LECTURE:

RESEARCH
QUESTIONS

ACADEMIC WRITING
D R . VA FA Y U N U S O VA
The selection of a
Characteristics of Good Research
research problem is Questions
based on the key
criteria of:
➢ Are specific.
➢ Are clear.
(1) interest; ➢ Refer to the problem or
(2) expertise; phenomenon.
➢ Reflect the intervention in
(3) data availability; experimental research.
(4) relevance and; ➢ Note the target group of
(5) ethics. participants.
A good research question is essential to guide your
research paper, project or thesis. It pinpoints exactly
what you want to find out and gives your work a
clear focus and purpose. All research questions
should be:
•Focused on a single problem or issue
•Researchable using primary and/or secondary
sources
•Feasible to answer within the timeframe and
practical constraints
•Specific enough to answer thoroughly
•Complex enough to develop the answer over the
space of a paper or thesis
•Relevant to your field of study and/or society more
broadly
How to write a research question
The process of developing your research question
follows several steps:
•Choose a broad topic
•Do some preliminary reading to find out about
topical debates and issues
•Narrow down a specific niche that you want to
focus on
•Identify a practical or theoretical research
problem that you will address
When you have a clearly-defined problem, you
need to formulate one or more questions. Think
about exactly what you want to know and how it
will contribute to resolving the problem.
Example research problem
The teachers at school X do
not have the skills to recognize
or properly guide gifted
children in the classroom.
Under-30s increasingly engage
in the “gig economy” instead
of traditional full-time
employment, but there is little
research into young people’s
experiences of this type of
work.
Example research question(s)
What practical techniques can
teachers at school X use to
better identify and guide gifted
children?
What are the main factors that
influence young people’s
decisions to engage in the gig
economy? What do workers
perceive as its advantages and
disadvantages? Do age and
education level have an effect
on how people experience this
type of work?
Types of research questions

Both qualitative and quantitative research require

research questions. The kind of question you use
depends on what you want to find out about and
the type of research you want to do. It will shape
your research design.
Research question type Formulation

Descriptive Research What are the characteristics of X?

Comparative research What are the differences and similarities
between X and Y?
Correlational research What is the relationship between variable
X and variable Y?
Exploratory research What are the main factors in X? What is
the role of Y in Z?
Explanatory research Does X have an effect on Y? What is the
impact of Y on Z? What are the causes of
X?

Evaluation research What are the advantages and

disadvantages of X? How well does Y
work? How effective or desirable is Z?

Action research How can X be achieved? What are the

most effective strategies to improve Y?
When collecting and analyzing data, quantitative
research deals with numbers and statistics, while qualitative
research deals with words and meanings. Both are important
for gaining different kinds of knowledge.
Quantitative research is expressed in numbers and graphs.
It is used to test or confirm theories and assumptions. This
type of research can be used to establish generalizable
facts about a topic.
Common quantitative methods include experiments,
observations recorded as numbers, and surveys with closed-
ended questions.
Qualitative research is expressed in words. It is used to
understand concepts, thoughts or experiences. This type of
research enables you to gather in-depth insights on topics that
are not well understood.
 A research question investigates a specific component
of a broader topic. It is the question you are trying
to answer when you do research on a topic.
Example of a topic vs a research question:

Topic: marijuana and crime

Research Question: Could the

decriminalization of
marijuana lead to less
crime in British Columbia?
Strategies to narrow a research question
To help narrow your question, consider the following:
Limiters Topic

Time Since 2000? This rates of recidivism

year? In the future? since 2000

Population  Gender, age, rates of recidivism

(demographic occupation, in teenage youth
limiters) ethnicity, nationality, rates of recidivism
education, in Yukon Territory
geographic location,
language, etc...
Strategies to broaden a research question

Instead of How successful has the

implementation of
sentencing circles been on
the reduction of recidivism
in Nova Scotia youth?
Try How successful has the
implementation of
sentencing circles been on
the reduction of recidivism
in Canadian youth?