Developing Research Questions: Your Scope & Feasibility
Another important aspect of determining your research question is scope. What is feasible for you to answer within your time, your access, your economic, and other constraints? Have you chosen a question that acknowledges those limitations.
Tips
- Many of us start with a very broad question in mind. Try these steps to narrow:
- ​State your research interest
- Think of a narrower scope
- Brainstorm questions
- Pick the question you are most interested in
- Rephrase the question to be narrower in scope
- Repeat as needed
Could you think about Flaubert's Madame Bovary? Depending on the optic of the research topic, several keywords could be used in searchers. Imagine you are considering the notion of infidelity in Parisian life of the 19th century and its representation in Madame Bovary. One important keyword would be infidélité:
Once you have established an important term, you are ready to use a thesaurus and locate all the synonymous and related terms for this particular term.
⇒ Go to Google and type: Synonymous: infidelity
Perfidie – déloyauté – inconstance – trahison - adultère – cocuage
