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5.6: Developing Your Research Question

Critical Thinking in Academic Research · LibreTexts

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    Steps for Developing a Research Question

    The steps for developing a research question, listed below, can help you organize your thoughts.

    Step 1: Pick a topic (or consider the one assigned to you).

    Step 2: Write a narrower/smaller topic that is related to the first.

    Step 3: List some potential questions that could logically be asked in relation to the narrow topic.

    Step 4: Pick the question that you are most interested in.

    Step 5: Change that question you’re interested in so that it is more focused.

    Writing a Research Question from Cluny Library

    One or more interactive elements has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view them online here: https://minnstate.pressbooks.pub/ctar/?p=67#oembed-1

    Practice

    Once you know the steps and their order, only three skills are involved in developing a research question:

    • Imagining narrower topics about a larger one,
    • Thinking of questions that stem from a narrow topic, and
    • Focusing questions to eliminate their vagueness.

    Every time you use these skills, it’s important to evaluate what you have produced—that’s just part of the process of turning rough drafts into more finished products.

    Start with a narrow topic, think of questions, and then focus those questions.
    Three steps for developing a research question
    How to Focus Questions

    The research questions below are not focused enough. Read the original question and use the question prompts to think about how you would make them more specific.

    Question 1: Why have most electric car company start-ups failed?

    • Which companies are we talking about? Worldwide or in a particular country?

    Question 2: How do crab apple trees develop buds?

    • There are several kinds of crab apples. Should we talk only about one kind? Does it matter where the crab apple tree lives?

    Question 3: How has NASA helped America?

    • NASA has had many projects. Should we focus on one project they completed? Or projects during a particular time period?

    This page titled 5.6: Developing Your Research Question was last modified on Wed, 21 Jun 2023 00:56:04 GMT and is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Ohio State University Libraries via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.