Moving from a general topic to a research question

Steps to developing a research question:

·       Do some preliminary research on your general topic. 

Do a few quick searches in the internet and in current periodicals and journals to see what’s already been done, what people are saying about your topic, and to help you narrow your focus. What issues are people discussing when it comes to your topic? What questions occur to you as you read these articles?

·       Consider your audience. 

In this particular case, the audience will be chosen by you. Because you are not writing a paper, per se, you need to decide what audience would best suit your solution. 

·       Start asking questions. 

Taking into consideration all of the above, start asking yourself open-ended “how” and “why” questions about your general topic.

For example, “Why were slave narratives effective tools in working toward the abolishment of slavery?” or “What is the impact of bias when selecting studies for a literature review?

THEN…

Evaluate your question

After you’ve put a question or even a couple of questions down on paper, evaluate these questions to determine whether they would be effective research questions or whether they need more revising and refining.  Ask a peer or teacher for guidance.

·       Is your research question clear? With so much research available on any given topic, research questions must be as clear as possible in order to be effective in helping the writer direct his or her research.

·       Is your research question focused? Research questions must be specific enough to be well covered in the space available.

·       Is your research question complex? Research questions should not be answerable with a simple “yes” or “no” or by easily-found facts.  They should, instead, require both research and analysis on the part of the writer. They often begin with “How” or “Why.”

… and begin to annotate your chosen articles.