Writing Research Questions

Step 1: Understand the Assignment

Answer the questions in the section below in order to make sure you understand the assignment.

A. What is the general topic of the assignment?

B. How many sources will I need?

C. What is the final product (paper, poster, oral report, etc.)?

D. Is there a set length to the project?  If so, what is it?

E. When is each component of my assignment due?

Step 2: Develop Research Questions 

When doing research, it is very important to write very clear research questions.   Here we will
step through the process of writing and selecting questions for your project.
 
What is your research topic?   _____________________________________
  
Basic short-answer questions:  Who, what, when, and where questions can typically be
answered with short answers and are usually not considered research questions.  They are very
important to our research, but more for background information for our larger questions.   For
example: 
 
Who designed the Canadian coat of arms? 
What is the Canadian coat of arms? 
When was the Canadian coat of arms designed? 
Where was it designed?
Where can you find the Canadian coat of arms?
 
Activity:  For your chosen research topic, write two of each of these types of questions.
 
Who questions:
1.
2.
What questions:
1.
2.
When questions:
1.
2.
 
Where questions:
1.
2.
 
-Research questions deal with big ideas, changes over time, different points of view, ethical
issues, etc.  They typically deal with how and why, and combinations of these.  For example:

-Why does Canada have a coat of arms?

-Why has the Canadian coat of arms been re-designed so many times?
-How has Canadian history changed the design of the Canadian coat of arms?
-How has Canada’s place in the world affected the re-designs of the coat of arms?
 
-Some what and where questions are powerful and deal with big ideas; for example:

-What do the elements of the Canadian coat of arms represent?

-What people are deemed important and why?
-What specific meaning does each of the symbols carry with them?
-What do these symbols try to tell us about who the people of this nation are?
-What significant events in Canada’s history have influenced the coat of arms?

-Non-“w” questions:

-Do any of the components on the Canadian coat of arms tell a story about the nation, and if so what is
the story?
-Is there a connection between the development of Canada’s borders and the design of the coat of
arms?

ACTIVITY: For your chosen topic, some of these powerful research questions:
 
Why questions:

 
How questions:

Powerful what or where questions:

Non-“w” questions:
As a class, we will work through the website below. DO NOT GO HERE ON YOUR OWN, PLEASE!
http://www.esc.edu/esconline/across_esc/writerscomplex.nsf/0/f87fd7182f0ff21c852569c200
5a47b7

adapted from:
http://www.sayreschool.org/page.cfm?p=131
http://lbhughes.schoolloop.com/researchquestions