Doing Research Part 4 of 6: Devising Strong Research Questions
Questions are fundamental to research. Writing is fundamental to research. In my opinion, there is a very not-so-good trend in graduate programs where students are being encouraged to submit their dissertations to professional editors to “help” with finalizing their work. There are even websites now that tell students “you can hire professional academic proofreaders and copyeditors.” I have tried to discourage this practice with my graduate students (some listen to the advice, others do not) for one major reason.
A dissertation is not a book manuscript, for which audience and readability are paramount because the work is a product in a publishing industry that comes with a price tag. You will have to defend your work in front of a committee, and if you leave substantive changes and writing to someone else, at your defense, you will look like you don’t know your own work — because you don’t, someone else “fixed” your issues for you.
If you want to get through the writing process and become proficient at editing your work, the first thing you must learn to do is devise questions and write them in such a way that anyone can understand them, including yourself. Questions help you communicate almost anything through words. The challenge is — how do you create questions that are robust enough for a research project?
Source: Unsplash
““The problem for many academics is translating their research into lay and executive summaries, which is becoming increasingly more important when we think about impact.””
Despite your research making absolute sense to you, Tattersall writes further that many people do not know how to translate that knowledge into lay language. Breaking down your work into simple messages is vital not only for academic writing but for grant writing, essays, and even executive summaries. There are 5Ws of reading that can help you articulate the questions at the core of your work. What are the 5ws?
Source: Unsplash
The 5Ws
Who, What, Where, When, Why, How — are questions you must ask when reading critically, but they are also fundamental to research. But what purpose do they serve?
Who
This question is asked when reading secondary sources. Such as who wrote this material? Do they have the qualifications necessary to say what they’re saying? Who benefits from this research? Who are the stakeholders? Who is the intended audience? By asking WHO as you write , you build your ability to critically assess the clarity of your arguments.
What
This question helps you pay attention to the substance of an argument as you read. What is the thesis? What is the substance or position of the piece? What type of evidence is offered? What is the author(s) trying to achieve? What is the purpose of the work? By asking WHAT as you write , you build your ability to ask critical questions about your arguments and whether they make sense.
The WHAT question also helps you establish a thesis in your work. What is a thesis?
Source: Dictionary.com
A thesis can:
Explore a definition;
Evaluate a person, thing or activity;
Compare or contrast;
Examine why something happened;
Counter objections to a position;
Argue why something matters or is the correct position.
Why
This question is mostly about you. Why does your topic matter? Why does the discussion have larger significance? Why are you writing in your chosen form (i.e., academic, newspaper, academic journal, blog, etc.)? By asking WHY as you think about your topic, you begin to devise a more complex picture about your motivations for doing the work, your reasons for reading what you’re reading, and ultimately this WHY will become central to devising strong research questions.
When
This question is connected to your why. When are you situating the research? Is it in the past (historical evaluation), the present (current trends) or future (possibilities)? When are you providing context? By asking WHEN as you think about your topic, you give your work context and “place” it somewhere, as opposed to your interests remaining in neutral territory.
Where
This question is another reading question. Where is the text published? Where is the text focused? Is it on a specific place or time? Like the when question, by asking WHERE, you begin to understand the context of your topic and this will help you situate yourself within a larger field of study.
How
This final question is in many ways the most important. How are opinions, ideas, and evidence being presented? How do you refer to expert opinion or research about this subject? How do you acknowledge opposing views and/or unfavourable evidence? Do you deal fairly with opposing views? How do you engage with the elements of writing, such as tone, style, and purpose? By asking HOW as you think about your topic, and begin to devise questions, you are actively making your research feel like your own.
Source: Unsplash
Generating the Research Thesis Starts with Developing a Focus Question
A focus question generally has three (3) main parts:
What, and/or
How, and/or
Why
For example, questions that I have asked in my work include: What is Black beauty culture, and why has it been undervalued in academic research? And, What is Canada’s history of blackface, and how has it appeared at theatres, in the community, and in the visual culture?
Once you develop a thesis focus question, try and answer the question. This will lead you to articulating your topic in a clear and concise manner.
“On your own, try to devise a focus question using what/how or what/why”
Source: Unsplash
Qualitative Inquiry is a Reflective Process
Qualitative research is commonly the umbrella term to describe research that involves a focus on non-numerical data to understand concepts, opinions, or people’s experiences. A lot of the work that I do involves qualitative research so I am going to focus here, but in Part 5 of Doing Research, I also talk about quantitative research (numerical data).
In “Developing Qualitative Research Questions: A Reflective Process” (2009), Jane Agee notes that as a novice researcher, you may find it challenging to frame a qualitative question “that not only inquires about phenomena, understanding, or perceptions, but also signals the relevance of the study to a field or discipline” (433).
“As a starting point, a broadly defined, overarching question can serve as a basis for developing sub-questions”
Agee suggests that a single overarching question allows you to capture the basic goals of your study; by clearly stating your overarching question you can give your research direction, help determine your research design and collection of data, and offer potential for developing new, more specific questions during data collection and analysis (2009: 434-35).
“Take a few minutes to write down an overarching question OR one stated goal for your research, one that captures the basic goals of what you hope to explore when you start data collection. ”
The research question phase does not have to be complicated; nor is it something to be afraid of. Research is centred on the questions you ask, and your openness to exploring so keep developing your questions, and don’t be afraid of changing them as you go.
In Part 5 of this series I address intersectional approaches to problem solving — critical inquiry and critical praxis.
If you’d like to support this free content or let me know how much you appreciate this work, I welcome your donation to PayPal. Please like, share, and comment on the links below! And if you have any suggestions on future series that I should write about, drop me a line below!
Recommended Reading:
Jane Agee, “Developing Qualitative Research Questions: A Reflective Process,” International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 22.4 (2009): 431-447.
Philip Cam. The Question Quadrant (2006)
Michael G. Pratt, “Crafting and Selecting Research Questions and Contexts in Qualitative Research.” In Handbook of Qualitative Organizational Research, Innovative Pathways and Methods, Kimberly D. Elsbach, Roderick M. Kramer (Eds), 2015.
Rosie Scholl. “The Question Quadrant: A stimulus for a negotiated curriculum.” Primary & Middle Years Educator 8.2 (2010): 3-16.
