A research question is the methodological point of departure of scholarly research in both the natural sciences and humanities. It is the question which the research sets out to answer. At an undergraduate level, the answer to the research question is the thesis statement.
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Importance
The research question is one of the first methodological steps the investigator has to take when undertaking research. The research question must be accurately and clearly defined.
Choosing a research question is the central element of both quantitative and qualitative research and in some cases it may precede construction of the conceptual framework of study. In all cases, it makes the theoretical assumptions in the framework more explicit, most of all it indicates what the researcher wants to know most and first.
Uses
A research question may be used in anything from a high-school or university term paper to a funding proposal for a major postgraduate research project costing millions of dollars.
Formulation and use
Before a research question can be formulated, a topic must be identified. It is generally stressed that the topic must be of the right size for the purpose--neither too large and complex to be dealt with properly in the time and space available, nor too small for anything much to be done with. Many university teachers find that the general tendency is for proposed topics to be too large.
Once a topic (for example, Wikipedia) has been identified and narrowed to the right size (for example, Wikipedia's policy on contentious topics), the research question can be formulated. An example might be "How effective is Wikipedia's policy on contentious topics in achieving presentations that present a neutral point of view?"
The student or researcher then carries out the research necessary to answer the research question, whether this involves reading secondary sources over a few days for an undergraduate term paper or carrying out primary research over years for a major project.
Once the research is complete and the researcher knows the (probable) answer to the research question, writing can begin. In term papers, the answer to the question is normally given in summary in the introduction in the form of a thesis statement.
Sources
- "Developing a Research Question" http://www.esc.edu/esconline/across_esc/writerscomplex.nsf/0/f87fd7182f0ff21c852569c2005a47b7
- The Little, Brown Guide to Writing Research Papers
See also
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