Moving from Presearch to Research Question

Presented by Ann WestrickFunded by a grant from the Jerome Library

Bowling Green State UniversityBowling Green, Ohio, USA

OK—so you’ve done your Presearch.

So far:

• You understand the issues involved with your overall topic

• You have an overview of theories related to your topic

• You understand the multiple sides of the issue which you’ve drawn from your topic

But you still need to craft a research question so you can:

• see possible answers to your research question

• decide what issues/information you need to continue researching.

What is a research question?

A research question is a short, specific, debatable question around which you can center your research.

A good research question helps keep your research focused.

The proposed answer to your question is your thesis.

Energy Drinks

Topic = Energy drinks

Through presearch, I’ve found that there is an issue I might possibly explore. It centers around some manufacturers changing the way they label their energy drinks. Some say this is being done for the companies’ benefit; others say it is for the benefit of the consumer.

Issue = The debate about the labeling of energy drinks.

Start asking questions

Taking into consideration all you’ve learned through your presearch, ask yourself open-ended “how” and “why” and “should” questions about your general topic.

General formats for questions

• Why is this a problem?

• What are the causes of this problem?

• How can this problem be solved? • Should we do this or that or the other thing?

Energy Drink questions

• Should energy drinks be considered effective?• Should energy drinks be considered safe?• Should energy drinks be labeled as beverages

or dietary supplements? • How does labeling affect FDA reporting? • Why does labeling affect the way the drinks

are perceived? • Why does labeling affect sales?

Evaluate your question

• A good research question involves a real issue that people genuinely care about.

• Research questions should only deal with one issue.

• In a good question the answer is not obvious.

• A real research question intends to go beyond just reporting on something—it tries to add to the conversation about that topic.

Too Broad? Too Narrow? Too Vague?

• Broad questions lead to superficial research.

• Narrow questions unnecessarily limit the scope and range of your research.

• Vague questions show that you’re not really clear about what you’re addressing.

• The best research question is broad enough to be interesting and significant, but specific enough to meet the limits of your assignment.

Starting over?

You may find yourself revising your research question as you conduct your research

THAT’S FINE

Researching and writing and thinking are recursive processes which involve lots of backtracking and starting over.

Real Research

• Involves more than compiling data and reporting on it

• Need to avoid “here’s everything I learned about __________________” and instead focus on answering a specific question with a clear, debatable argument.

• Adds knowledge to the topic you’ve chosen.

Real Research

• Need to look deeper than reporting on what happened. Real research is concerned with why or how something happened.

• How can a problem be solved?

• Should something have been done differently?

Thesis = Answer to Research Question

• In a good question the answer is not obvious.

• When you discover the answer to your research question, you have found the thesis to your essay.