1. Research Question

2. Assessment Criteria

3. To develop a strong research question from your ideas, you should ask yourself these things:
Is my RQ something that I am curious about and that others might care about? Does it present an issue on which I can take a stand?
Does my RQ put a new spin on an old issue, or does it try to solve a problem?
Is my RQ too broad, too narrow, or OK?
Is my RQ researchable…
…within the time frame of the assignment?
…given the resources available at my location?
Is my RQ measurable? What type of information do I need? Can I find actual data to support or contradict a position?
What sources will have the type of information that I need to answer my RQ (journals, books, internet resources, government documents, interviews with people)?
Could my study fill a gap? Lead to greater understanding?
Has a great deal of research already been conducted in this topic area?
Has this study been done before? If so, is there room for improvement?

4. What is a research question?
A Research Question is a statement that identifies the phenomenon to be studied. For example, “What resources are helpful to new and minority drug abuse researchers?”
A strong research idea should pass the “so what” test. Think about the potential impact of the research you are proposing. What is the benefit of answering your research question? Who will it help (and how)? If you cannot make a definitive statement about the purpose of your research, it is unlikely to be funded.
A research focus should be narrow, not broad-based. For example, “What can be done to prevent substance abuse?” is too large a question to answer. It would be better to begin with a more focused question such as “What is the relationship between specific early childhood experiences and subsequent substance-abusing behaviors?”

5. Formulating your research question
In a research paper, the emphasis is on generating a unique question and then synthesizing diverse sources into a coherent essay that supports your argument about the topic. In other words, you integrate information from publications with your own thoughts in order to formulate an argument. Your topic is your starting place: from here, you will develop an engaging research question. Merely presenting a topic in the form of a question does not transform it into a good research question. For example:

6. Evaluate your research question
Ask the following 8 questions to evaluate the quality of your research question and the ease with which you should be able to answer it:
Does the question deal with a topic or issue that interests me enough to spark my own thoughts and opinions?
Is the question easily and fully researchable?
What type of information do I need to answer the research question? e.g., The research question, "What impact has deregulation had on commercial airline safety?," will obviously require certain types of information:
statistics on airline crashes before and after
statistics on other safety problems before and after
information about maintenance practices before and after
information about government safety requirements before and after
Is the scope of this information reasonable? (e.g., can I really research 30 on-line writing programs developed over a span of 10 years?)
Given the type and scope of the information that I need, is my question too broad, too narrow, or o.k.?
What sources will have the type of information that I need to answer the research question (journals, books, internet resources, government documents, people)?
Can I access these sources?
Given my answers to the above questions, do I have a good quality research question that I actually will be able to answer by doing research?

7. Examples of research questions

8. Examples of research questions

9. Examples of research questions

10. Bibliography
"Developing a Research Question." Developing a Research Question. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct <
"The Relationship Between the Research Question, Hypotheses, Specific Aims, and Long-Term Goals of the Project." Formulating a Research Question. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct <
"Resources." Writing Studio : Vanderbilt University. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct <