Coming up with a good research question can be a daunting task if you don’t know your focus. I had a colleague who was working on a thesis where her question was not specific enough. After she collected data, she realized that her project evolved into a topic that she did not want to address; therefore, she unfortunately had to start the whole process over. Byrne (2017) suggests that “researchers often develop a set of questions at the end of their literature review and add/amend/delete them as they do the actual research and engage with the field and their own research materials”.
“A research question should be: (1) clear and specific, (2) state the focus of investigation in the research, and (3) not be answerable with a yes/no response” (Royal Roads University Writing Centre, n.d., para.7).
When I did a Google search, I found a great mnemonic which describes the criteria of a good research question, FINER. Hulley, Cummings, Browner, Grady, Newman and Thomas (2007) describes FINER as the following:
Feasible – Adequate number of subjects, adequate technical expertise, affordable in time and money, and manageable in scope.
Interesting – Getting the answer intrigues the investigator and her friends.
Novel – Confirms, refutes or extends previous findings and provides new findings.
Ethical – Amenable to a study that institutional review board will approve.
Relevant – To scientific knowledge, to clinical and health policy, and to future research.
I hope to keep all this in mind when it is time to develop a strong thesis statement.
References
Byrne, D. (2017). Developing a Researchable Question. Sage Publications. Retrieved from http://methods.sagepub.com.ezproxy.royalroads.ca/project-planner/developing-a-researchable-question
Hulley, S.B., Cummings, S.R., Browner, W.S., Grady, D.G., & Newman, T.B. (2007). Designing Critical Research, 3, 20. Retrieved from http://www.med.mcgill.ca/epidemiology/courses/EPIB660/2010/EPIB%20660%20-%202010-%20session%202%20-%20pdf%201.pdf
Thesis statements/Research questions/Problem statements. (n.d.). In Royal Roads Library Writing Centre. Retrieved from http://library.royalroads.ca/writing-centre/writing/structure/thesis-statements