Formulating Research Questions

An investigation of a topic is not research until you have focused it around a solid question that addresses an issue. The key to a successful research question is to narrow your topic to one distinct aspect. The broader your focus, the more shallow your paper.

Too broad:
What is R. Wagamese’ s writing style in Indian Horse?

Fix by narrowing “writing style”:
How does Wagamese employ imagery to capture the exuberance and camaraderie of hockey in Indian Horse?

No research:
What are Samsung‘s latest innovations?

Fix by narrowing to one aspect of operation:
Why did Samsung succeed so well in its battle for market share with Apple in the mobile device arena?

2. The Fuzzy Question: these questions are unclear with no well-defined goal

Ambiguous question:
Was it good that the once secret documents from the history of the CIA were made public?

Fix by defining “good” :
Did it improve public confidence in the current CIA that the secret documents from its early days were released?

3. The Multi-part Question: these questions have multiple goals that divide your paper into mini-projects and destroy unity

Multi-part question:
Did Shakespeare actually write the plays attributed to him, and what are the basic features of his tragedies, and in what way could The Merchant of Venice be viewed as a tragedy rather than a comedy?
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Fix by asking one question:
How valid is it to view The Merchant of Venice as a tragedy rather than a comedy?

4. The Open-ended Question: these questions lead you to produce a list of possible answers that fragment your conclusion

Open-ended question:
If we were to legalize all currently illegal drugs, what would that mean for our country?

Fix by setting boundaries:
How valid is the argument that legalizing all currently illegal drugs would cut crime and stabilize or diminish drug use?
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