Do you need to create a research question?
Can’t you start searching for sources without a research question? You could try that, but you would need to hunt for an idea among a maze of articles, books, and other research. The best strategy for finding sources is to create a research question before going to the library or looking online.
A successful research question guides you in finding sources, taking notes, planning, and writing the first draft of an academic paper. It’s a roadmap to your final academic paper.
Yet, creating a research question is challenging. How do you know if it’s in-depth without being too narrow that you can’t find any sources on it? There is no absolute right way. But, you can brainstorm research questions using different techniques to help you find one that fascinates you and has sources connected to the question.
So, in this post, I’ll reveal 6 brainstorming methods you can use to formulate an intriguing and unique question!
Note: This blog post does contain an affiliate link to my favorite academic research book.
Before Creating a Research Question
Spend time getting an overview of your topic. Review any class notes you have and essays you’ve written, and search Wikipedia to learn basic information (But, please don’t use Wikipedia as a source, I don’t want angry teachers and professors writing to me). Understand the background information about your topic.
List some essential facts about that topic and keep them before you. Some important things I take notes on are a) how something began (who and when), b) key themes or ideas, and c) some insights from others.
Once you have some notes, start brainstorming!
6 Ways to Create a Research Question
I teach my students 6 methods for finding a research topic. Each technique is effective, but it’s best to select 2 or 3 methods that suit the writing task you are doing. Some methods I used years ago, but others I learned from the book, The Craft of Research, 4th Edition by Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, Joseph Bizup, and William T. Fitzgerald. The Craft of Research is an excellent resource for anyone interested in learning about research writing. You can find it on Amazon and search for it there. Or click on the image below (my affiliate link) and go to it directly. This book is a must-have resource for anyone interested in learning about research writing.
#1 Ask the Journalist’s Questions
If you don’t know where to begin, the Journalist’s Questions Technique is an excellent place to start. Develop your research question by interrogating your topic. Write down the topic and ask yourself the questions: Who? What When? Where? Why? and How?
List those questions, and ask follow-up questions about your topic. Keep narrowing down questions until you find something that interests you. Select that question and search to see if there are articles and sources that will help you answer the question.
If there aren’t relevant sources, select another question or try one of the other methods for creating a research question.
#2 Ask about the Topic’s History
Another good place to start is to think of questions related to the history of a topic. Every topic has a history (even if it’s a short one). Consider when or how your subject began. Questions you can ask are:
- What has happened up until the present time?
- Are there any significant events or moments related to your topic?
- Who or what was important to this subject?
- What is the origin of your topic?
List questions about the topic’s history and select what is most intriguing to you.
#3 Ask about the Topic’s Structure and Composition
This approach works well for topics you can divide into pieces or steps or phases in a process.
Consider these questions:
- Can the topic be broken into different parts?
- Does it have different categories?
- Are there different types within the topic?
- Is there a process for how it was developed?
- Can you divide your topic into different steps?
For example, if your topic is fair-trade coffee, you could divide it up into fair-trade coffee from different countries. Then write a research question based on fair-trade coffee in one of those countries.
You could also ask questions about the process of growing fair-trade coffee or purchasing it.
#4 Turn Positive Questions into Negative Questions
Think of common questions about your topic, and make these questions more interesting by changing them to negative questions. Do this by listing positive questions. After you have these questions, reverse them, and see what negative questions you can create.
Here’s an example of this technique using fair-trade coffee. A positive question is: What are the advantages of fair-trade coffee? The negative question is: What are the disadvantages of fair-trade coffee?
Brainstorm questions until you discover a negative question that interests you.
#5 Ask, “What if?”
Consider what it would be like if your topic never existed. Speculate about how your topic could be different. Here are examples of a “what if?” question you could ask about topics. If my subject was fair-trade coffee, I could ask, What if there weren’t any fair-trade coffee agreements?
This question would prompt me to think about the income and standard of living for coffee growers with fair-trade contracts. I could also think about how fair-trade coffee affects farmers who don’t have those agreements.
Speculative questions help you see a topic through different viewpoints so that you can create original and unique questions.
#6 Ask Questions Based on Ideas in Other Sources
This approach involves spending time looking up research about your topic. Plan about 2-4 hours of searching for articles, books, and other references. Look at what other scholars researched and wrote. Skim the sources you find.
Are there essential themes, ideas, or concepts that intrigue you? List them, and brainstorm questions that relate to those ideas. Another tip for this is to look at the most recent sources because those articles will be the “freshest” and “newest” thoughts on that subject.
Start Brainstorming Questions!
Creating a great research question doesn’t need to be overwhelming. Once you begin, ideas will come to you naturally. The key is not to procrastinate. Find a place where you can focus and brainstorm ideas. Plan to spend at least 30 minutes developing questions. Try more than one approach to creating your research question. You want to see things from different angles and have various ideas you can select.
Keep in mind that you will spend a lot of time researching and writing about your topic, so select a question that ignites your curiosity. The more intrigued you are, the more engaged you’ll be in writing a research paper.
Your research question is a vital step in writing an academic paper. It will guide you in researching, note-taking, and writing a paper. Learn all the steps to writing an excellent research paper in the post “How to Write a Research Paper Professors Will Love.”https://www.academicwritingsuccess.com/how-to-write-a-research-paper/
Do you want to make writing a research paper easier?
Download my free step-by-step guide, How to Write a Research Paper That Will Blow Your Professor’s Mind. It will help you brainstorm, research, write and edit any academic paper you write!
