Every research project starts with questions. Working within the guidelines of your assignment, pose a few preliminary questions that seem worth researching—questions that you are interested in exploring, that you feel would engage your audience, and about which there is substantial debate. Here, for example, are some preliminary questions jotted down by students enrolled in a variety of courses in different disciplines.
As you think about possible questions, choose those that are focused (not too broad), challenging (not just factual), and grounded (not too speculative) as possible entry points in a conversation.
Choosing a focused question
If your initial question is too broad, given the length of the paper you plan to write, look for ways to restrict your focus. Here, for example, is how two students narrowed their initial questions.
| too broad | narrower |
| What causes depression? | How has the widespread use of antidepressant drugs affected teenage suicide rates? |
| What are the benefits of stricter auto emissions standards? | How will stricter auto emissions standards create new auto industry jobs and make US carmakers more competitive in the world market? |
Choosing a challenging question
Your research paper will engage both you and your audience if you base it on an intellectually challenging line of inquiry. Avoid factual questions that fail to provoke thought or engage readers in a debate.
| too factual | challenging |
| Is autism on the rise? | Why is autism so difficult to treat? |
| Where is wind energy being used? | What makes wind farms economically viable? |
You will need to address a factual question in the course of answering a more challenging one. For example, if you were writing about promising treatments for autism, you would no doubt answer the question “What is autism?” at some point in your paper and even analyze competing definitions of autism to help support your arguments about the challenges of treating the condition. It would be unproductive, however, to use the factual question as the focus for the whole paper.
Choosing a grounded question
You will want to make sure that your research question is grounded, not too speculative. Although speculative questions—such as those that address morality or beliefs—are worth asking in a research paper, they are unsuitable central questions. For most college courses, the central argument of a research paper should be grounded in facts and should not be based entirely on beliefs.
| too speculative | grounded |
| Is it wrong to share pornographic personal photos by cell phone? | What role should the US government play in regulating mobile content? |
| Do medical scientists have the right to experiment on animals? | How have technical breakthroughs made medical experiments on animals increasingly unnecessary? |
Finding an entry point in a research conversation
As you pose preliminary research questions, you may wonder where and how to step into a research conversation. You may need to ask:
As you orient yourself, try using the following statements to help you find points of entry in a research conversation.
On one side of the debate is position X, on the other side is Y, but there is a middle position, Z.
The conventional view about the problem or issue needs to be challenged because…
Key details in this debate that have been overlooked are…
Researchers have drawn conclusion X from the evidence, but one could also draw conclusion Y.
To develop your authority as a researcher, you need to think like a researcher—asking interesting questions, becoming well informed through reading and evaluating sources, and citing sources to acknowledge other researchers.
be curious. What makes you angry, concerned, or perplexed? What topics and debates do you care about? What problems do you want to help solve? Explore your topic from multiple angles, and let your curiosity drive your project.
be engaged. Talk with a librarian and learn how to use your library’s research tools and resources. Once you find promising sources, let one source lead you to another; follow clues (in the source’s list of works cited, if one exists) to learn who else has written about your topic. Listen to the key voices in the research conversation you’ve joined—and then respond.
be responsible. Use sources to develop and support your ideas rather than patching sources together to let them speak for you. From the start of your research project, keep careful track of sources you read or view (see R2), place quotation marks around words copied from sources, and maintain accurate records for all bibliographic information.
be reflective. Keep a research log, and use your log to explore various ideas you are developing and to pose counterarguments to your research argument. Research is never a straightforward path, so use your log to reflect on the evolution of your project as well as your evolution as a researcher.