1. Developing a Research Question
Joanne Oud, Library

2. 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

3. 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.

4. 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).

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

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

9. 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?

10. This one?

11. 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.

12. 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)

13. 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).

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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.

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

18. 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.

19. 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.