Developing Research Questions: Overview

Overview of developing research questions

Effective writing should have a clear purpose, and purpose shines through the best when an essay or dissertation responds to an explicit research question(s). Sometimes, you will need to define or refine a research question based on an essay title provided by an instructor. In the case of dissertations and theses, you will start from scratch, developing one or more research question(s) to anchor and guide a major piece of work.

A research question is powerful: it shapes the focus and breadth of your reading, suggests the data you will need to access or produce, underpins choices related to method/methodology, and more. Therefore, it's crucial to build experience both in inventing and amending research questions.

Guide contents

The tabs of this guide will support you in developing research questions and/or hypotheses to get your writing project started. The sections are organised as follows:

• Picking a Topic - Tips on finding the broad starting place for your essay or writing project.
• Questions and Hypotheses - Learn how to develop your idea into a workable hypothesis or research question.
• Room for Refinement - Explore ways to fine-tune your question to allow maximum depth and criticality.
• Action Words - Help deciding on the right verbs to frame what you will do in your writing.
• Preparing to Research - With your question decided, here's a concise outline to begin the research process.