Developing Your Research Question
Ohio State University Libraries Teaching & Learning and Robyn Hartman
Because of all their influence, you might worry that research questions are very difficult to develop. Sometimes it can seem that way. But we’ll help you get the hang of it and, luckily, none of us has to come up with perfect ones right off. It’s more like doing a rough draft and then improving it. That’s why we talk about developing research questions instead of just writing them.
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 about the narrow topic.
Step 4: Pick the question that you are most interested in.
Step 5: Use the Five Ws to create a more focused, specific research question.
The Five Ws
The Five Ws are often used in journalism when reporting news story. You can use them to help focus and narrow your research question from a broad topic.
- Who? Who is affected or involved? Be as specific as possible. “Everyone” is too broad- pick a distinct group.
- What? What specific aspect interests you?
- When? What time period matters?
- Where? What location or setting? Be as specific as possible. “Worldwide” is too large and vague.
- Why? Why is this issue important?
Bonus- How? How does the phenomenon occur?
Developing a Research Question Example
Step 1: Pick a Topic
Social Media
Step 2: Write a Narrower/Smaller Topic Related to the First
Instagram use among first-year college students
Step 3: List Potential Questions About the Narrow Topic
- How much time do first-year students spend on Instagram?
- Why do first-year students use Instagram?
- Does Instagram affect students’ self-esteem?
- How does Instagram use influence anxiety levels?
- What role does Instagram play in forming friendships during the first year of college?
Step 4: Pick the Question That Interests You Most
How does Instagram use influence anxiety levels?
Step 5: Use the Five Ws to Create a More Focused Research Question
- Who? First-year college students
- What? Instagram use and anxiety levels
- When? During the first semester of college
- Where? Community colleges in Kansas
- Why? Anxiety can affect student success and retention
- How? Through social comparison and online interactions
Focused Research Question:
How does Instagram-related social comparison affect anxiety levels among first-year students attending community colleges in Kansas during their first semester?
Additional Method for Narrowing Research Questions
Ask yourself these three questions:
Can I study this within one semester?
- Too broad: How does social media affect society?
- More manageable: How does daily Instagram use affect anxiety among first-year college students?
Can I find scholarly sources?
Search databases such as:
- Academic Search Complete
- JSTOR
- Google Scholar
- PsycINFO
If thousands of articles appear, narrow further by population, location, or time.
Is the question arguable rather than factual?
- Weak: What is Instagram?
- Strong: To what extent does Instagram use contribute to anxiety among first-year college students?
A Simple Formula
Students can create research questions using:
How/Why does [What] affect [Who] in [Where] during [When]?
Examples:
- How does food insecurity affect academic performance among first-generation college students at rural universities?
- Why do nursing students experience burnout during clinical placements?
- How has remote learning influenced study habits among undergraduate business majors since 2020?
ACTIVITY: Focusing Questions
The first draft research questions below are not focused enough. Read them and identify at least one area of vagueness in each. Check your vagueness with what we identified. It’s great if you found more than we did because that can lead to research questions of greater specificity. See the bottom of the page for our answers.
First Drafts of Research Questions:
- Why have most electric car company start-ups failed?
- How do crabapple trees develop buds?
- How has NASA helped America?
- Why do many first-time elections soon after a country overthrows a dictator result in very conservative elected leaders?
- How is music composed and performed mostly by African-Americans connected to African-American history?
ANSWER TO ACTIVITY: Focusing Questions
Some answers to the “Focusing Questions” Activity above are:
Question 1: Why have most electric car company start-ups failed?
Vagueness: Which companies are we talking about? Worldwide or in a particular country?
Question 2: How do crabapple trees develop buds?
Vagueness: There are several kinds of crabapples. Should we talk only about one kind? Does it matter where the crabapple tree lives?
Question 3: How has NASA helped America?
Vagueness: NASA has had many projects. Should we should focus on one project they completed? Or projects during a particular time period?
Question 4: Why do many first-time elections soon after a country overthrows a dictator result in very conservative elected leaders?
Vagueness: What time period are we talking about? Many dictators have been overthrown and many countries have been involved. Perhaps we should focus on one country or one dictator or one time period.
Question 5: How is music composed and performed mostly by African-Americans connected to African-American history?
Vagueness: What kinds of music? Any particular performers and composers? When?
The question to be answered by a research project. Such questions cannot be answered by a simple Google search and require synthesizing information from several sources to find the correct or most reasonable answer. Most answers also result in more questions that need research.
The process of refining a broad subject into a more specific area of interest to make research more manageable and focused.
Feedback/Errata