear open-ended question calls for real research and thinking.
Asking a question with no direct answer makes research and writing more meaningful. Assuming that your research may solve significant problems or expand the knowledge base of a discipline involves you in more meaningful activity of community and scholarship.
Developing a Question
Combining brainstorming and concept mapping (brainmapping, if you will) can be a productive way to begin your thinking about a topic area. Try to establish as your goal the drafting of a topic definition statement which outlines the area you will be researching and about which you will present your findings.
Broadening Your Research Question
A question that is too narrow or specific may not retrieve enough information. If this happens, broaden the question. Most questions have multiple contexts and varying levels of specificity.
The underlined terms below represent broader ways of asking without changing the basic meaning. If you find sources that treat a subject broadly, use the index or table of contents to locate useful sections or chapters. Or ask yourself, "How might the arguments made here support my argument?"
Questions Should Be Designed to Extend Learning
INSTEAD OF:
What types of weather happen in my region?
TRY:
How does weather affect the way we build our homes in different regions of the country?
INSTEAD OF:
What is the life cycle of a frog?
TRY:
How does the life cycle of a frog affect the aquatic life around it?
Questions Should Be Broad Enough to Retrieve Ample Useful Information
INSTEAD OF:
Should Makah whaling rituals be permitted despite endangered species laws?
TRY:
Should Native Americans practice religious and social customs that violate local and Federal laws?
INSTEAD OF:
What are the economic impacts of sweat shops on development in South Asia?
TRY:
What are the impacts of U.S. labor practices on developing countries?
Narrowing the Topic
Choosing Keywords
Prepare for searching by identifying the central concepts in your research question.
Computers are programmed to match strings of characters and spaces and do not often understand the natural language we use with each other. They can't guess what you mean, don't "read" subtexts, and are easily confused by ambiguity, so clarify for them what you will be looking for. Focus only on essential concepts.
Vocabulary
Earlier we discussed narrowing and broadening a research question. Vocabulary can also be broadened or narrowed to find different types of sources. This chart suggests some alternative vocabulary for the following research question:
"Should Native Americans practice religious and social customs that violate local and federal laws?"
Test Your Knowledge of Keywords
Remember:
- Formulating a good, age-appropriate research question is an iterative process - you must constantly redesign the question.
- Use your librarians! They have true "super powers" when it comes to the research process!
Works Cited
- Information adapted from the University of Idaho's Information Literacy Portal.
- Highway photograph from Fotopedia found on Creative Commons.
- Choosing and Using Keywords video from John M. Pfau Library.