research question too narrow

Literature Reviews

• Getting Started
• Choosing a Type of Review

Developing a Research Question

Finding example literature reviews.

• Searching the Literature
• Searching Tips
• ChatGPT [beta]
• Documenting your Search
• Using Citation Managers
• Concept Mapping
• Writing the Review
• Further Resources

Goldilocker Tool

UM Librarians have developed a quick tool called Goldilocker  to help beginners who are struggling to refine their Research Question. 

DEVELOPING A RESEARCH QUESTION

Before searching for sources, you need to formulate a Research Question — this is what you are trying to answer using the existing academic literature. The Research Question pinpoints the focus of the review .

Your first step involves choosing, exploring, and focusing a topic. At this stage you might discover that you need to tweak your topic or the scope of your research as you learn more about the topic in the literature.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND: 

• The question must be "researchable" — it can be answered with accessible facts and data
• Questions often start with How, Why, What, Which
• The question opens the door for other areas of inquiry — it identifies a gap in existing research
• Questions should be open-ended and focus on cause and effect

TRY TO AVOID: 

• Simple yes/no questions, or questions with an easy answer (what is the radius of the moon?)
• Questions that can only be answered by an opinion (does it smell nice when it rains?)
• Questions that involve secret information (what is the recipe for Coca-Cola?)
• Questions that are too broad or too narrow

REFINING YOUR RESEARCH QUESTION

Two examples of refining research questions that could be considered either too broad or too narrow.

USING DATABASE FILTER TOOLS

It can be helpful to read existing literature reviews on your topic to get an idea of major themes, how authors structure their arguments, or what reviews look like in your discipline.

DOCUMENT TYPE FILTERS

Many library databases have the option to highlight just Review Articles after you perform a search. Filters above show what the Document Type filter looks like, with a "Review" option. These examples are from Scopus and ProQuest. The "Review" filter here refers to free-standing, comprehensive Review Articles on a topic, as opposed to a shorter literature review inside a scholarly article.

LIT REVIEWS INSIDE ARTICLES

It is also worth taking a look at the shorter literature reviews inside scholarly articles. These can sometimes be called "Background" or "Background Literature." Look for a section typically following the Introduction that covers the history or gives context on the paper's topic.

EXAMPLE REVIEW ARTICLES

Here are a few examples of Review Articles in different disciplines. Note sometimes an article can be a Review Article without the word "review" in the title.

HUMANITIES — Art — " Art and Crime: Conceptualising Graffiti in the City " from the journal Geography Compass

SCIENCES — Climate Change — " Mercury Isotopes in Earth and Environmental Sciences " from the journal  Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences

SOCIAL SCIENCES — Psychology — " Structural Competency and the Future of Firearm Research " from the journal Social Science & Medicine

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• Last Updated: Feb 29, 2024 10:31 AM
• URL: https://guides.lib.umich.edu/litreview

Literature Searching

Characteristics of a good research question

The first step in a literature search is to construct a well-defined question.  This helps in ensuring a comprehensive and efficient search of the available literature for relevant publications on your topic.  The well-constructed research question provides guidance for determining search terms and search strategy parameters.

A good or well-constructed research question is:

• Original and of interest to the researcher and the outside world
• It is clear and focused: it provides enough specifics that it is easy to understand its purpose and it is narrow enough that it can be answered. If the question is too broad it may not be possible to answer it thoroughly. If it is too narrow you may not find enough resources or information to develop a strong argument or research hypothesis.  
• The question concept is researchable in terms of time and access to a suitable amount of quality research resources.
• It is analytical rather than descriptive.  The research question should allow you to produce an analysis of an issue or problem rather than a simple description of it.  In other words, it is not answerable with a simple “yes” or “no” but requires a synthesis and analysis of ideas and sources.
• The results are potentially important and may change current ideas and/or practice
• And there is the potential to develop further projects with similar themes

The question you ask should be developed for the discipline you are studying. A question appropriate for Physical Therapy, for instance, is different from an appropriate one in Sociology, Political Science or Microbiology .

The well-constructed question provides guidance for determining search terms and search strategy parameters. The process of developing a good question to research involves taking your topic and breaking each aspect of it down into its component parts. 

One well-established way that can be used both for creating research questions and developing strategies is known as PICO(T). The PICO framework was designed primarily for questions that include clinical interventions and comparisons, however other types of questions may also be able to follow its principles.  If the PICO framework does not precisely fit your question, using its principles can help you to think about what you want to explore even if you do not end up with a true PICO question.

References/Additional Resources

Fandino W. (2019). Formulating a good research question: Pearls and pitfalls.   Indian journal of anaesthesia ,  63 (8), 611–616. 

Vandenbroucke, J. P., & Pearce, N. (2018). From ideas to studies: how to get ideas and sharpen them into research questions .  Clinical epidemiology ,  10 , 253–264.

Ratan, S. K., Anand, T., & Ratan, J. (2019). Formulation of Research Question - Stepwise Approach .  Journal of Indian Association of Pediatric Surgeons ,  24 (1), 15–20.

Lipowski, E.E. (2008). Developing great research questions. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 65(17) , 1667–1670.

FINER Criteria

Another set of criteria for developing a research question was proposed by Hulley (2013) and is known as the FINER criteria. 

FINER stands for:

Feasible – Writing a feasible research question means that it CAN be answered under objective aspects like time, scope, resources, expertise, or funding. Good questions must be amenable to the formulation of clear hypotheses.

Interesting – The question or topic should be of interest to the researcher and the outside world. It should have a clinical and/or educational significance – the “so what?” factor. 

Novel – In scientific literature, novelty defines itself by being an answer to an existing gap in knowledge. Filling one of these gaps is highly rewarding for any researcher as it may represent a real difference in peoples’ lives.

Good research leads to new information. An investigation which simply reiterates what is previously proven is not worth the effort and cost. A question doesn’t have to be completely original. It may ask whether an earlier observation could be replicated, whether the results in one population also apply to others, or whether enhanced measurement methods can make clear the relationship between two variables.  

Ethical – In empirical research, ethics is an absolute MUST. Make sure that safety and confidentiality measures are addressed, and according to the necessary IRB protocols.

Relevant – An idea that is considered relevant in the healthcare community has better chances to be discussed upon by a larger number of researchers and recognized experts, leading to innovation and rapid information dissemination.

The results could potentially be important and may change current ideas and/or practice.

Cummings, S.R., Browner, W.S., & Hulley, S.B. (2013). Conceiving the research question and developing the study plan. In: Designing clinical research (Hulley, S. R. Cummings, W. S. Browner, D. Grady, & T. B. Newman, Eds.; Fourth edition.). Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Pp. 14-22.    

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Research Question 101 📖

Everything you need to know to write a high-quality research question

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) | Reviewed By: Dr. Eunice Rautenbach | October 2023

If you’ve landed on this page, you’re probably asking yourself, “ What is a research question? ”. Well, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we’ll explain what a research question is , how it’s differen t from a research aim, and how to craft a high-quality research question that sets you up for success.

Research Question 101

What is a research question.

• Research questions vs research aims
• The 4 types of research questions
• How to write a research question
• Frequently asked questions
• Examples of research questions

As the name suggests, the research question is the core question (or set of questions) that your study will (attempt to) answer .

In many ways, a research question is akin to a target in archery . Without a clear target, you won’t know where to concentrate your efforts and focus. Essentially, your research question acts as the guiding light throughout your project and informs every choice you make along the way.

Let’s look at some examples:

What impact does social media usage have on the mental health of teenagers in New York?

How does the introduction of a minimum wage affect employment levels in small businesses in outer London?

How does the portrayal of women in 19th-century American literature reflect the societal attitudes of the time?

What are the long-term effects of intermittent fasting on heart health in adults?

As you can see in these examples, research questions are clear, specific questions that can be feasibly answered within a study. These are important attributes and we’ll discuss each of them in more detail a little later . If you’d like to see more examples of research questions, you can find our RQ mega-list here .

Research Questions vs Research Aims

At this point, you might be asking yourself, “ How is a research question different from a research aim? ”. Within any given study, the research aim and research question (or questions) are tightly intertwined , but they are separate things . Let’s unpack that a little.

A research aim is typically broader in nature and outlines what you hope to achieve with your research. It doesn’t ask a specific question but rather gives a summary of what you intend to explore.

The research question, on the other hand, is much more focused . It’s the specific query you’re setting out to answer. It narrows down the research aim into a detailed, researchable question that will guide your study’s methods and analysis.

Let’s look at an example:

Research Aim: To explore the effects of climate change on marine life in Southern Africa.

Research Question: How does ocean acidification caused by climate change affect the reproduction rates of coral reefs?

As you can see, the research aim gives you a general focus , while the research question details exactly what you want to find out.

Need a helping hand?

Types of research questions

Now that we’ve defined what a research question is, let’s look at the different types of research questions that you might come across. Broadly speaking, there are (at least) four different types of research questions – descriptive , comparative , relational , and explanatory . 

Descriptive questions ask what is happening. In other words, they seek to describe a phenomena or situation . An example of a descriptive research question could be something like “What types of exercise do high-performing UK executives engage in?”. This would likely be a bit too basic to form an interesting study, but as you can see, the research question is just focused on the what – in other words, it just describes the situation.

Comparative research questions , on the other hand, look to understand the way in which two or more things differ , or how they’re similar. An example of a comparative research question might be something like “How do exercise preferences vary between middle-aged men across three American cities?”. As you can see, this question seeks to compare the differences (or similarities) in behaviour between different groups.

Next up, we’ve got exploratory research questions , which ask why or how is something happening. While the other types of questions we looked at focused on the what, exploratory research questions are interested in the why and how . As an example, an exploratory research question might ask something like “Why have bee populations declined in Germany over the last 5 years?”. As you can, this question is aimed squarely at the why, rather than the what.

Last but not least, we have relational research questions . As the name suggests, these types of research questions seek to explore the relationships between variables . Here, an example could be something like “What is the relationship between X and Y” or “Does A have an impact on B”. As you can see, these types of research questions are interested in understanding how constructs or variables are connected , and perhaps, whether one thing causes another.

Of course, depending on how fine-grained you want to get, you can argue that there are many more types of research questions , but these four categories give you a broad idea of the different flavours that exist out there. It’s also worth pointing out that a research question doesn’t need to fit perfectly into one category – in many cases, a research question might overlap into more than just one category and that’s okay.

The key takeaway here is that research questions can take many different forms , and it’s useful to understand the nature of your research question so that you can align your research methodology accordingly.

How To Write A Research Question

As we alluded earlier, a well-crafted research question needs to possess very specific attributes, including focus , clarity and feasibility . But that’s not all – a rock-solid research question also needs to be rooted and aligned . Let’s look at each of these.

A strong research question typically has a single focus. So, don’t try to cram multiple questions into one research question; rather split them up into separate questions (or even subquestions), each with their own specific focus. As a rule of thumb, narrow beats broad when it comes to research questions.

Clear and specific

A good research question is clear and specific, not vague and broad. State clearly exactly what you want to find out so that any reader can quickly understand what you’re looking to achieve with your study. Along the same vein, try to avoid using bulky language and jargon – aim for clarity.

Unfortunately, even a super tantalising and thought-provoking research question has little value if you cannot feasibly answer it. So, think about the methodological implications of your research question while you’re crafting it. Most importantly, make sure that you know exactly what data you’ll need (primary or secondary) and how you’ll analyse that data.

A good research question (and a research topic, more broadly) should be rooted in a clear research gap and research problem . Without a well-defined research gap, you risk wasting your effort pursuing a question that’s already been adequately answered (and agreed upon) by the research community. A well-argued research gap lays at the heart of a valuable study, so make sure you have your gap clearly articulated and that your research question directly links to it.

As we mentioned earlier, your research aim and research question are (or at least, should be) tightly linked. So, make sure that your research question (or set of questions) aligns with your research aim . If not, you’ll need to revise one of the two to achieve this.

FAQ: Research Questions

Research question faqs, how many research questions should i have, what should i avoid when writing a research question, can a research question be a statement.

Typically, a research question is phrased as a question, not a statement. A question clearly indicates what you’re setting out to discover.

Can a research question be too broad or too narrow?

Yes. A question that’s too broad makes your research unfocused, while a question that’s too narrow limits the scope of your study.

Here’s an example of a research question that’s too broad:

“Why is mental health important?”

Conversely, here’s an example of a research question that’s likely too narrow:

“What is the impact of sleep deprivation on the exam scores of 19-year-old males in London studying maths at The Open University?”

Can I change my research question during the research process?

How do i know if my research question is good.

A good research question is focused, specific, practical, rooted in a research gap, and aligned with the research aim. If your question meets these criteria, it’s likely a strong question.

Is a research question similar to a hypothesis?

Not quite. A hypothesis is a testable statement that predicts an outcome, while a research question is a query that you’re trying to answer through your study. Naturally, there can be linkages between a study’s research questions and hypothesis, but they serve different functions.

How are research questions and research objectives related?

The research question is a focused and specific query that your study aims to answer. It’s the central issue you’re investigating. The research objective, on the other hand, outlines the steps you’ll take to answer your research question. Research objectives are often more action-oriented and can be broken down into smaller tasks that guide your research process. In a sense, they’re something of a roadmap that helps you answer your research question.

Need some inspiration?

If you’d like to see more examples of research questions, check out our research question mega list here .  Alternatively, if you’d like 1-on-1 help developing a high-quality research question, consider our private coaching service .

Psst... there’s more!

This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

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Home » Research Questions – Types, Examples and Writing Guide

Research Questions – Types, Examples and Writing Guide

Table of Contents

Research Questions

Definition:

Research questions are the specific questions that guide a research study or inquiry. These questions help to define the scope of the research and provide a clear focus for the study. Research questions are usually developed at the beginning of a research project and are designed to address a particular research problem or objective.

Types of Research Questions

Types of Research Questions are as follows:

Descriptive Research Questions

These aim to describe a particular phenomenon, group, or situation. For example:

• What are the characteristics of the target population?
• What is the prevalence of a particular disease in a specific region?

