{"id":177,"date":"2020-06-27T15:58:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-27T22:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0162\/?p=177"},"modified":"2020-07-03T13:11:35","modified_gmt":"2020-07-03T20:11:35","slug":"what-makes-a-good-research-question","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0162\/what-makes-a-good-research-question\/","title":{"rendered":"What Makes a Good Research Question"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_182\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-182\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-182 size-large lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0162\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2020\/06\/IMG_4774-e1593298567549-1024x619.jpg\" alt=\"To display the concept of subtraction in photography\" width=\"676\" height=\"409\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 676px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 676\/409;\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-182\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An Art of Subtraction<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In preparation to do my research, I first have to consider how to focus my time and energy, both of which are limited resources.\u00a0 With that idea in mind, I can&#8217;t read all the literature on a given topic, but rather, I need to focus my attention.\u00a0 In order to do that, I need to develop a strong research question that will narrow my field of vision.\u00a0 With that idea in mind, two concepts to keep in mind while developing a good research question are&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Find a focused topic<\/li>\n<li>Be Open-Ended<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Find a Focused Topic<\/h4>\n<p>In order to point the efforts of my research in a specific direction, I need focus.\u00a0 Booth, Colomb, Williams, Bizup, and Fitzgerald (2016), all university English professors, pointed out that &#8220;Without that focus, any evidence you assemble risks appearing to your readers as little more than a mound of random facts&#8221; (p.34). As I consider the idea of focus in a research question, I can&#8217;t help but compare it with photography, a subject with which I&#8217;m more familiar.\u00a0 Photography is a subtractive art.\u00a0 Our world is one filled with chaotic imagery and a skilled photographer understands that in order to capture a compelling image, one must remove the distractions and focus on a narrow field.\u00a0 The photographer subtracts the majority of what is presented in order to isolate a specific image.\u00a0 I see the development of a research question as a similar endeavour.\u00a0\u00a0If I were to have interest in learning, for example, about the use of glass in architecture, there would be a mound of information to go through and I would spend far too much time coming to a vague conclusion.\u00a0 Now, if I were to focus my attention instead on the use of stained glass in 15<sup>th<\/sup> century gothic architecture, I would have a much more narrow field of vision and my time spent researching would be far more productive.<\/p>\n<h4>Be Open Ended<\/h4>\n<p>Once you&#8217;ve determined your topic, you should narrow it down even further with a good open-ended question such as &#8220;How&#8221;, &#8220;What&#8221;, or &#8220;Why&#8221; (&#8220;What Makes,&#8221; 2014).\u00a0 An open-ended question is important so that you don&#8217;t immediately hit a brick wall.\u00a0 Again, I see a similarity with a technique I&#8217;ve used in my professional experience.\u00a0 When conducting an interview for radio or television, it&#8217;s important that we stay away from asking &#8220;yes&#8221; or &#8220;no&#8221; questions.\u00a0 If I were to ask my interviewee if they were having a good day, they may just answer &#8220;yes&#8221; or &#8220;no&#8221; and I&#8217;m back to asking another question without moving my program along.\u00a0 If I had done my research beforehand and knew they were having a good day, I would do better by asking them to tell me\u00a0<strong>why<\/strong> they were having a good day.\u00a0 Now I&#8217;ll get a much more interesting and thoughtful response.\u00a0 If I apply this technique to my example research topic established in the previous section, it could lead to an even more specific and thought provoking question.\u00a0 My question, then, might be&#8230; <em>How did the use of stained glass in 15<sup>th <\/sup>century gothic architecture impact religious ceremonies?\u00a0 <\/em>Now I&#8217;m getting somewhere&#8230;<\/p>\n<h4>References<\/h4>\n<p>Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., Williams, J. M., Bizup, J., &amp; FitzGerald, W. T. (2016). <em>The Craft of Research, Fourth Edition<\/em> (Fourth). University of Chicago Press. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.7208\/chicago\/9780226239873.001.0001\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.7208\/chicago\/9780226239873.001.0001<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Duke Trinity College of Arts &amp; Sciences. (2014). <em>What makes a good research question?<\/em>. Retrieved from <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.duke.edu\/urgws\/files\/2014\/02\/Research-Questions_WS-handout.pdf\">https:\/\/sites.duke.edu\/urgws\/files\/2014\/02\/Research-Questions_WS-handout.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In preparation to do my research, I first have to consider how to focus my time and energy, both of which are limited resources.\u00a0 With that idea in mind, I can&#8217;t read all the literature on a given topic, but rather, I need to focus my attention.\u00a0 In order to do that, I need to &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0162\/what-makes-a-good-research-question\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">What Makes a Good Research Question<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":184,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lrnt522"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0162\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0162\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0162\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0162\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/184"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0162\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0162\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":190,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0162\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177\/revisions\/190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0162\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0162\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0162\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}