How to Develop a Research Question (with Examples)

You would like to know how to develop a research question for your academic paper or thesis? Then you’ve come to the right place. In this article, you will learn exactly how to master this task.

Why the research question is so important for your term paper or thesis

The research question of your term paper or thesis is the holy grail in your quest for a good grade. Since you want to follow an argument in the course of your academic paper, you should first pose an existing problem at the beginning of the paper.

Subsequently, at the end of the introduction, you then set up the research question. It will be your and the reader’s guide for your scientific work from now on.

The following tasks will be taken over by the research question for your paper or thesis:

• The rhetoric of your paper improves
• The basic concepts of your paper are narrowed down
• You know in which direction you have to research literature
• Your research goals are set in stone

Thus, setting up a research question at an early stage has several advantages. On the one hand, you know in the creative process how you should proceed with your work. On the other hand, the reader knows which problem your work is pursuing at all.

Should I formulate only one research question in my paper or thesis?

For term papers, you should always formulate a research question. Here, one question can usually be quite sufficient, but 2 research questions are also ok. For larger projects such as a master’s thesis or even a doctoral dissertation, there may be more research questions.

A regular thesis usually gets by with 2 solid research questions.

Sub-question hierarchy

Another way to split up your research questions: sub-questions. This is quite a proven way for longer papers.

However, too many research questions will make you quickly lose your focus. At the beginning you will think: How will I ever by able to fill so many pages on such a simple question?

Trust me, afterwards you will hardly know what to cut in order to stay within the given page restrictions. But for now, let’s find out how to develop your research question.

Who, how, what? Finding the right question

If you believe your instinct, all possible W-words would be suitable for a research question. The truth, however, is a little different. In my opinion, the question words How…, To what extent…, and What… are the most suitable question words to formulate your research question for your paper or thesis.

If you are not bound to a particular research paradigm that pre-determines the type of research question, I strongly recommend that you begin your research question with the question word “How…”

Why is that?

Simply because of the answer these question words allow. If you ask with “Who”, “Why” or “When”, the answer to your research question is limited in terms of possible answers. A How-Question is also an “open” question, which is suitable for the purpose of a research paper. Only in rare cases or very narrow research designs are we in search of an answer to a “closed” research question.

In a scientific paper or thesis you want to investigate a problem from a certain angle and find the answer to your research question. However, the latter should always be formulated in such a way that it does not exclude other answers.

Formulate your research question in such a way that you can answer it openly and flexibly (and still concretely). 

This is not to say that you do not have an idea of a possible answer when you write your research question. On the contrary: If you can already roughly estimate what the result of your argumentation, data analysis or literature review etc. will be, formulating a research question is much easier.

The different types of research questions

The question word you choose also depends on the type of research question. Roughly, the following questions can be distinguished:

Descriptive question
Example: How do commercial organizations communicate during self-inflicted crises on social media?
Explanatory question 
Example: Why do corporate communication strategies on social media differ from traditional crisis PR?
Design question
Example: What communication strategies are appropriate for corporate social media crisis management? (Especially relevant for practically oriented disciplines such as mechanical engineering, organization science, computer science, etc.)
Forecasting question
Example: How will the demand for skilled knowledge workers develop in the next 5 years, taking into account industry 4.0?
Evaluating question
Example: How will the introduction of a statutory health card affect the privacy concerns of patients?
Utopian question:
What will the knowledge worker archetype look like in 10 years? What are potential consequences for corporate culture?

Tip: Formulate 2-3 different research questions for your topic and use different question types. Send these to your supervisor by e-mail or take them with you to the consultation hour.

My experience is that the most common question types for undergraduate research are evaluative and descriptive.

Focusing the research question

At this point, you are ready to formulate your research question. To do this, we need the topic that you have wisely thought about or been assigned.

The narrowing down of your topic must now also be reflected in the research question. Let’s work with an example. Your overall topic is social media marketing. How can you break down this topic and create a question that is as precise as possible?

Limit yourself to partial aspects
Example: Twitter
Limit yourself to a geographical framework
Example: Germany
Limit yourself to a period of time
Example: During the VW diesel scandal

Now, merge your narrowing with the question type you selected earlier. In our example:

How did VW communicate over the course of the 2015 diesel scandal on Twitter?

Choose the concepts within your research question wisely

The more solidly your research question is formulated, the better you can use it for the development of your argument.

Make sure to explain every concept you use in your research question prior to introducing the question. Typically, that would be the introduction.

I must not happen that the reader stumbles upon an ambiguous concept in your research question without being introduced to it earlier.

Examples of research questions

Here are a few simple examples from different disciplines to give you some inspiration. Perhaps you will recognize a pattern, which will help you to develop your own interesting research question.

• How does “servant leadership” affect the corporate culture in medium-sized companies in the digital economy in Canada? (Economics)
• To what extent are recipients of computer games with violent content morally sensitized? (Psychology) 
• To what extent does the retweeting behavior of police accounts on Twitter influence individual decision-making in crisis situations? (Media & Communication Studies) 
• How can serious games promote social competence in elementary school students? (Education) 
• To what extent can belt drives in large agricultural vehicles be optimized by reducing vibrations? (Mechanical Engineering)
• To what extent can augmented reality applications improve user experience in logistics management? (Applied Computer Science) 

Even a research question from the field of theoretical physics follows the same pattern. No matter the methodology, no matter the discipline: anyone can formulate a good research question if he or she follows the above rules. With a little practice, it gets easier with every scientific project.

The 7 deadly sins for research questions

Now, before you start formulating your own research question, you should learn which mistakes you should avoid at all costs. If you take care to avoid all of these pitfalls, you will be able to create the perfect research question.

#1 Your research question has a yes or no answer.
Example: Is enjoyment the deciding factor in choosing entertainment media?

#2 Your research question is too broad
Example: How can social media be implemented to increase company sales?
#3 Your research question does not include the most important concepts of your topic
#4 It is impossible for you to answer the research question
#5 Your research question does not incorporate your theory (if you use one)
#6 Your research question is not relevant
#7 Your research question is too long
Example: To what extent can moral disengagement theory be extended with consideration of Bushman’s General Aggression model in relation to the perceived enjoyment of online multiplayer users?

Are you still there?

We’re not at the end yet. Hang in there, you’re about to have all the information you need on how to develop a research question.

Position of the research question

In rare cases, your research question may arise from the literature, in which case it would appear at the end of the literature review.

However, my suggestion is to introduce the research question earlier.

The research question should be positioned almost at the end of the introduction, after motivating your research and describing the research problem. 

How to answer a research question

You will answer the research question in detail in the discussion section of your paper or thesis. Here, you address each of the findings you highlighted in your main body and review them for relevance against the research question. You will also relate it to the literature you have previously selected as the basis for your argument.

You also answer your research question in your conclusion. Here, however, you get very specific and summarize the findings in a few sentences. When writing your conclusion, keep your research question in mind and try to answer it as directly as possible. If you can do that, you’ve already done a lot right.

If you made it this far down, congratulations! It was a hard piece of work. But it will pay off, because with an excellently formulated research question, you can easily win over your supervisors goodwill and increase your chances on a good grade. And now you know, how how to develop a research question.

Now get to work and formulate your own research question!