Exploratory Research Questions

These aim to explore a new area of research or generate new ideas or hypotheses. For example:

• What are the potential causes of a particular phenomenon?
• What are the possible outcomes of a specific intervention?

Explanatory Research Questions

These aim to understand the relationship between two or more variables or to explain why a particular phenomenon occurs. For example:

• What is the effect of a specific drug on the symptoms of a particular disease?
• What are the factors that contribute to employee turnover in a particular industry?

Predictive Research Questions

These aim to predict a future outcome or trend based on existing data or trends. For example :

• What will be the future demand for a particular product or service?
• What will be the future prevalence of a particular disease?

Evaluative Research Questions

These aim to evaluate the effectiveness of a particular intervention or program. For example:

• What is the impact of a specific educational program on student learning outcomes?
• What is the effectiveness of a particular policy or program in achieving its intended goals?

How to Choose Research Questions

Choosing research questions is an essential part of the research process and involves careful consideration of the research problem, objectives, and design. Here are some steps to consider when choosing research questions:

• Identify the research problem: Start by identifying the problem or issue that you want to study. This could be a gap in the literature, a social or economic issue, or a practical problem that needs to be addressed.
• Conduct a literature review: Conducting a literature review can help you identify existing research in your area of interest and can help you formulate research questions that address gaps or limitations in the existing literature.
• Define the research objectives : Clearly define the objectives of your research. What do you want to achieve with your study? What specific questions do you want to answer?
• Consider the research design : Consider the research design that you plan to use. This will help you determine the appropriate types of research questions to ask. For example, if you plan to use a qualitative approach, you may want to focus on exploratory or descriptive research questions.
• Ensure that the research questions are clear and answerable: Your research questions should be clear and specific, and should be answerable with the data that you plan to collect. Avoid asking questions that are too broad or vague.
• Get feedback : Get feedback from your supervisor, colleagues, or peers to ensure that your research questions are relevant, feasible, and meaningful.

How to Write Research Questions

Guide for Writing Research Questions:

• Start with a clear statement of the research problem: Begin by stating the problem or issue that your research aims to address. This will help you to formulate focused research questions.
• Use clear language : Write your research questions in clear and concise language that is easy to understand. Avoid using jargon or technical terms that may be unfamiliar to your readers.
• Be specific: Your research questions should be specific and focused. Avoid broad questions that are difficult to answer. For example, instead of asking “What is the impact of climate change on the environment?” ask “What are the effects of rising sea levels on coastal ecosystems?”
• Use appropriate question types: Choose the appropriate question types based on the research design and objectives. For example, if you are conducting a qualitative study, you may want to use open-ended questions that allow participants to provide detailed responses.
• Consider the feasibility of your questions : Ensure that your research questions are feasible and can be answered with the resources available. Consider the data sources and methods of data collection when writing your questions.
• Seek feedback: Get feedback from your supervisor, colleagues, or peers to ensure that your research questions are relevant, appropriate, and meaningful.

Examples of Research Questions

Some Examples of Research Questions with Research Titles:

Research Title: The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health

• Research Question : What is the relationship between social media use and mental health, and how does this impact individuals’ well-being?

Research Title: Factors Influencing Academic Success in High School

• Research Question: What are the primary factors that influence academic success in high school, and how do they contribute to student achievement?

Research Title: The Effects of Exercise on Physical and Mental Health

• Research Question: What is the relationship between exercise and physical and mental health, and how can exercise be used as a tool to improve overall well-being?

Research Title: Understanding the Factors that Influence Consumer Purchasing Decisions

• Research Question : What are the key factors that influence consumer purchasing decisions, and how do these factors vary across different demographics and products?

Research Title: The Impact of Technology on Communication

• Research Question : How has technology impacted communication patterns, and what are the effects of these changes on interpersonal relationships and society as a whole?

Research Title: Investigating the Relationship between Parenting Styles and Child Development

• Research Question: What is the relationship between different parenting styles and child development outcomes, and how do these outcomes vary across different ages and developmental stages?

Research Title: The Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in Treating Anxiety Disorders

• Research Question: How effective is cognitive-behavioral therapy in treating anxiety disorders, and what factors contribute to its success or failure in different patients?

Research Title: The Impact of Climate Change on Biodiversity

• Research Question : How is climate change affecting global biodiversity, and what can be done to mitigate the negative effects on natural ecosystems?

Research Title: Exploring the Relationship between Cultural Diversity and Workplace Productivity

• Research Question : How does cultural diversity impact workplace productivity, and what strategies can be employed to maximize the benefits of a diverse workforce?

Research Title: The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

• Research Question: How can artificial intelligence be leveraged to improve healthcare outcomes, and what are the potential risks and ethical concerns associated with its use?

Applications of Research Questions

Here are some of the key applications of research questions:

• Defining the scope of the study : Research questions help researchers to narrow down the scope of their study and identify the specific issues they want to investigate.
• Developing hypotheses: Research questions often lead to the development of hypotheses, which are testable predictions about the relationship between variables. Hypotheses provide a clear and focused direction for the study.
• Designing the study : Research questions guide the design of the study, including the selection of participants, the collection of data, and the analysis of results.
• Collecting data : Research questions inform the selection of appropriate methods for collecting data, such as surveys, interviews, or experiments.
• Analyzing data : Research questions guide the analysis of data, including the selection of appropriate statistical tests and the interpretation of results.
• Communicating results : Research questions help researchers to communicate the results of their study in a clear and concise manner. The research questions provide a framework for discussing the findings and drawing conclusions.

Characteristics of Research Questions

Characteristics of Research Questions are as follows:

• Clear and Specific : A good research question should be clear and specific. It should clearly state what the research is trying to investigate and what kind of data is required.
• Relevant : The research question should be relevant to the study and should address a current issue or problem in the field of research.
• Testable : The research question should be testable through empirical evidence. It should be possible to collect data to answer the research question.
• Concise : The research question should be concise and focused. It should not be too broad or too narrow.
• Feasible : The research question should be feasible to answer within the constraints of the research design, time frame, and available resources.
• Original : The research question should be original and should contribute to the existing knowledge in the field of research.
• Significant : The research question should have significance and importance to the field of research. It should have the potential to provide new insights and knowledge to the field.
• Ethical : The research question should be ethical and should not cause harm to any individuals or groups involved in the study.

Purpose of Research Questions

Research questions are the foundation of any research study as they guide the research process and provide a clear direction to the researcher. The purpose of research questions is to identify the scope and boundaries of the study, and to establish the goals and objectives of the research.

The main purpose of research questions is to help the researcher to focus on the specific area or problem that needs to be investigated. They enable the researcher to develop a research design, select the appropriate methods and tools for data collection and analysis, and to organize the results in a meaningful way.

Research questions also help to establish the relevance and significance of the study. They define the research problem, and determine the research methodology that will be used to address the problem. Research questions also help to determine the type of data that will be collected, and how it will be analyzed and interpreted.

Finally, research questions provide a framework for evaluating the results of the research. They help to establish the validity and reliability of the data, and provide a basis for drawing conclusions and making recommendations based on the findings of the study.

Advantages of Research Questions

There are several advantages of research questions in the research process, including:

• Focus : Research questions help to focus the research by providing a clear direction for the study. They define the specific area of investigation and provide a framework for the research design.
• Clarity : Research questions help to clarify the purpose and objectives of the study, which can make it easier for the researcher to communicate the research aims to others.
• Relevance : Research questions help to ensure that the study is relevant and meaningful. By asking relevant and important questions, the researcher can ensure that the study will contribute to the existing body of knowledge and address important issues.
• Consistency : Research questions help to ensure consistency in the research process by providing a framework for the development of the research design, data collection, and analysis.
• Measurability : Research questions help to ensure that the study is measurable by defining the specific variables and outcomes that will be measured.
• Replication : Research questions help to ensure that the study can be replicated by providing a clear and detailed description of the research aims, methods, and outcomes. This makes it easier for other researchers to replicate the study and verify the results.

Limitations of Research Questions

Limitations of Research Questions are as follows:

• Subjectivity : Research questions are often subjective and can be influenced by personal biases and perspectives of the researcher. This can lead to a limited understanding of the research problem and may affect the validity and reliability of the study.
• Inadequate scope : Research questions that are too narrow in scope may limit the breadth of the study, while questions that are too broad may make it difficult to focus on specific research objectives.
• Unanswerable questions : Some research questions may not be answerable due to the lack of available data or limitations in research methods. In such cases, the research question may need to be rephrased or modified to make it more answerable.
• Lack of clarity : Research questions that are poorly worded or ambiguous can lead to confusion and misinterpretation. This can result in incomplete or inaccurate data, which may compromise the validity of the study.
• Difficulty in measuring variables : Some research questions may involve variables that are difficult to measure or quantify, making it challenging to draw meaningful conclusions from the data.
• Lack of generalizability: Research questions that are too specific or limited in scope may not be generalizable to other contexts or populations. This can limit the applicability of the study’s findings and restrict its broader implications.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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Research Foundations: Refine Your Topic

• Information Literacy
• The Information Timeline
• Popular, Scholarly, & Trade Publications
• Primary, Secondary, & Tertiary Materials
• Information Formats
• Evaluate Information
• Chapter 1 Self Quiz
• The Pre-Research Process
• Decide on a Topic
• Find Background Information
• Refine Your Topic
• Develop a Thesis Statement
• Choose Keywords
• Create Search Statements
• Chapter 2 Self Quiz
• Search the Library Catalog
• Call Numbers
• Request Books
• Book Research Streamlined
• Viewing eBooks
• Access Media
• Chapter 3 Self Quiz
• About Library Databases
• Find Articles in Databases
• Modify Your Search
• Reading Scholarly Articles
• Chapter 4 Self Quiz
• Citation Styles
• Locate Citation Information
• Copyright & Fair Use
• Creative Commons
• Find & Attribute Images
• Chapter 5 Self Quiz

Too Narrow, Too Broad, or Just Right?

Performing background research may reveal that your topic or research question is too broad (large) in focus or too narrow (small) in focus. You may have found too many or too few results to meet your information needs or assignment requirements. For example, a topic like "race horses" will be too broad and return many results and potential areas for research. In contrast, a topic like "race horse cardiovascular injuries on synthetic surfaces" will be too narrow to find substantial research.

If you suspect your topic or research question is too narrow or too broad, proceed to the next sections for tips on how to fix these issues.

Narrow Your Topic

If you returned too many results, it can be helfpul to narrow the focus of your research.

Here are some techniques to help narrow your topic.

Broaden Your Topic

Your topic or research question could potentially be too narrow or specific to find enough information. Since most topics involve multiple aspects and different contexts, you may need to broaden your topic to find acceptable resources. When expanding your topic, make sure it still reflects the same main idea.

Here are some techniques to help broaden your topic.

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• Next: Develop a Thesis Statement >>
• Last Updated: May 25, 2023 9:24 AM
• URL: https://libguides.seminolestate.edu/researchfoundations

Research: From selecting a topic to writing the bibliography

• Selecting a Topic
• Developing a Research Question
• What Type of Source Do I Need?
• Selecting the Best Place to Search
• Search Like a Pro
• Evaluating Information

Research Questions Worth Asking

This video from the UMD, Global Campus gives a good introduction to research questions.

What is a research question?

Once you have selected a topic, you need to develop a research question. You may be used to working with a thesis statement, but a thesis statement is an answer. If you start your research with an answer, you might miss something important or your paper might be too one-sided. Starting with a question allows you to explore your topic while still having it clearly defined. 

A good research question is specific and focused.

Topic : Netflix

Research Question : How has the rise of streaming television changed the nature of advertising during television shows?

Topic : the environmental impact of fracking

Research Question : What are some of the most effective ways of protecting local ground water from the waste water produced by fracking?

Tip: Beware of research questions that are too broad or too narrow.

Too Broad:  Why is reality television so popular?

Too Narrow:  What are the economic and social consequences of the popularity of Jersey Shore on the lives of teenagers living in Omaha, Nebraska? 

Tip: be willing to tweak your research question as you go.

Research Question:  How has the rise of streaming television changed the nature of advertising during television shows?

Potential Research Finding:  Advertising during television hasn't changed much recently.

New Research Question:  Why has advertising on television been able to remain the same when how we watch television has changed so much?

Examples of Research Questions

The assignment is a 10-15 page paper relying primarily on scholarly resources.

• How is malaria treated?
• Will tablet computing replace the need for laptops?
• How much has the popularity of Harry Potter improved the reading scores of second graders in Missouri?
• At what point in time will the need for nurses in pedatric wards outpace the graduation rates from nursing schools?
• In what ways have online communities changed the nature of support systems available for people with Attention Deficit Disorder?
• How has mountaintop removal mining in western Kentucky impacted the migratory habits of the local bird population?
• << Previous: Selecting a Topic
• Next: What Type of Source Do I Need? >>
• Last Updated: Apr 12, 2024 9:57 AM
• URL: https://libguides.gwu.edu/research

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1 Narrowing a Topic

Defining your research question is a process of working from the outside in: you start with the world of all possible topics (or your assigned topic) and narrow down until you have focused your interest enough to be able to state precisely what you want to find out, instead of only what you want to “write about.”

Going through this process can be the hardest part of doing research, but once you have a question that is realistically scoped (not too broad, not too narrow) it will guide the rest of your work.

 The Process of Narrowing a Topic

ACTIVITY: Which Topic is Narrower? 

Now it’s your turn. Practice thinking about narrower topics with these 3 examples. Click the arrow to show the next question.

TIP: Use Some of the 5 WS to Help Narrow Your Topic to a Searchable Question

Your assignment is to write on the topic of higher education. You decide you want to write about the high cost of tuition, but that is still too broad.

Start by asking some or all of the following questions.

From asking these questions, you might come up with a research question like this:

“How does the high cost of tuition impact the degree completion of mature college students?”

