Write a Research Question

The following example shows the development of a refined research question in the natural sciences, moving from topic to problem to gap to refining questions.

1. Define your topic

Broad Topic: feline dental health

• Category: domestic cat
• Time: Cats over the age of seven years
• Location: Indoor cats
• Issue: Gingivitis

Specific Topic: Gingivitis in older adult indoor cats

2. Focus on a specific problem

• As cats age, their dental health typically declines.
• Poor dental health can lead to gingivitis and other diseases.
• Cats with gingivitis may experience pain while eating and may not eat enough to meet their nutritional needs.

3. Identify the gap

• The research is incomplete in assessing feline dental health because most research focuses only on canine dental health.
• The existing literature has failed to address the effectiveness of nutritional interventions for feline dental health.
• Researchers disagree about the severity of the consequences of poor feline dental health.

4. Formulate potential research questions

• What are some of the causes of gingivitis in cats?
• Why do indoor cats experience higher rates of gingivitis than outdoor cats?
• When do cats experience gingivitis?
• Where are rates of gingivitis in cats highest?
• How can we reduce the risk of gingivitis in cats?
• What nutritional interventions and supplements can reduce the risk of gingivitis in older adult cats?

5. Draft main research question

• How can we reduce the risk of gingivitis in cats?

6. Refine your research question

• How does administration of nutritional supplement X impact the risk of gingivitis for older adult cats?

The following are examples of this refined research question written in different ways for different disciplinary expectations.

Purpose Statement:

• The purpose of this research is to evaluate the impact of nutritional supplement X on the risk of gingivitis for older adult cats.

Hypothesis:

• Providing older adult cats with nutritional supplement X will reduce their risk of developing gingivitis.

The following example shows the development of a refined research question in the social sciences.

1. Define your topic

Broad Topic: recycling practices

• Category: Young Adults
• Time: Living independently between the ages of 18 and 25
• Location: Guelph, Ontario
• Issue: Knowledge of recycling practices

Specific Topic: Factors that affect young adults’ knowledge of local recycling practices in Guelph, Ontario

2. Focus on a specific problem

Limited knowledge of local recycling practices leads to people misplacing items in waste, recycling, and organic bins, which contributes to the generation of more waste.

3. Identify the gap in research

Although researchers have extensively studied the recycling practices of families in Guelph, they have not explored the factors that affect knowledge of recycling practices for young adults living independently for the first time.

4. Formulate potential research questions

• Do young adults learn about local recycling practices?
• How do young adults learn about local recycling practices?
• How do young adults make decisions about which items go into waste, recycling, and organic bins?
• Why do young adults place materials in incorrect bins?
• What factors influence people’s success in placing items in the correct bins?
• Would the creation of recycling applications for phones improve knowledge of what materials can be recycled?

5. Draft your main research question

• How do people acquire knowledge of recycling practices?

6. Refine your research question

• How do young adults living independently for the first time acquire knowledge of local recycling practices?

The following are examples of this refined research question written in different ways for different disciplinary expectations.

Purpose Statement:

• The purpose of this study is to examine how young adults living independently for the first time acquire knowledge of local recycling practices.

Aims/Objectives:

• Examine different ways that local recycling practices are shared with the public
• Identify the factors that contribute to young adults’ knowledge of local recycling practices in Guelph, Ontario
• Develop strategies for improving young adults’ knowledge of local recycling practices

Subsidiary Research Question

• Do young adults from Guelph have greater familiarity with local recycling practices than young adults moving to Guelph for the first time?

The following example shows the development of a refined research question in engineering.

1. Define your topic

Broad topic: copper mining practices in Canada

• Category: copper mining
• Time: speed of ventilation
• Location: intake manifold
• Issue: costly and inefficient mine ventilation systems

Specific topic: optimization of ventilation technologies in copper mining practices

2. Focus on a specific problem

While current ventilation systems in copper mines decrease health-related issues, these systems are costly and inefficient.

3. Identify the gap in research

While existing research has focused on cost effective improvements to ventilation systems in factory settings, little research has addressed the speed of ventilation within the intake manifold systems in copper mines.

4. Formulate potential research questions

• What system modifications would allow for affordable remediation of existing ventilation systems in mines?
• What cost-effective materials could be used to improve existing ventilation systems?
• How does intake manifold design impact ventilation speed?

5. Draft your main research question

• How can we improve efficiency in the intake manifold for copper mine ventilation?

6. Refine your research question

• How can complex ventilation systems in factories provide a model for improving efficiencies in the intake manifold for copper mine ventilation?

The following are examples of this refined research question written in different ways for different disciplinary expectations.

Purpose Statement:

• The purpose of this research is to evaluate the ways that complex ventilation systems in factories can provide a model for improving efficiencies in the intake manifold for copper mine ventilation.

Hypothesis:

• If cost-effective materials improve existing ventilation systems in factories, these materials could replace existing technologies in copper mine intake manifolds.

Thesis Statement:

• Complex ventilation systems in factories provide three key methods for improving efficiencies in the intake manifold for copper mine ventilation.

The following example shows the development of a refined research question in the humanities.

1. Define your topic

Broad topic: novels about climate change

• Category: Science Fiction Novels
• Time: Contemporary (post-2000)
• Location: Canada
• Issue: extreme weather events

Specific topic: contemporary Canadian science fiction novels that explore extreme weather events caused by climate change

2. Focus on a specific problem

In response to extreme weather events, many science fiction novelists imagine dystopic futuristic worlds, which fail to offer a vision of hope for readers.

3. Identify the gap in research

Recent theorists have only begun to explore the ways that science fiction authors who focus on extreme weather events imagine new futures through the creation of sustainable community development.

4. Formulate potential research questions

• Which post-2000 Canadian science fiction authors explore extreme weather in their novels?
• In what ways do these authors address the impact of extreme weather on community survival and care?
• What literary and rhetorical strategies do these authors use to imagine the creation of community following extreme weather events?

5. Draft your main research question

• How do Canadian science fiction novels published between 2000 and 2020 imagine the creation of sustainable communities following extreme weather events?

6. Refine your research question

• How do Canadian science fiction authors Sarie Salbins and Jorah Gibter imagine different types of sustainable communities that arise following extreme weather events?

The following are examples of this refined research question written in different ways for different disciplinary expectations.

Thesis Statement:

• Canadian science fiction authors Sarie Salbins and Jorah Gibter subvert traditional dystopian expectations to imagine a post-nation world that offers possibilities for the creation of sustainable communities after extreme weather events.

Subsidiary Research Questions:

• What do sustainable communities look like in these novels?
• What forms of hope do these communities offer the reader?