What is a research question?
A research question is useful for guiding the rest of your research process, but it can change as you learn more about your topic. Start with a question you are curious about or a topic that your professor assigns to you. Take time to read background information and think about what really interests you about that issue. Ask the following questions to help articulate your research question:
Now that you have thought about these questions, you should try to write out your research question and include as many of these details as possible.
Here is a helpful table for refining your topic:
Starting point | Questions to Ask | Interests | Sources to Use |
Narrower topic |
Who? Can you identify a person or group of people that are involved in your research topic? |
I am interested in female athletes and political commentators. | Background and reference sources (newspaper articles, encyclopedia, online media) |
Even narrower topic |
What? What is the key idea of your topic? What are the sub-topics? |
I am interested in how political commentators present gender roles of female athletes. | Scholarly journal articles, scholarly books and ebooks |
Narrow and specific topic |
When? Is time an important factor in your topic? | I am interested in the period of the Early Cold War Olympic Games and onward (1952 - present). | Scholarly journal articles, scholarly books, newspaper articles, theses and dissertations |
Even more narrow and specific topic |
Where? Is geography important to your research topic? Can you find information on a region? Do you need information about one specific place? |
Russia, United States | Scholarly journal articles, conference papers, scholarly books, book reviews |
Potential research question: "How have political commentators in the United States exploited and shaped the perception of gender roles of Russian female athletes from 1952 to present?"
Learn more about formulating research questions at the link below: