There are many considerations when creating a good, focused research question where the answer needs to be articulated in depth (Silverman, 2001). A good research question should be:
- Investigable – Research scientifically to provide empirical evidence (Slaven-Baden, 2012).
- Contributable – Produce knowledge that has the capacity to make a notable theoretical contribution (Alvesson & Sandberg, 2013).
As this blog was instructed to point out only one or two key things, did anyone find points that they consider to be more important than investigation and contribution?
References
Alvesson, M. & Sandberg, J. (2012). Constructing research questions: doing interesting research. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.
Savin-Baden, M. & Major, C. (2012). Qualitative research: the essential guide to theory and practice. London: Routledge.
Silverman, D. (2001). Interpreting qualitative data, 2nd ed. London: Sage.
Loni Davis
I would say a third very important addition to these two would be “focused” (usually on a narrow slice of a larger topic).