Research Methods

You may have some ideas about the topic that you would like to research.  This could be an area; of previous study, of relevance to your workplace or a topic that you have a particular interest in.  These ideas will need to be translated into a practical research question that can be answered within the timeframe of your research project. Think about the points below as you begin the process of drafting your research question.

For further reading on drafting your research questions please see the Sage Research Methods Database.

Developing your research question

• Do some background reading on your chosen topic.  Look at your lecture notes, current journals, reports or conference proceedings.
• Remember that research seeks to describe, explore, examine or evaluate a situation, artefact or phenomena, so begin to frame some “how” and “why” questions.
• Questions should be clear and focused.
• Avoid using subjective language like “good” or “bad”.
• Is the question complex enough for a research project?  In other words, it can’t be answered by a simple yes or no.
• Has this question been asked before?  It should be original, for certain levels of research project it can be similar to research that has been done before in different contexts.   However, for PhD research, the bar for originality is particularly high.