Research Questions

Research Questions

By the end of this class, you will...

+ Know what a research question is

+ Recognise the difference between good and bad research questions

+ Have practised writing your own research questions

Research questions are confusing

• We all know what questions are

• But why are research questions so difficult?

• And what exactly is a research question?

Simply put...

A research question is a question about your topic that needs to be answered

Multiple Choice

What do you think is the first step to writing a research question?

• do some background research to decide on a good topic

• write the essay first and then write the question

• write a list of things you already know and make a question about that

• pick 2 topics and flip a coin to decide which one to choose

Step 1: Background research

• This gives you ideas for directions you can explore

• Allows you to find a topic that you like

• We have already completed this step!

So what???

Your topic should be important and interesting. If your question is not interesting to you or others, it's probably not worth researching

Step 2: Consider what makes a good or bad research question

​

Mistake 1: Too narrow

Your question can't be too narrow. This means a question that doesn't have very much information available

Mistake 2: Too Broad

Your question can't be too broad. This means a question that has TOO much information available

Research questions must be specific

Not so broad that you could write a whole book about the topic...

... and not so narrow that you can only write 1 paragraph!

Open vs. Closed questions

• Closed questions can be answered yes/no, a few words, or a list

• Open questions are more complicated to answer and can have many different answers

Multiple Choice

Which question type is better for a research question?

• Open question

• Closed question

Research questions should always be OPEN questions

Closed questions are too narrow to be used for research!

Research questions normally begin with how and what

• What effect/impact does....

• How does....

See if you can tell the difference between these good and bad research questions

Multiple Select

Are white mice better than gray mice?

• Good research question

• Bad research question

Multiple Choice

Which national park is the best?

• Good research question

• Bad research question

Multiple Select

Has the population of the world increased in the past

century?

• Good research question

• Bad research question

Multiple Choice

How do government regulations prevent big companies from polluting the water?

• Good research question

• Bad research question

Multiple Select

Does owning a pet improve quality of life for older people?

• Good research question

• Bad research question

Multiple Choice

What effect does daily use of Twitter have on the attention span of under-16s?

• Good research question

• Bad research question

Step 3: Start writing your question

There is a process you can follow to help you write a good question

Lets see what you have learned...

Multiple Choice

True or False? The best research questions begin with why and who.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Which types of research questions are best?

• Questions about broad topics

• Questions about narrow topics

• Questions about specific topics

Multiple Choice

Yes/no questions are bad because...

• They are too narrow

• They are boring

• They are too specific

Multiple Choice

What kind of topic should you choose for your research?

• A topic that is interesting to you

• A topic that you know a little bit about

• A topic that you find really boring

To summarize...

Now it is your turn

Go to Google Classroom to the activity "Practice writing a research question"

Multiple Choice

Each research question contains ...

• the topic

• a focus

• both the topic & a focus

Multiple Choice

Many minor questions that research participants answer are called ...

• research questions

• survey/interview questions

Multiple Choice

A few major questions that a researcher asks & answers are called ...

• research questions

• survey/interview questions

Research Questions

Monirith Ly (2022, Sept.)

​Definition of Research Questions

• Research questions are major questions that a researcher asks on a topic and tries to answer by doing the research.

​

• ​Each research question contains a focus & the topic.

Research Qs vs. Survey/Interview Qs

• A researcher asks themselves only a few major research questions.

​

• ​In a survey/interview, the researcher asks participants many minor questions based on the research questions.

​

• ​The researcher answers their research questions based on the participants' responses & the research literature on the topic.

Multiple Choice

Each research question contains ...

• the topic

• a focus

• both the topic & a focus

Multiple Choice

Many minor questions that research participants answer are called ...

• research questions

• survey/interview questions

Multiple Choice

A few major questions that a researcher asks & answers are called ...

• research questions

• survey/interview questions

​Types of Questions (Qs)

​Quantitative (Closed-Ended) Qs

​

• ​Yes/No Qs (begin with verbs)

​

• ​Multiple-Choice Qs (begin with Which)

​

• ​Scale Qs (begin with To what extent/level, How much/many/often)

​Types of Questions (Qs)

​Qualitative (Open-Ended) Qs

​

• ​Wh- Qs (begin with Who, What, Where, When, Why, How)

Multiple Choice

Multiple-Choice Qs (begin with Which)

• Quantitative (closed-ended) RQs

• Qualitative (open-ended) RQs

Multiple Choice

Wh- Qs  (begin with Who, What, Where, When, Why, How)

• Quantitative (closed-ended) RQs

• Qualitative (open-ended) RQs

Multiple Choice

Scale Qs (begin with To what extent/level, How much/many/often)

• Quantitative (closed-ended) RQs

• Qualitative (open-ended) RQs

Multiple Choice

Yes/No Qs (begin with verbs)

• Quantitative (closed-ended) RQs

• Qualitative (open-ended) RQs

Multiple Choice

Is there a relationship between teachers’ collective efficacy in a school and students’ academic achievement in the school?

