<aside> 💡 By definition, a research question, often abbreviated as RQ in some resources, is a statement that specifically defines the issue being studied. It points to what exactly you aim to discover through your research, i.e., what you aspire to answer. A research question is the foundation of any research endeavor. Quite simply, it’s the compass that directs the entire research process. Beside this, it also has some other crucial purposes; in this guide, you will learn the significance of research questions and how to formulate them.
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The research question holds immense importance. In your research journey, starting from ARPL, you will see how invaluable having a well-formulated research question is. The following points highlight why research questions are so significant:
A research question defines what you do; it is essential. For instance, it sets the boundaries and specific scope of the research. This is critical as it guides how and where to channel your efforts, where it directly aligns with your objectives. Strong research questions help you concentrate on a narrowed-down topic. Toward the end of this guide, you will learn how to create the most optimal research question.
In addition to this, your research question serves as a statement that clearly, and very concisely, articulates the purpose of the study. Through it, you can show why you are doing the study, clearly expressing gap in knowledge that you are trying to address. It basically clarifies why the matter is worth studying.
While we will explore in more detail how to best frame a research question and the criteria it must meet, for now, it’s important to note that the question needs to be testable and measurable. A clear research question will help you create a specific research hypothesis, which will guide your data collection methods and the statistical analyses needed to answer the question.
Given that you now understand what a research question is, we can move forward to explore how you can create the best and most efficient research question.
In studying the following, you’ll notice that it’s somewhat similar to how a scientist or a researcher (including you, my scientist/research friend) develops their plan in the research process or scientific methodology/approach. This is because they are indeed related, where you are required to develop a research question in your process.
When developing a research question, much like when you start your research process, the first step is identifying your subject of interest and then doing some preliminary research on that subject. Later, you’ll need to narrow down your subject to find a specific question that you can focus on.
While there are several criteria your research question needs to meet, it’s notably important to that you ensure that your question is specific, novel, and relevant. It’s crucial that you avoid broad or overly general questions and instead focus on a specific aspect or relationship.
As mentioned, the previous three characteristics are among the most essential for your research question to be respected. However, there are a few other tremendously crucial characteristics you need to take into consideration. Luckily, some very handy criteria frameworks were developed to assist you: SMART, FINER, and FINERMAPS. These three words serve as acronyms, and here’s what each stands for:
| Criteria | Explanation |
|---|---|
| FINER | - Feasible: Is the research question realistic and achievable with your current available resources and time? |
Interesting: Does the research question address a relevant and significant issue in the field? Is it interesting to the scientific community and would achieve something important?
Novel: Is your research question contributing by new, or novel, knowledge to the existing literature?
Ethical: Is your question ethical? Does it adhere to ethical principles?
Relevant: Does your research question carry weight? As Elsevier is putting it, does your research resonate with the real world? | | SMART | - Specific: Is the research question fully defined and adequately focused on a specific topic?
Measurable: Is it possible for your research question to be answered through observable data?
Achievable: Is the research question realistically attainable within the available resources and time frame? This part of being “achievable” is quite similar to being “feasible” in FINER.
Relevant (same): Does your research question carry weight? As Elsevier is putting it, does your research resonate with the real world?
Time-bound: Is there a specific timeline for your research question? | | FINERMAPS | Given that FINERM is repeated, the following is for MAPS:
Appropriate: Are the research methods and design appropriate for addressing the research question?
Parsimonious: Is the research question formulated in a concise and straightforward manner?
Significant: Does the research question have the potential to generate significant findings? |
At the beginning, it’s crucial that you conduct preliminary reading. This helps you to identify topical debates and current issues or gaps in your area of interest. The goal should be to narrow down your focus to a specific niche as much as possible.
As always, sharing your work and receiving feedback is always a very important step. You thus should be seek feedback from colleagues, mentors, and experts to refine and improve your research question. It's essential to remain open to revising and refining as you gain new insights throughout the process.
The following table shows examples of how research questions can be improved by making simple yet important modifications: