Developing a Research Question Joanne Oud, Library joud@wlu.ca

Common Thesis issues Difficulty writing & finishing Time on tangents, rewrites Having to redo research Cure: Start with good research question Ruthlessly stay on track Start with usual story

Research Question Question you answer during research process Foundation of all academic research Often invisible in published results Ask how many have one, have ever used one.

purpose Defines & focuses your research Influences direction of entire project Method Data collection Critically important to success of your research. Can’t stress importance enough. Influences entire project, makes much easier to research & write, saves lots of time (streamlines your work).

Done in Planning Phase Not easy Requires hard thinking before you start Takes time Can be hardest part of research project: focusing and refining workable question.

Types of Questions Main question: usually one Secondary questions: Sub-questions What aspects of main question you will focus on Recommend one main question. In different disciplines this can vary, but it makes it easier to focus, especially for grad students who have a limited time frame to do the research.

Good Research Question Interesting to you Acceptable to your committee Workable Manageable scope Researchable by you Contributes something Arises from theory/research context Many students start out too broad. Should be manageable—needs to be fairly specific. Need to find balance, which is hard—discuss with advisor. Should also be researchable by you, feasible in time frame and resources and skills you have. Needs to be meaningful—why is it important? Why should anyone care? What is it contributing—to the literature or knowledge in general. Needs to be grounded in existing research/theory, take part in some recognizable academic conversation. Often grad students not sure what this means or how to do it.

Sample questions Since all research derives from questions, can look at research to find examples of questions. Sometimes very clearly stated.

Deducing questions Mostly not mentioned at all. Can still deduce what it was based on the abstract/main argument. What was the likely research question for this study?

This one?

Generating Questions Read & think Brainstorm Write many questions about a topic Pick the best Clarify, narrow Investigate further: workable? Place in context of theory Need to know something about your topic area first, have done some thinking, have something in mind.

Brainstorming questions Topic: personal debt in Canada Ask them to think for a minute about questions (in silence/by themselves, then ask to share; or, do as a whole group)

Clarifying and focusing How could you clarify and focus this question: Is social network behavior affected by gender? Strategies for clarifying: operational definitions for all terms/variables. What do you mean by this term? Ask for each. Substitute in the more specific terms you come up with (say what you mean).

Is my question workable? Can you do the research with the time and resources you have? What data will you need? How will you get it? What methods will you use How long will it take? What skills are involved in compiling and analyzing it? Biggest issue: try to take on too much, need to focus more. Optional: ask them to evaluate workability of one of the questions

Situating in theory Need to place your research in context Context you choose is the lens you view the topic through Affects your question Determines the direction of your research Ties everything together

What is theory Social/cultural theory Research context Foucault Some school of thought Research context Stream of existing research Specific approach or viewpoint Varies by discipline. Give my gendered technology & workplace research as an example of research context.

Personal debt in Canada Theory worksheet Topic Personal debt in Canada Theory/ Context Research Question Method Information Needed

Revising your question Reading Thinking Research Question Your question will likely change as you go through your research process. This is ok. Important thing: to have a workable question before you dive in and do too much.

Questions? Summary Hard work up front Sets foundation for your project Influences every aspect Allows you to focus Questions? Takes time, hard work to do thinking first. But can’t emphasize enough how important it is. Makes your life easier in the long run—less time to do lit review, analysis, writing if you know exactly what you are doing up front. Start working on one, talk to advisor for feedback.