Doing Research Copyright © 2019 by Celia Brinkerhoff is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Developing a Research Question

Midway through a semester is no time to discover that your research topic is too broad or too narrow, or that your available sources are too skimpy or too difficult to locate. A preliminary search of your broad category will provide an overview from which to begin narrowing your topic.

The process will help you identify aspects that trigger your curiosity, establish some boundaries with which to limit your inquiry and lead you to some manageable research questions. Before selecting a topic for your research project you'll want to consider its scope: you'll want to narrow it from a broad category to a specific inquiry with some well-defined boundaries.

Once you've narrowed your research topic, you can begin shaping your question. Keep in mind that your question should be debatable and interesting.

If you begin with a broad, general interest in social problems in large cities, for instance, you might ask more specifically: "What happens to teenage runaways on the streets of Manhattan?"

Or, if you started with a general interest in contemporary architecture, a specific question might be: " Who in America today is good at designing sports arenas?"

Brainstorming

Brainstorming can help you define a research question. Take fifteen or twenty minutes and let your thoughts roam-jot down the questions that come to mind-even those that seem useless. When you look over your list, you may find one or two that appear more promising than others. Remember not to edit your ideas during the brainstorming session. Save your evaluation for later.

Sizing Up the More-Promising Questions

You're looking for manageability. Which questions are narrow enough for a fruitful investigation using the library, the Internet or some field work? Many will have too wide a scope for the time constraints of a semester. Here are some examples of too wide of a scope:

• How is the climate of the earth changing?
• Why does poverty exist?
• What's going on in outer space?

Too narrow of a question will also cause problems. Avoid restricting yourself to the point where finding relevant sources becomes difficult or impossible. For example:

• How did John F. Kennedy's maternal grandfather influence the decisions he made during his first month as president?

If one or two sources will answer your question, it may not be substantial enough to bother with, either. Your paper will be too thin, a summary rather than a true research paper. Avoid questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no, or a few statistics. In the end, they just aren't interesting enough to pursue.

• Are there more black students or white students in the freshman class this year?

The question doesn't have enough meat on the bone. By focusing on something more specific regarding a significant issue, you will find more and better information. Your document will also be far more interesting to research and write. Questions regarding issues that people take seriously and about which they are more passionate inevitably lead to a livelier debate:

• What is the ratio of black students to white students on campus and how does it affect everyday student relations?

Honing Your Question

Honing your question is the final step. When your preliminary inquiry is tentatively shaped, ask yourself some questions about your question:

• Is the scope of your question appropriate: not too wide, not too narrow?
• Is it manageable within the time constraints allowed for the assignment?
• Will the answer fit the page and/or word requirements of the assignment?
• Can you find sufficient and timely information in the library?
• Will internet, websites, and field research produce more source material?
• Is your question simple enough to seek just one answer, not several?
• Is it specific enough that your audience will understand your objective?
• Will the results be interesting? Does it concern a real and debatable issue?
• Does your question really interest you? Do you honestly crave the answer?

Mangialetti, Tony, Mike Palmquist, Peter Connor. (2022). Developing a Research Question. Writing@CSU . Colorado State University. https://writing.colostate.edu/guides/guide.cfm?guideid=25

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• Library website

Evidence-Based Research: Phrasing Research Questions

The researchable question.

The first step in doing evidence-based practice research is forming a researchable question. Questions that are too broad or too narrow can make your research difficult, if not impossible.

Clinical example:

• This topic is so broad that you'd have difficulty wading through all of the results.
• This question is so specific that there probably hasn't been anything published on that specific location regarding that specific population.
• Just right : In the NICU, what is the effect of hand washing on infection control compared with hand sanitizers, over 6 months?

Non-clinical example:

• This topic is so broad that you'd have difficulty wading through all of the results.  Also the wording in the question has to be more specific (use synonyms to include all possible versions).  For instance, heart disease is better known in the literature as cardiovascular disease, so search both ways. 
• This question is so specific that there probably hasn't been anything published on that specific location regarding that specific population. It can be only be determined by accessing the electronic medical records in the hospital and finding the rate.
• This question is just right because the variable name like “cardiovascular mortality” are descriptive and reflective of what is found in the literature.  Additionally, there are some control variables included to make sure that even if each group of race had individuals with different ages or different incomes, this would not explain away the differences in cardiovascular mortality impacted by race.

PICOT and other models

PICOT is a mnemonic that helps you remember the key components of a well-focused question. It stands for:

• P = Patient, Population or Problem
• I = Intervention, Prognostic Factor, or Exposure
• C = Comparison (optional)
• O = Outcome

PICOT examples:

Intervention/therapy

In _______(P), what is the effect of _______(I) on ______(O) compared with _______(C) within ________ (T)? 

In the aged population, what is the effect of exercise programs on accidental falls, as compared with no exercise?  

Are ____ (P) who have _______ (I) at ___ (Increased/decreased) risk for/of_______ (O) compared with ______ (P) with/without ______ (C) over _____ (T)?

Are adult smokers with a history of childhood asthma at increased risk of COPD compared to adult smokers with no history of asthma?  

Diagnosis or diagnostic test

Are (is) _________ (I) more accurate in diagnosing ________ (P) compared with ______ (C) for _______ (O)? 

Is the Hemoglobin A1C test more accurate in diagnosing diabetes as compared with fasting blood sugar levels?  

For ________ (P) does the use of ______ (I) reduce the future risk of ________ (O) compared with _________ (C)? 

For people with type 2 diabetes, does zinc supplementation reduce the future risk of foot ulcers compared with placebo?  

Prognosis/Predictions 

Does __________ (I) influence ________ (O) in patients who have _______ (P) over ______ (T)? 

In adults with osteoarthritis, does low vitamin D levels in the bloodstream predict the rate of future hip fractures?  

Meaning 

How do ________ (P) diagnosed with _______ (I) perceive ______ (O) during _____ (T)? 

How do cancer patients diagnosed with alopecia perceive their self-esteem during and after chemotherapy?

Public Health:

PICO(T) is commonly used to formulate research questions, sometimes referred to as ‘PI/ECO’ (Population/participants, Intervention/Exposure, Comparison, Outcome). The PI/ECO structure can be readily amended for different question types ( NHMRC Guidelines, 2019 ). A simple example might be:   

• Population / participants: Non-institutionalized civilian residents of the United States   
• Intervention (or Exposure): Hypertension (or Low Socioeconomic Status)  
• Comparison: Respondents without hypertension   
• Outcomes: Cardiovascular disease or cardiovascular mortality   
• Types of studies: Cross-sectional, Longitudinal

Alternate Models:

• PECO  – Population | Environment | Comparison | Outcome Very similar to PICO but looking at the effect of exposure to something e.g. smoky atmosphere
• SPICE  - Setting | Population | Intervention | Comparison | Evaluation Another variant of PICO but this time including the setting (where? in what context?)
• ECLIPSE  - Expectation | Client group | Location | Impact | Professionals | Service Recommended for health policy/management searches
• SPIDER  – Sample | Phenomenon of Interest | Design | Evaluation | Research Type Developed to create effective search strategies of qualitative and mixed-methods research - more specific than PICO/PECO

Search terms

Once you've developed your question, it's time to find keywords or search terms that you can use in the Library databases to find articles relevant to your question. Remember that each article does not necessarily need to address ALL the aspects of your question.

To learn more about selecting and combining appropriate search terms, please see our guides:

• Keyword Searching: Keyword Search Strategy
• Guide: Keyword Searching: Boolean
• Previous Page: Overview
• Next Page: Levels of Evidence Pyramid
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Developing a research question

What is a good research question.

A research question is the specific issue or problem your assignment will address. A well written research question should be brief, clear and logical It should not be too broad, nor too narrow, but somewhere in between.

If the question is too broad , it can be difficult to focus your research and the assessment can quickly become unmanageable.

Example 1:  What effect does exercise have on people?

Example 2:  How can student learning be improved?  

Questions that are too narrow can be answered with yes/no and don’t require analysis of the topic. Or, they may be so specific there isn’t sufficient research available.

Example 1:  Does regular participation in an exercise program reduce the likelihood of falls in the elderly?

Example 2:  How do students in regional Victorian and inner Melbourne primary schools differ in learning new PowerPoint skills?  

Good research questions

High-quality research questions will help guide your research with a clear focus and prompt thorough analysis of the available resources.

Example 1:  How does the regular completion of balance exercises improve the quality of life in elderly residents of aged care facilities?

Example 2:  How do practical teaching activities facilitate the acquisition of new computer skills in primary school aged children?  

How to develop a good research question

1. assessment requirements.

Read the requirements of your assignment and take note of any guidelines or restrictions you will need to consider. It's important to keep in mind the size or length of the assessment. A 500-word forum post will not require as thorough an analysis as a 2000-word essay. Make sure you understand what is expected If you’re unsure, contact your tutor or lecturer for clarification.  

2. Identify the general/broad topic

Select a general/broad topic that interests you. The research process will be a much more enjoyable experience if you are genuinely interested in learning more about the topic.  

3. Initial research

Identify current/prominent issues and knowledge gaps which can assist you in developing a relevant research question. Keep notes about questions they raise or, create a concept map to visually demonstrate how specific topics are connected.  

4. Consider the scope of your topic

Focus on a specific topic you identified in the previous step. Keep in mind , if your initial research did not produce sufficient material, you may need to broaden your topic instead.  

5. Draft a research question

Draft a research question based on your topic. Considering the Who, What, When, & Where of your topic may be helpful in creating a more specific research question.

Once you have drafted a question, consider the following:

• Is my research question answerable?
• Is my research question too broad or too narrow?
• Is my research question clear?  

6. Further research/Refine research question

Conduct more focused research to find suitable information and evidence to use in your assessment. While you conduct more research, remember that your research question is not set in stone and it’s not uncommon to continue editing it during this phase.

Useful links

Recommended for Health students:

• Evidence Based Practice Learn how to convert your information needs into an answerable clinical question and how to find the best evidence.

Librarian Link

Still have questions do you want to talk to an expert librarians  are available..

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Research Tips and Tricks

• Getting Started
• Understanding the Assignment
• Topic Selection Tips

Topic Narrowing

Ways to narrow your topic, be careful, tools to help, youtube videos about narrowing a topic.

• Breaking Topic Into Keywords
• Developing A Search Strategy
• Scholarly vs Popular Sources
• What Are Primary Sources?
• Finding Scholarly Articles
• Finding Scholarly Books
• Finding Primary Sources
• Citing My Sources This link opens in a new window

Instructional Librarian

Talk to your professor

A common challenge when beginning to write a research paper is determining how to narrow down your topic. 

Even if your professor gives you a topic to study, it will seldom be specific enough that you will not have to narrow it down, at least to some degree.

A topic is too broad to be manageable when you find that you have too many different, conflicting or only remotely related ideas. 

Although you will want to start the writing process by considering a variety of different approaches to studying the research problem, you will need to narrow the focus of your investigation at some point early in the writing process - this way you don't attempt to do too much in one paper.

Here are some strategies to help narrow your topic :

Aspect  -- choose one lens through which to view the research problem, or look at just one facet of it.

• e.g., rather than studying the role of food in South Asian religious rituals, explore the role of food in Hindu ceremonies or the role of one particular type of food among several religions.

Components  -- determine if your initial variable or unit of analysis can be broken into smaller parts, which can then be analyzed more precisely. 

• e.g., a study of tobacco use among adolescents can focus on just chewing tobacco rather than all forms of usage or, rather than adolescents in general, focus on female adolescents in a specific age range who choose to use tobacco.

Methodology  -- how you gather information can reduce the domain of interpretive analysis needed to address the research problem.

• e.g., a single case study can be designed to generate data that does not require as extensive an explanation as using multiple cases.

Place  -- generally, the smaller the geographic unit of analysis, the more narrow the focus.

• e.g., rather than study trade relations in North America, study trade relations between Mexico and the United States. 

Relationship  -- ask yourself how do two or more different perspectives or variables relate to one another. Designing a study around the relationships between specific variables can help constrict the scope of analysis. 

• e.g., cause/effect, compare/contrast, contemporary/historical, group/individual, male/female, opinion/reason, problem/solution.

Time  -- the shorter the time period of the study, the more narrow the focus.

• e.g., study of relations between Russia and the United States during the Vietnam War.

Type  -- focus your topic in terms of a specific type or class of people, places, or phenomena. 

• e.g., a study of developing safer traffic patterns near schools can focus on SUVs, or just student drivers, or just the timing of traffic signals in the area.

Cause  -- focus your topic to just one cause for your topic.

• e.g., rather than writing about all the causes of WW1, just write about nationalism.

When narrowing your topic, make sure you don't narrow it too much. A topic is too narrow if you can state it in just a few words.

For example:

• How many soldiers died during the first world war?
• Who was the first President of the United States?
• Why is ocean water salty?
• Why are Pringles shaped the way they are?
• Developing a Research Topic This exercise is designed to help you develop a thoughtful topic for your research assignment, including methods for narrowing your topic.
• What Makes a Good Research Question?
• Narrowing Your topic
• Four Steps To Narrow Your Research Topic

• << Previous: Topic Selection Tips
• Next: Breaking Topic Into Keywords >>
• Last Updated: Apr 9, 2024 10:45 AM
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Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper

• Narrowing a Topic Idea
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Importance of Narrowing the Research Topic

Whether you are assigned a general issue to investigate, must choose a problem to study from a list given to you by your professor, or you have to identify your own topic to investigate, it is important that the scope of the research problem is not too broad, otherwise, it will be difficult to adequately address the topic in the space and time allowed. You could experience a number of problems if your topic is too broad, including:

• You find too many information sources and, as a consequence, it is difficult to decide what to include or exclude or what are the most relevant sources.
• You find information that is too general and, as a consequence, it is difficult to develop a clear framework for examining the research problem.
• A lack of sufficient parameters that clearly define the research problem makes it difficult to identify and apply the proper methods needed to analyze it.
• You find information that covers a wide variety of concepts or ideas that can't be integrated into one paper and, as a consequence, you trail off into unnecessary tangents.

