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When pondering what makes a good research question, I find myself defining what a ‘good’ research question is by noting what makes a bad research question. From the readings, videos and research I have done, I have found that bad research questions are questions that cannot be answered like ‘what is beauty’(Johnson & Christensen, 2014), questions that are too broad like ‘what impact has the Patriot Act had on American society or questions that are too narrow and can be answered by a simple search like ‘how many children died of the flu in Canada in 1987’. As I read and research, I find many examples of research questions; some good, some bad and so, by extrapolation, I will point to what I believe makes a good research question.

A good research question is:

  • A question that interests the researcher. The question should articulate what the researcher wants to know about. After reading about literature review, I can say for sure that I will need to be interested in answering my research question so that I can enjoy reading all that has already been researched (Agee, 2009).
  • Something that is researchable, not too broad and not too narrow. A question that is too broad will result in an insurmountable amount of literature to review and a question that is too narrow may be too easy to answer or produce no definable literature at all (Identifying your research question, 2018).
  • Grounded in a theory that will support the rationale for the research question. A research question that is grounded in a theory will ensure that the research stays focused and will provide a lens by which to find appropriate literature to review(Grant & Osanloo, 2014).

 

References:

Agee, J. (2009). Developing qualitative research questions: A reflective process. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 22(4), 431–447. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518390902736512

Grant, C., & Osanloo, A. (2014). Understanding, Selecting, and Integrating a Theoretical Framework in Dissertation Research: Creating the Blueprint for Your “House.” Administrative Issues Journal Education Practice and Research, 12–26. https://doi.org/10.5929/2014.4.2.9

Identifying your research question. (2018). In Royal Roads University Library. Retreived from http://library.royalroads.ca/infoquest-tutorials/how-start/identifying-your-research-question

Johnson, R. B., & Christensen, L. (2014). An Introduction to Educational Research. Educational research: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed approaches. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-2656-0.ch019