What Makes a Good Research Question?

Think now about the first step of the scientific method: identify a problem. You could also phrase this as “find a good question.” Basically, curiosity drives science, and good questions are the heart of research design. Identifying a strong research question is the hardest part of research for some people, but some find it the most enjoyable task and one of the easier steps of research. Having an open mind and the curiosity to let questions lead you can be helpful here.

Note that research is cyclical, and even within the steps of the method you can sometimes loop back on yourself in an iterative process. That’s not a bad thing; it just means that you can learn, grow, and adjust as you go along for many parts of the process (though not all – the systematic part of research demands that parts of the process stick closely to a preset plan – that comes much later than first asking the question, though.

Let’s work on helping you discover a question that interests you to get started. Putting some effort into finding something that really excites you now will make the process of research design more fun for yourself. If you already have something in mind, excellent! We can simply work on clarifying that question in the next few steps. If you don’t have something in mind yet, that’s completely fine. We’ll work to get your creative juices flowing before we get into the nitty-gritty.

Possible Topics

On that note, let’s talk topics, subjects, areas, or whatever you want to call it. Family science, like the rest of the behavioral and social sciences, is huge and covers a large variety of topics. Because of this, readers of this text will have an enormous variety of interests! Think about what topics you might have read about in a prior class, subjects you discuss with your family and friends, or ideas that you could spend hours thinking or reading about. Set a timer for 1 minute and write down as many possible topics of interest as you can think of.

If you’re struggling to come up with ideas, or you just want to further expand your possibilities, consider trying some of the following methods:

• Think about “what” and “why” questions you’ve had before and expand on those. For example, what are the best methods of treating marital problems? Or why are people receiving SNAP more likely to be obese?
• If you already have practice experience in an area through employment, an internship, or volunteer work, think about practice issues you noticed in the placement.
• Ask a professor, preferably one active in research, about possible topics.
• Read departmental information on research interests of the faculty. Faculty research interests vary widely, and it might surprise you what they’ve published on in the past. Most departmental websites post the curriculum vitae, or CV, of faculty which lists their publications, credentials, and interests.
• Read a research paper that interests you. The paper’s literature review or background section will provide insight into the research question the author was seeking to address with their study. Is the research incomplete, imprecise, biased, or inconsistent? As you’re reading the paper, look for what’s missing. These may be “gaps in the literature” that you might explore in your own study. The conclusion or discussion section at the end may also offer some questions for future exploration. A recent blog posting in Science (Pain, 2016) ^[2] provides several tips from researchers and graduate students on how to effectively read these papers.
• Think about papers you enjoyed researching and writing in other classes. Research is a unique class and will use the tools of social science for you to think more in depth about a topic. It will bring a new perspective that will deepen your knowledge of the topic.
• Identify and browse journals related to your research interests. Faculty and librarians can help you identify relevant journals in your field and specific areas of interest.

Now that your creativity is starting to flow and you’ve got a few possible topics in mind, let’s talk about what makes a topic useful for defining a research question. Some topics are a little easier to work with than others, maybe because there’s more to work from in terms of prior literature, maybe because something is personal to you (this can also work against you, though!), or maybe because it’s something that could have immediate and obvious impact on people’s lives. All of these are valid reasons for being interested in a topic and wanting to refine it towards a research question.

How do you feel about your topic?

Perhaps you have started with a specific population in mind, such as youth who identify as LGBTQ or visitors of a local family clinic. Perhaps you choose to start with a specific social problem, such as father involvement after divorce, or social policy or program, such as free school lunches. Alternately, maybe there are interventions that you are interested in learning more about, such as the Gottman Method or applied behavior analysis. Your motivation for choosing a topic does not have to be objective. Just because you think a policy is wrong or a group is being marginalized, for example, does not mean that your research will be biased. Instead, it means that you must understand how you feel, why you feel that way, and what would cause you to feel differently about your topic; recognizing our own feelings towards any topic we might want to research is important for being as objective as possible, as well as knowing where we might be prone to injecting our own ideas (which can be both a strength and weakness).

Start by asking yourself how you feel about your topic. Be totally honest and ask yourself whether you believe your perspective is the only valid one. Perhaps yours isn’t the only perspective, but do you believe it is the wisest one? The most practical one? How do you feel about other perspectives on this topic? If you are concerned that you may design a project to only achieve answers that you like and/or cover up findings that you do not like, then you must choose a different topic. For example, a researcher may want to find out whether there is a relationship between intelligence and political affiliation, while holding the personal bias that members of their own political party are the most intelligent. Their strong opinion would not be a problem by itself, however if they feel rage when considering the possibility that the opposing party’s members are more intelligent than those of their own party, then the topic is probably too conflicting to use for unbiased research.

It is important to note that strong feelings about a topic are not always problematic. In fact, some of the best topics to research are those that are important to us. What better way to stay motivated than to study something that you care about? You must be able to accept that people will have a different perspective than you do, and try to represent their viewpoints fairly in your research. If you feel prepared to accept all findings, even those that may be unflattering to or distinct from your personal perspective or experience, then perhaps you should intentionally study a topic about which you have strong feelings because you’ll bring a level of passion that is important for sustaining interest.

Kathleen Blee (2002) ^[3] has taken this route in her research. Blee studies hate movement participants, people whose racist ideologies she studies but does not share. You can read her accounts of this research in two of her most well-known publications, Inside Organized Racism and Women of the Klan. Blee’s research is successful because she was willing to report her findings and observations honestly, even those about which she may have strong feelings. Unlike Blee, if you conclude that you cannot accept or share with findings that you disagree with, then you should study a different topic. Knowing your own hot-button issues is an important part of self-knowledge and reflection in social work.

Family scientists and many other social scientists of use personal experience as a starting point for what topics are interesting to cover. As we’ve discussed here, personal experience can be a powerful motivator to study a topic in detail. However, researchers should also be mindful of their own mental health during the research process. Someone who has experienced a mental health crisis or traumatic event should approach researching related topics with caution. There is no need to retraumatize yourself or jeopardize your mental health for a research paper. For example, a student who has just experienced domestic violence may want to know about Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. While the student might gain some knowledge about potential treatments for domestic violence, they will likely have to read through many stories and reports about domestic violence. Unless the student’s trauma has been processed in therapy, conducting a research project on this topic may negatively impact the student’s mental health. Nevertheless, she will acquire skills in research methods that will help her understand the EMDR literature and whether to begin treatment in that modality.

Whether you feel strongly about your topic or not, you will also want to consider what you already know about it. There are many ways we know what we know. Perhaps your mother told you something is so. Perhaps it came to you in a dream. Perhaps you took a class last semester and learned something about your topic there, or you may have read something about your topic in your local newspaper or in People magazine. We discussed the strengths and weaknesses associated with some of these different sources of knowledge in Chapter 1, and we’ll talk about other sources of knowledge, such as prior research, in the next few sections. For now, take some time to think about what you know about your topic from all possible sources. Thinking about what you already know will help you identify any biases you may have, and it will help as you begin to frame a question about your topic.

“Me-search” and Research 

Generally, we don’t propose research questions on topics that have zero relevance to our own lives or work (or else why would we even be interested?). However, there’s a difference between studying something you have feelings about and studying something you have personally experienced. Sometimes, research on one’s own experiences or identity is called “me-search” – this has been used as both an insult and simply as a descriptor, but it’s worth noting that there’s both pros and cons to doing research like this.

A pro is that you’re likely highly passionate and motivated to do the research, which is useful for the long slogs of reading, writing, and thinking that good research requires. It also means that you’ll likely have tons of questions already in your mind because this is a topic you’ve probably thought about quite a bit before, and you might have insider knowledge about the experience that can help you see where prior research is lacking or can generate new directions for inquiry.

The cons are similar to those described above: you likely already have strong feelings about the topic and may find it challenging to have an open and unbiased mind as you ask questions and seek answers regarding your topic. It’s okay to have biases (we all do) as long as you openly acknowledge them, work to reduce their impact wherever possible, and remove yourself from cases where you are unable to approach a topic fairly because of your biases. Again, you also need to protect yourself and consider what parts of the topic may be too close to your heart for you to work with them safely and fairly.

What do you want to know?

Once you have a topic, begin to think about it in terms of a question. What do you really want to know about the topic? As a warm-up exercise, try dropping a possible topic idea into one of the blank spaces below. The questions may help bring your subject into sharper focus and provide you with the first important steps towards developing your topic.

1. What does ___ mean? (Definition)
2. What are the various features of ___? (Description)
3. What are the component parts of ___? (Simple analysis)
4. How is ___ made or done? (Process analysis)
5. How should ___ be made or done? (Directional analysis)
6. What is the essential function of ___? (Functional analysis)
7. What are the causes of ___? (Causal analysis)
8. What are the consequences of ___? (Causal analysis)
9. What are the types of ___? (Classification)
10. How is ___ like or unlike ___? (Comparison)
11. What is the present status of ___? (Comparison)
12. What is the significance of ___? (Interpretation)
13. What are the facts about ___? (Reportage)
14. How did ___ happen? (Narration)
15. What kind of person is ___? (Characterization/Profile)
16. What is the value of ___? (Evaluation)
17. What are the essential major points or features of ___? (Summary)
18. What case can be made for or against ___? (Persuasion)
19. What is the relationship between _____ and the outcome of ____? (Exploratory)

Take a minute right now and write down a few questions you want to answer from some of the topics you listed earlier. Even if it doesn’t seem perfect, everyone needs a place to start. Make sure your potential questions are relevant to family science. You’d be surprised how much of the world that encompasses. It’s not just research on marriage, parents, or therapy. Family science is the scientific study of families and close interpersonal relationships, so there’s a lot of room in that definition for many different kinds of questions. If you’re unsure if your topic fits the expectations of your class, be sure to talk with your professor to understand what they expect and how they can help you with your question. Your question is only a starting place, as research is an iterative process, one that is subject to constant revision.  As we progress in this textbook, you’ll learn how to refine your question and include the necessary components for proper qualitative and quantitative research questions. Your question will also likely change as you engage with the literature on your topic. You will learn new and important concepts that may shift your focus or clarify your original ideas. Trust that a strong question will emerge from this process.