• Quantitative (closed-ended) RQs

• Qualitative (open-ended) RQs

Multiple Choice

Is there a relationship between teachers’ collective efficacy in a school and students’ academic achievement in the school?

What is the focus of this RQ?

• relationship

• teachers' efficacy

• students' achievement

Multiple Select

Is there a relationship between teachers’ collective efficacy in a school and students’ academic achievement in the school?

What is the type of focus?

• comparison

• contrast

Multiple Select

Is there a relationship between teachers’ collective efficacy in a school and students’ academic achievement in the school?

What is the topic of this RQ? (There may be more than 1 topic.)

• relationship

• teachers' efficacy

• students' achievement

Multiple Choice

What differences exist between academically successful students and academically unsuccessful students attending community colleges?

• Quantitative (closed-ended) RQs

• Qualitative (open-ended) RQs

Multiple Choice

Which differences exist between academically successful students and academically unsuccessful students attending community colleges?

• Quantitative (closed-ended) RQs

• Qualitative (open-ended) RQs

Multiple Choice

Which differences exist between academically successful students and academically unsuccessful students attending community colleges?

What is the type of focus?

• comparison

• contrast

• successful students

• unsuccessful students

Multiple Select

What differences exist between academically successful students and academically unsuccessful students attending community colleges?

What is the topic? (≥ 1 topic)

• comparison

• contrast

• successful students

• unsuccessful students

Multiple Choice

Which thinking patterns are predominant (strongest) among school superintendents and chief executive officers?

What is the type of focus?

• comparison

• contrast

• school leaders

• CEOs

Multiple Choice

Is the organizational structure of each school district aligned with the superintendent’s leadership behaviors?

What is the type of focus?

• comparison

• contrast

Multiple Choice

How do the leadership behaviors of the superintendent impact the relations between the district and external forces?

• Quantitative (closed-ended) RQs

• Qualitative (open-ended) RQs

Multiple Choice

How do the leadership behaviors of the superintendent impact the relations between the district and external forces?

What is the type of focus?

• effect

• leadership behaviors

• district-environmental relations

Multiple Choice

To what extent is the language of instruction used by teachers associated with language content?

• Quantitative (closed-ended) RQs

• Qualitative (open-ended) RQs

Multiple Choice

To what extent is teachers' language of instruction associated with language content?

What is the type of focus?

• comparison

• contrast

• language content

Multiple Choice

To what extent do associations exist among the following variables: language content, activity structure, students’ language, and the language of instruction?

What is the type of focus?

• comparison

• contrast

Multiple Select

To what extent do associations exist among the following variables: language content, activity structure, students’ language, and the language of instruction?

What is the topic? (≥ 1 topic)

• associations

• language content

• activity structure

• students’ language

• language of instruction

Multiple Choice

To what extent does each level of language content occur with each activity structure?

What is the type of focus?

• comparison

• contrast

Multiple Choice

What challenges do PhD students have?

• Quantitative (closed-ended) RQs

• Qualitative (open-ended) RQs

Multiple Choice

What challenges do PhD students have?

What is the type of focus?

• problem

• solution

Multiple Choice

What challenges do PhD students have?

What is the topic?

• problem

• solution

• PhD study

Multiple Choice

What recommendations do PhD students have for potential students?

What is the type of focus?

• problem

• solution

• PhD study

​Wrap-Up

Research is a systematic process to answer the researcher's questions.

​

Academic/Scholarly researchers usually do theoretical research, which is either quantitative or qualitative due to philosophical differences & approaches (deductive vs. inductive).

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​Other researchers normally use mixed methods in their development-oriented or evaluation projects.

Reference

​​Most examples are extracted from pp. 128-132 of

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​Lunenburg, F. C., & Irby, B. J. (2008). Writing a successful thesis or dissertation: Tips and strategies for students in the social and behavioral sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.