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? |
Focused research questions
Challenging research questions
Entry points to research
Revising a thesis that is too broad