Lloyd-Walker, Beverly and Derek Walker. "Moving from Hunches to a Research Topic: Salient Literature and Research Methods." In Designs, Methods and Practices for Research of Project Management . Beverly Pasian, editor. ( Burlington, VT: Gower Publishing, 2015 ), pp. 119-129.

Strategies for Narrowing the Research Topic

A common challenge when beginning to write a research paper is determining how and in what ways to narrow down your topic . Even if your professor gives you a specific topic to study, it will almost never be so specific that you won’t have to narrow it down at least to some degree [besides, it is very boring to grade fifty papers that are all about the exact same thing!].

A topic is too broad to be manageable when a review of the literature reveals too many different, and oftentimes conflicting or only remotely related, ideas about how to investigate the research problem. Although you will want to start the writing process by considering a variety of different approaches to studying the research problem, you will need to narrow the focus of your investigation at some point early in the writing process. This way, you don't attempt to do too much in one paper.

Here are some strategies to help narrow the thematic focus of your paper :

• Aspect -- choose one lens through which to view the research problem, or look at just one facet of it [e.g., rather than studying the role of food in South Asian religious rituals, study the role of food in Hindu marriage ceremonies, or, the role of one particular type of food among several religions].
• Components -- determine if your initial variable or unit of analysis can be broken into smaller parts, which can then be analyzed more precisely [e.g., a study of tobacco use among adolescents can focus on just chewing tobacco rather than all forms of usage or, rather than adolescents in general, focus on female adolescents in a certain age range who choose to use tobacco].
• Methodology -- the way in which you gather information can reduce the domain of interpretive analysis needed to address the research problem [e.g., a single case study can be designed to generate data that does not require as extensive an explanation as using multiple cases].
• Place -- generally, the smaller the geographic unit of analysis, the more narrow the focus [e.g., rather than study trade relations issues in West Africa, study trade relations between Niger and Cameroon as a case study that helps to explain economic problems in the region].
• Relationship -- ask yourself how do two or more different perspectives or variables relate to one another. Designing a study around the relationships between specific variables can help constrict the scope of analysis [e.g., cause/effect, compare/contrast, contemporary/historical, group/individual, child/adult, opinion/reason, problem/solution].
• Time -- the shorter the time period of the study, the more narrow the focus [e.g., restricting the study of trade relations between Niger and Cameroon to only the period of 2010 - 2020].
• Type -- focus your topic in terms of a specific type or class of people, places, or phenomena [e.g., a study of developing safer traffic patterns near schools can focus on SUVs, or just student drivers, or just the timing of traffic signals in the area].
• Combination -- use two or more of the above strategies to focus your topic more narrowly.

NOTE : Apply one of the above strategies first in designing your study to determine if that gives you a manageable research problem to investigate. You will know if the problem is manageable by reviewing the literature on your more narrowed problem and assessing whether prior research is sufficient to move forward in your study [i.e., not too much, not too little]. Be careful, however, because combining multiple strategies risks creating the opposite problem--your problem becomes too narrowly defined and you can't locate enough research or data to support your study.

Booth, Wayne C. The Craft of Research . Fourth edition. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2016; Coming Up With Your Topic. Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth College; Narrowing a Topic. Writing Center. University of Kansas; Narrowing Topics. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Strategies for Narrowing a Topic. University Libraries. Information Skills Modules. Virginia Tech University; The Process of Writing a Research Paper. Department of History. Trent University; Ways to Narrow Down a Topic. Contributing Authors. Utah State OpenCourseWare.

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Exercise 2: Is the Question Too Broad or Too Narrow?

The exercises below are designed to improve your ability to select a good research question.

For each exercise choose what you think is the best research question out of the three (neither too broad nor too narrow). 

Exercise 2A

Question a: what marketing strategies does the coca-cola company currently apply, question a is the best research question..

Your research to answer this question may include observation of print, television and radio advertisements, as well as research into various, current marketing theories and strategies. Both types of research are "do-able," and the question is focused enough to yield a fully-developed research paper.

Question B: What is the Coca-Cola company's future marketing plan?

Question b is very broad as well as being unresearchable.

It's unlikely that Coca-Cola personnel will reveal their marketing plan.

Question C: What marketing strategies has the Coca-Cola company used in the past?

Question c may be too broad as well..

"The past" covers a lot of time, especially since the Coca-Cola company was incorporated in 1919.

Exercise 2B

Question a: what impact has deregulation had on the airline industry, question a is too broad once you get into the research..

Because deregulation may have had impact on safety, costs, passenger fees, ability to comply with government regulations, and many other areas of the airline industry, there are too many facets of the question to deal with in depth in one research paper.

Question B: What percentage of commercial airline crashes was traced to negligent maintenance during the ten years immediately preceding and following deregulation?

Question b is too narrow..

It can be answered with simple percentages and cannot be developed into a full research paper.

Question C: What impact has deregulation had on commercial airline safety?

Question c is the best research question..

You may use statistics such as question B would uncover as you answer question C, which is focused enough to allow you to research the question in some depth, yet broad enough to allow you to consider the various effects of deregulation on airline safety.

Exercise 2C

Question a: do children sent to day care or preschool start kindergarten with more-developed skills, question a is too broad..

Because it focuses on all skills (language, social, small motor, large motor, etc.), you'd have to gather too much diverse information to answer question A.

Question B: Do children sent to day care or preschool start kindergarten with more highly-developed language skills?

The best research question is b..

The topic is broad enough to find more than just one or two sources, but it's limited to one focus--the development of preschool language skills.

Question C: Do children sent to day care or preschool start kindergarten with larger vocabularies?

There may or may not be enough information to answer question c..

You'd need to find more than just one or two studies if you chose to answer question C. If you find that there are enough sources dealing with vocabulary only, then you could choose to pursue question C.

Exercise 2D

Question a: what are the 14 different disease-causing genes that were discovered in 1994, question a is far too narrow to develop into a research paper..

You could answer this question in one sentence, and the question does not allow you to develop your own thoughts about the topic.

Question B: What is the importance of genetic research in our lives?

Question b is too broad..

You could write a book to discuss the importance of genetic research in our lives.

Question C: How might the discovery of a genetic basis for obesity change the way in which we treat obese persons, both medically and socially?

Question c is the best choice..

You might be asking, "How can I research something whose effect hasn't been felt yet?" You can posit what "might happen logically" in the future based on what "has happened" in the past. For example, your research may bring you to the major things thought to have caused obesity in the recent last two to three decades in order to establish a direct relationship between cause and treatment. Once you establish that direct cause-and-effect relationship, you can project similar types of relationships based on the new genetic research.

Exercise 2E

Question a: how can adult children of alcoholics interact most positively with their alcoholic parents, question a is the best choice..

It narrows the scope by focusing on only the most positive ways of interaction. It also asks you to use the research to support your own informed judgment, which you provide eventually in the final research paper, thus creating interest as well as focus.

Question B: How do adult children of alcoholics interact with their alcoholic parents?

Question b may be too broad..

