“Unraveling the Mysteries: How to Craft a Research Question That Won’t Put Your Readers to Sleep (Hopefully)”
A good research question is crucial because it sets the foundation for the research process. A well-crafted research question not only defines the scope and direction of the study but also guides the selection of appropriate methodologies and ensures the relevance and significance of the research findings. It should be clear, specific, and address an important issue or gap in knowledge. A good research question stimulates critical thinking, promotes investigation, and ultimately contributes to the advancement of knowledge.
Chapter 3 of Research Practical Research and Evaluation: A Start-to-Finish Guide for Practitioners suggests that questions should flow logically from the purpose and not divert the research in different directions. (Dahlberg & McCaig, 2010)
Dahlberg and McCaig (2010) state that understanding the ‘why’ and ‘how’ is crucial for developing meaningful and effective inquiries. This demonstrates the methodology’s principles and will always link to ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions.
Why Importance:
The “why” addresses the significance or relevance of the research question. It involves understanding why the topic or issue is essential to study. This helps to justify the research’s potential contribution to knowledge or practice.
Consider the potential impact of finding answers to the research question. This impact can be academic, practical, or societal, influencing policies, practices, or theories in the field. This potential for significant impact should inspire and motivate research.
How Importance:
The ‘how’ aspect is not to be overlooked. It focuses on the feasibility of answering the research question, guiding how the question can be operationalized into specific research methods, data collection techniques, and analysis procedures. This awareness and preparedness for the practical aspects of research are crucial for success.
I discovered that, crafting good research questions requires careful consideration of the topic, framework, and intended outcomes, ensuring the study is meaningful, and ethically conducted.
References:
Dahlberg, L., & McCaig, C. (2010). Practical research and evaluation: A start-to-finish guide for practitioners. SAGE Publications Ltd. Chapters 1,2,3,7, & 8
30 June 2024 at 8:36 am
Great points Kym, I too took away the same understanding of the research question from the readings. Like you state a research question does just drive the research design but it fosters the design as well, a push and pull approach
30 June 2024 at 10:43 am
Hey Kym!
Hope you are enjoying some nice weather. Very concise and clear post; it echoes many great thoughts, which makes perfect sense as we are all starting from the same source info.
You mention finding a ‘gap’ in what is known as a key ingredient to a good research question. I’ve never been involved in what I believe this level of research entails, but I do feel locating a gap will be a large part of my strategy in developing questions in the future.
Good citation usage in your post. I only mention this because it seemed to be an area of concern you identified for yourself. However, these look to me to be appropriate uses of narrative and parenthetical in-text citations.