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How to Write a Research Question

What is a research question?

 A research question is a clear, focused, concise, complex and arguable question around which youcenter your research. You should ask a question about an issue that you are genuinely curious about.

Why is a research question essential to the research process?

Research questions help writers focus their research by providing a path through the research and writingprocess. The specificity of a well-developed research question helps writers avoid the “all-about” paper andwork toward supporting a specific arguable thesis.

Steps to developing a research question

• !hoose an interesting general topic" !ven directed acade"ic research should focus on a topic inwhich the writer is at least so"ewhat personally invested. #riters should choose a broad topic aboutwhich they genuinely would like to know "ore. An e$a"ple of a general topic "ight be “%lavery inthe A"erican %outh” or “&il"s of the '()*s.”

•#o some preliminary research on your general topic"  +o a few quick searches in current

periodicals and ,ournals on your topic to see whats already been done and to help you narrow your focus. #hat questions does this early research raise

• !onsider your audience" &or "ost college papers your audience will be acade"ic but always keepyour audience in "ind when narrowing your topic and developing your question. Would thatparticular audience be interested in this question?

• Start as$ing questions" Taking into consideration all of the above start asking yourself open-ended“how” and “why” questions about your general topic. &or e$a"ple “/ow did the slave trade evolve inthe '01*s in the A"erican %outh” or “#hy were slave narratives effective tools in working towardthe abolish"ent of slavery”

%valuate your question"

◦  &s your research question clear? #ith so "uch research available on◦  any given topic research questions "ust be as clear as possible in

◦  order to be effective in helping the writer direct his or her research.

&s your research question focused? Research questions "ust be specific enough to be well covered inthe space available. 2%ee flip side for e$a"ples of focused vs. unfocused research questions.3

&s your research question complex? Research questions should not be answerable with a si"ple “yes”or “no” or by easily-found facts. They should instead require both research and analysis on the part of thewriter.

• Hypothesi'e" After youve co"e up with a question think about what the path you think the answer will take. #here do you think your research will take you #hat kind of argu"ent are you hoping to"ake4support #hat will it "ean if your research disputes your planned argu"ent

Sample Research Questions

(nclear Why are social networ$ing sites harmful?

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!lear How are online users experiencing or addressing privacy issues on such socialnetwor$ing sites as )ySpace and *aceboo$?

The unclear version of this question doesnt specify which social networking sites or suggest what kind of har" the sites are causing. 5t also assu"es that this “har"” is proven and4or accepted. The clearer versionspecifies sites 26y%pace and &acebook3 the type of har" 2privacy issues3 and who the issue is har"ing2users3. A strong research question should never leave roo" for a"biguity or interpretation.

(nfocused What is the e+ect on the environment from global warming?*ocused How is glacial melting a+ecting penguins in the rctic !ircle? The unfocused research question is so broad that it couldnt be adequately answered in a book-lengthpiece let alone a standard college-level paper. The focused version narrows down to a specific cause2glacial "elting3 a specific place 2the Arctic 7ircle3 and a specific group that is affected 2penguins3. #henin doubt "ake a research question as narrow and focused as possible.

 -oo simple How are doctors addressing diabetes in the ("S"?ppropriately !omplex  What are common traits of those su+ering from diabetes in merica,and how can these commonalities be used to aid the medical community in prevention of thedisease?The si"ple version of this question can be looked up online and answered in a few factual sentences8 it

leaves no roo" for analysis. The "ore co"ple$ version is written in two parts8 it is thought provoking andrequires both significant investigation and evaluation fro" the writer. As a general rule of thu"b if a quick9oogle search can answer a research question its likely not very effective.

Retrieved online fro" the 9eorge 6ason :niversity #riting 7entrehttp;44writingcenter.g"u.edu4resources-te"plate.phpid<1(

 -he &mportance of a .ood Research Question

good research question de/nes the focus of your research pro0ect" Your research question helpsreaders to know the specific sub,ect "atter you will be addressing within the broad topic of environ"ental

history. &or instance suppose you are interested in "arket develop"ent and its environ"ental effects. 5fyou asked =#hat is the relationship between "arket develop"ent and environ"ental degradation” yourquestion would be too broad. This question does not clearly define the proble"s you are interested in nordoes it put boundaries on your research pro,ect. 5nstead you could ask “/ow did large-scale agriculturecontribute to the +ust >owl in the '()*s” This is a "ore specific question. A well-articulated researchquestion provides you and your readers with critical infor"ation about your pro,ect by defining the focus ofyour research its scope and your "otivation.

research question can set boundaries to help you /gure out where to go next"  A researchquestion defines which data you need to collect and which "ethods you will use to access and analy?e your 

docu"ents. Again take the +ust >owl question in the previous paragraph as an e$a"ple. >y narrowingyour question to the relationship between large-scale agriculture and the +ust >owl you also narrow the

scope of data collection and analysis. You "ay start archival research focusing on agriculture andsettle"ent history or decide to conduct oral histories concerning far"ers@ "e"ories of the +ust >owl.

/owever as you collect data your question is likely to change and grow. +efining questions within yourpro,ect is not a linear process. Rather questions will define your directions of inquiry and in turn the resultsof your inquiries will refine your question. +eveloping research questions is an iterative process evolvingwith your pro,ect. #e have "ade a figure below to illustrate the process. You will start with so"ething youare interested in. You will then create questions about this thing and figure out what your ne$t steps will be

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to investigate those questions further. As a result you will 2hopefully3 learn so"ething new which will leadto a whole new “ite" of interest.”

*inding a Research -opic

!onsider research you1ve already done" icking a topic fro" pro,ects you have done before could helpyou find ideas that you are already interested in. 7ollect your previous ter" papers or reports and list thetopics you have researched for those pro,ects. 7hoose one or two that see" pro"ising and relevant to

environ"ental history. /owever you shouldnt ,ust recycle topics fro" previously written papers. 5nsteadyou should develop a new topic fro" the old research.

 2our own interests are a great source to /nd a topic. Bist your interests 2as "any as you canC3 andthen rank the" to co"e up with one or two which are the "ost co"pelling to you. Dne of the best ways togenerate a topic fro" a general interest is to look up encyclopedia articles. They usually contain anoverview outlining facts on a sub,ect with a concise list of suggested readings. 5f you go to the library to findencyclopedia articles you will have a good chance of finding a topic fro" the".

!urrent events or timely issues can be a good place to find a pro"ising research question. &ore$a"ple /urricane Eatrina brought ideas about poverty and environ"ent into the "ainstrea" press aswell as ideas about land-use patterns and natural disasters. Any of these topics would "ake a good starting

place for an environ"ental history pro,ect. You "ay read newspapers and "aga?ines use #ikipedia oreven use 9oogle.

!$cerpt fro" “Bearning historical research” at http;44www.willia"cronon.net4researching4questions.ht"