A research question is based on an area of concern or a lacuna in the existing knowledge. The purpose of a research question is to give your work a clear direction and to steer you to focus on important aspects that need to be solved. Learning how to identify research questions that are both meaningful and well-defined is also important for publication success. In fact, while identifying a research question is the very first step in a research project, it is also one of the most challenging activities in research.
How to identify a research question?
As a researcher, you might need to generate research questions for various projects or come up with a thesis research question or dissertation research question. Here are some points that need to be considered when identifying research questions.
- Originality
An original research question aims to resolve a problem that has not been addressed before. Unique research work will increase your chances of publication, which makes it critical to know how to find a research question. So, familiarize yourself with the work done so far to identify knowledge gaps in the area and ensure that your question does not overlap with something that has already been asked and answered. Note that even within well-studied topics, you can generate research questions that are original simply by delving into the finer aspects of the topic or attempting to untangle a long-standing problem.
- Importance
A good research question should be important enough and relevant to the scholarly literature in your area of inquiry. When you begin identifying research questions, contextualize the problem in a broad sense and consider the advantages and potential outcomes of answering a particular research problem. Your work should offer something new to the existing literature in your field.
- Feasibility
When you generate research questions, don’t forget to consider the feasibility of the project. Weigh all the possible practical constraints. Consider if the question(s) can be answered within a reasonable time, with the resources, expertise, and funding you have at your disposal.
- Ethical and legal aspects
If you are dealing with animal or human subjects, political issues, etc., your research question will need to factor in ethical and/or legal requirements and implications.
Tips on how to identify research questions
When you generate research questions, it is also important to consider the most up-to-date trends in the subject area, along with your own observations or conjectures.
1. Read as much as you can
The answer to how to identify research questions lies in reading the right material and reading extensively. Reading regularly is the most basic way to find a good research question. Keep up to date with recent advancements and identify critical issues or unsolved problems. You could begin with popular science articles and blogs and, if something catches your interest, look up those topics in journals specializing in them.
Do not miss out on review papers and meta-analyses on your chosen subject area; they are very helpful in discovering hot topics and unanswered questions.
2. Refine your literature search
If you want to know how to identify the research problem and find an original or unique question in your field, perform an extensive literature search to identify gaps in research that have remained unaddressed. The best way to identify research questions is to conduct both forward and backward literature searches, i.e., look through the reference lists of relevant articles, as well as the papers that have cited them.
When you generate research questions, avoid relying only on a few search engines and databases. Use a combination of databases and generalist and specialist search engines. This makes the journey of identifying research questions easier.
If you’re wondering how to identify research questions in an article, extensive and relevant reading is the key. Given the importance of literature searching and reading, R Discovery could be your perfect companion. R Discovery is a literature discovery app that lets you identify and read the most relevant academic research papers from top journals and publishers, covering all major disciplines in the arts and sciences. You can even access the latest preprints, which bring to light the latest research before it is published. This tool allows you to survey highlights and summaries of papers; once you hit upon something exciting, you can read the full version.
3. Define your keywords
Selecting effective keywords are important for a targeted literature search. Identify the key concepts in the topic(s) you are considering. From these, tease out some important keywords, and be sure to include synonyms or alternative phrasing when using search engines or academic databases. This will help to generate good research questions.
When you feed in key terms in the R Discovery literature search tool, it “deep-dives” into the topics and shows up articles that you can sort by recency or relevance and then choose to read in full. Based on your search history, the app even offers a personalized feed. Such customized research reading can make the process of generating research questions much easier.
4. Frame the research question
You have now understood how to find research questions, but do you know how to frame them? Framing the question properly is as important as knowing how to identify research questions. Create lists, thought bubbles, or mind maps to help you do some brainstorming till you hit on a good research question. List ideas from general to specific and from broad to narrow.
Knowing the current status of the topic, including what is known and what is not, will help you refine the original problem statement to a defined and more specific version.
Putting it all together
A good research question is compelling and timely. To generate research questions that can ensure publication success, it is important to stay up to date with the latest in your field and allied fields, as well as generalist and specialist topics. Efficient literature discovery serves as the perfect springboard to jumpstart your foray into an exciting and rewarding research journey.
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