Scholarly Communication Support: Planning, Conducting, Disseminating, Promoting, & Assessing Research

To develop a strong research question, begin with what really interests you and drives your curiosity.

Explore the published literature around your topic of interest to understand what is already known, what is still unknown or unresolved, and what is debated. Consider how you could contribute to this research landscape to help fill a gap, provide new evidence in support of a certain resolution, or similar. A good, relevant research question will interest your audience and contribute to your field in some meaningful way.

Determine the right level of focus. With too broad or too narrow of a topic, you will struggle to craft a feasible study and write it up at a reasonable length for dissemination. Think about a particular aspect or phenomenon you might focus on. Avoid questions which are too easy to answer (not worth the effort of a study) or too difficult to answer--or impossible to answer.

Realistically evaluate the resources at your disposal; resources may include your expertise, time, equipment, budget, support, and so forth. Make sure you choose something you will reasonably be able to accomplish.

Invest the time and thought to craft and revise a research question (or several) that will be clear, concise, and specific. Your question and your intended methodology will be intertwined, so be sure to consider your study approach as you refine your question. Once you have firmly settled on a question constructed in relation to the existing literature, your resources and capacity, and your intended study design, write the question down and post it near your work area. Reference it regularly to ensure that your work remains targeted at your question(s).