WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO FORMULATE A QUESTION FOR MY MASTER'S DISSERTATION?
What is a Research Question?
For each research paper, thesis, or dissertation, the first step is learning how to develop a research question or hypothesis. It is among the most crucial portions of a study proposal. In addition to making your study's writing more clear, a strong research question gives your readers a sharp focus and makes it easier for them to comprehend your study's issue. The main query that your study set out to answered or aims to answer is known as a research question. The emphasis and purpose of your study are established by a distinct research question that directs your research paper or thesis and clearly expresses what you want to learn. For each thesis, dissertation, or research paper, the first step is learning how to develop a research question or hypothesis. In addition to providing readers with a clear focus and helping them grasp your study's writing and research topic, purpose, scope, and constraints, a strong research question also clarifies the writing in the study. You should compose a clear explanation of what this study hopes to achieve or uncover before you start writing your paper, before you get research paper editing, and usually before you conduct your investigation. Tips for Writing a Research Question
What makes a good research question? Here are some key factors to consider:
A good research question should:
When presented as a summary, several of these traits could be challenging to comprehend. Let's examine some research question examples as well as a more detailed discussion of what a research question should accomplish.
The research question must to be precise and focused.
Too broad of a research question cannot be adequately answered in a single study. This can be the case if there are numerous variables or considerations to take into account. A study question that is not narrowly focused may also be indicated by an excessively large sample data set or a protracted experimental period.
A clear confirmation or denial of the chosen hypothesis is indicated by the combination of the facts and observations in a given research question. A research problem or hypothesis that you haven't addressed in your Introduction section could emerge if a research question is too nebulous as a result of the data.
| Broad Research Question | What role does genetic research have in the medical industry? |
| Focused Research Question | How can the identification of a hereditary component to alcoholism alter hospital triage procedures? |
The research question should be based on the literature
Since a successful scientific theory must be set in the context of a larger academic consensus, a good research topic should be one that can be answered and verified based on previous research. As a result, conspiracy theories and other outlandish concepts are poor choices for research paper subjects. An effective research question will instead broaden, analyze, and validate the framework of your research field. It ought to be easily searchable by other study authors and blend in with the literature naturally. References to the literature can be made using a variety of citation formats, but they must be properly formatted in accordance with the standards established by the academic organisation, university, or magazine that published the reference. In addition to the Reference section, this also applies to in-text citations.
The research question ought to be reasonable in terms of duration, breadth, and cost.
Time and budget are the two fundamental restrictions on the research process.
A suitable research question will involve study or experimental methods that can be carried out in a reasonable amount of time, often by a graduate doctorate or master's student or lab technician. Problematic research includes anything requiring expensive resources, upcoming technologies, or additional procedures.
The research question should be in-depth
Academic journal articles, dissertations, and theses typically have dozens to hundreds of pages. A strong research question or dissertation must be complex enough to justify such a length in order to withstand peer review and be replicable by other researchers and academics.
Research Question Types
The two main categories of research are qualitative and quantitative, and specific research questions must be created for each.
Quantitative Research Questions
The questions used in quantitative research are precise. Common research questions include the population being examined, dependent and independent variables, and the study design. Quantitative research questions also integrate the study design and the question being asked. Furthermore, it is not possible to provide a clear "yes" or "no" answer to these issues. For instance, scientific disciplines like biology, physics, and chemistry frequently deal with "states," in which variations in the magnitudes, rates, or velocities of the variables have a significant impact on the applicability of the research.
As a result, qualifiers like "is," "are," "does," or "does not" that are qualitative, category, or ordinal are not allowed in quantitative research questions.
Categories of quantitative research questions
| Descriptive research questions | Comparative research questions | Relationship research questions |
|---|---|---|
| Make an effort to characterise a population's behaviour in relation to one or more variables, or try to describe the properties of the variables that will be assessed. These are frequently "What?" inquiries. | Within the framework of an outcome variable, look for group differences. It's also possible for these queries to be causal. Researchers can contrast groups with and without particular variables to see how they affect the results. | developed with the goal of illuminating and describing trends and interactions between variables. These questions make use of terms like "association" and "trends," as well as the independent and dependent variables. |
Qualitative Research Questions
In quantitative research, research questions may be related to both more general and more specialised fields of study. Compared to their quantitative counterparts, qualitative research questions are less directed, more adaptive, and more flexible. Studies that are based on these queries so frequently emphasise "discovering," "explaining," "elucidating," and "exploring."
Categories of qualitative research questions
| Contextual research questions | Descriptive research questions | Evaluation research questions |
|---|---|---|
| Identify and characterise the current situation. | Make an effort to explain a phenomenon. | Examine the viability of current approaches, protocols, concepts, or methods. |
| Explanatory research questions | Exploratory research questions | |
| Analyze a phenomenon or the causes, connections, or links between several things. | Concentrate on the unexplored facets of a given subject. |
Steps for Writing a Research Question
Good research questions are pertinent, narrowly focused, and significant. Though it can be challenging, there are a few measures you can do to make it a little bit simpler when coming up with an excellent research question.
1. Start with a topic that interests you and is relevant.
Select a study area that is both fascinating and pertinent to the culture of your own nation or the capabilities of your university. Healthcare and medical research are popular academic subjects. Choose a research subject that is relevant to your area of study and major, however, if you are enrolled in a humanities or engineering programme.
2. Make an initial analysis.
Once you have decided on a study topic, you can start conducting preliminary research. During this initial stage of the research, two goals should be achieved. You should first conduct a preliminary examination of relevant literature to identify the topics that academics and your colleagues are currently debating. By using this technique, you may demonstrate that you are up to date on industry changes. After that, by doing a preliminary literature review, determine any knowledge gaps or restrictions in your area of study. After a certain amount of adjusting, you may be able to use these gaps to narrow your study question.
3. Narrow your research to determine specific research questions
Once you have a firm understanding of the subject you wish to study, you can narrow your approach. One wise choice is to concentrate on recent publications or knowledge gaps. A research question can be created by pointing out gaps in the literature and ignoring areas of inquiry. The same is true when picking research questions that add to or expand on previously published literature.
4. Evaluate your research question
The following inquiries should be used to evaluate the research question:Does my research question make sense?
Your investigation should yield explicit results in the form of data and observations. The data used in quantitative investigations must be empirical and quantifiable. The observations for qualitative data should be distinct from one another across categories.
Is my research question well-defined and precise?
If you have a good research topic, the topic should be comprehensive enough that your methodology or testing process yields a result that cannot be interpreted subjectively and is produced objectively. The relationship between the study's objectives and the outcomes might become murky when open-ended or general research questions are used.
How complicated is my research question?
Your research's findings must be significant and consequential (as well as fit your field's context) in order to support an academic investigation. It is unnecessary to just confirm or support an existing scientific consensus, and most journal editors are unlikely to find it persuasive.