At first glance, there is not much difference between questions A and B, but there is one major difference:  Question B asks for the variety of ways in which adult children of alcoholics interact with their alcoholic parents. Substantial research has identified many patterns of interaction, so this question may be too broad to deal with in the scope of one research paper.

Question C: What is the major emotional reaction of adult children of alcoholics to their alcoholic parents?

Question c may be too narrow..

It asks the researcher to identify just one major emotional reaction.

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Asking a research question.

A good research topic isn’t about the answers you find: it’s about the questions you ask. Asking the right research question can help you narrow your topic to a manageable scope for your project, find keywords to look for sources, and eventually find a more nuanced angle on your topic. How Broad is Too Broad? How Narrow is Too Narrow? We are often told to narrow our topic early in the research process. While having a narrow research question can be beneficial to making sure the scope of our research process is manageable and will create a workable thesis, we may often make these questions so narrow that we ignore other—sometimes more interesting—approaches to the topic. For example, say your initial research question is: What are the ways women are discriminated against in the workplace? Some initial reading would show that this question is way too broad, yet you may want to keep it a little broad in your initial stages of research.

On the other hand, your initial question could be too narrow, such as How long is maternity leave in New Jersey? In either case, your background reading on the topic may lead you to a specific profession (STEM fields for example), or a particular issue within the topic (maternity leave). If you are interested in gender and the workplace, you might ultimately ask a question like one of these:

• What can colleges do to recruit more women into STEM fields?
• How does the perception that women will need maternity leave at some point influence inequality in hiring practices?

These questions may lead to narrowing down even further into a specific issue, such as specific types of discrimination in STEM fields. Changing Your Research Question Throughout the Process Whether your professor gives you a question to research, or you produce your own research question, you should keep it flexible enough to allow you to change that question throughout your reading process. Your reading should help you think about different approaches to your topic. Activity: Using a Reading to Choose a Research Topic

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• I have a research assignment, where do I start?
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• How do I develop a good research question?

Too Broad, Too Narrow, or Just Right?

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Library Research 101: Too Broad, Too Narrow, or Just Right?

  BEGINNING RESEARCH

• Introduction

Adapted from Houston Community College Libraries

You want to select a topic that is neither too broad or to narrow. See if you can select topics with a "just right" scope from the options below.

Air pollution in urban areas

Respiratory diseases in children in high-density urban areas, environmental consequences of california’s october 2007 forest fires, polar bear adaptation to global warming in the arctic, renewable energy in the united states, sierra club campaign to close down 1970s-era coal plants in texas.

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• Last Updated: Nov 29, 2022 3:24 PM
• URL: https://library.uwstout.edu/lr101

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2 But Avoid Getting too Narrow

Be careful about getting too specific with your research question. Not every question that you come up with will be searchable.

For the above question about college tuition, the important questions to ask would be who? and what? Trying to find information on the impact of rising tuition in a particular city or province will be too restrictive, and the location may, in fact, be irrelevant to the search. A large-scale study across Canada or North America would likely yield relevant information that could be useful to your question.

The bottom line is, you will be working toward a balanced research question that is specific enough to guide you in your research, but not too restrictive.

ACTIVITY: Find the balanced topic

Now it’s your turn. Practice thinking about balanced topics with these 3 examples. Click the arrow to show the next question.

Doing Research Copyright © 2020 by Celia Brinkerhoff is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Research Topics: How to Select & Develop: Developing a Research Question

• Understanding the Assignment
• Choosing a Research Topic
• Refining a Research Topic
• Developing a Research Question
• Deciding What Types of Sources You Will Need
• Research Help

Source: Wilfrid Laurier University Library

• Video Transcript
• Supplemental Worksheet

List What You Already Know

Write down what you already know or don't know about the topic

List Questions that Interest You

Develop a list of relevant questions that interest you about the topic. Being interested in what you write about will make writing the paper less tedious. Use probing questions such as why? how? what if? should? Avoid questions that can be answered with yes or no.

If you're not very familiar with your general topic, do a little background reading to get an idea of the issues that relate to it. 

Narrow Your List of Questions

Narrow down your list of questions to topics that aren't too narrow or general, depending on the length requirement of your paper. You won't be able to find enough information on a question that is too specific. A very broad topic will yield way too much information to work with.

Refine Your Question

Conduct a preliminary search for information relating to your question. Use search engines, library databases, and the library catalog to be sure that there are enough resources available to you in order to research this question.

Refine your research question to give it a clear, direct focus based on your preliminary research. For example, "How did the U.S. get involved in the Vietnam War?" is better than "What role did the U.S. play in the Vietnam War?" because it is focused on a specific part of a very broad issue. You'll have an easier time writing your paper if your research questions are specific, because you'll use your research question(s) to guide you in writing a thesis for your paper.

Ask your instructor to look over your research questions to be sure you are focused in the right direction.

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• Last Updated: Jan 4, 2024 9:55 AM
• URL: https://researchguides.ben.edu/topics

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What Americans know about their government

How much do you know about the U.S. government? Take the Pew Research Center civics quiz and find out how much you know compared with the American public.

Americans’ knowledge of their government varies widely by topic. Majorities are aware of the length of Supreme Court appointments, how states’ representation in the House of Representatives is determined, which parties control the House and Senate, and one of the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Fewer Americans correctly answer questions about the filibuster, the length of a Senate term and how a presidential election is decided in the event of a tie in the Electoral College.

Before reading further, take our U.S. civic and political knowledge quiz . For full question wording and correct answers, refer to the survey topline .

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to understand what Americans know about their government. For this analysis, we surveyed 5,115 adults from June 5 to 11, 2023.

Everyone who took part in the survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology .

Here are the questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and its methodology .

Three-quarters of Americans are familiar with the length of a Supreme Court appointment. This question got the highest share of correct answers on our quiz.

A clear majority (68%) also knows how the number of representatives each state gets in the House is determined.

The public also generally knows who’s in control in Congress: 66% correctly identify which party has a majority in the House and 63% know which controls the Senate.

A smaller majority (57%) correctly identifies one of the rights the First Amendment guarantees, while half correctly answer what part of the government requires a 60% majority vote to end a filibuster.

On the other hand, fewer than half of Americans know the length of a full term of office for a U.S. senator (44%) or who chooses the president if there is a tie in the Electoral College (40%).

Partisanship and civic knowledge

Republicans and Democrats perform about equally well on these questions.

Equal shares of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents and Democrats and Democratic leaners correctly answer three questions:

• Which party is in control of the Senate
• One of the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment
• Which part of the government requires a 60% majority to end a filibuster

Among all eight items in the quiz, there is no greater than a 3 percentage point difference in the shares of Republicans and Democrats who answer correctly.

Age and civic knowledge

Older Americans are generally more likely than younger adults to answer the quiz questions correctly. For instance, 88% of adults ages 65 and older know the length of a Supreme Court appointment, compared with 62% of those ages 18 to 29.

However, older adults are somewhat less likely than younger adults to correctly answer questions about First Amendment rights and the tiebreaker for the Electoral College.

Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis , along with responses, and its methodology .

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