Chapter Summary
Key Takeaways
Formulating a research question is more than just asking any old question! In this chapter, you learned about the various approaches and goals of research and how they each provide unique perspectives on your topic of interest. You also learned how to formulate an effective research question, based on your research approach and primary goals. Do you intend to generalize, or are you looking to understand cause? Do you already have a hypothesis or are you interested in seeing what’s there in the data and then formulating your theory from that? Is your goal to generate basic knowledge, or apply something from prior research? All of these questions will guide your question formulation, and then later your research decisions.
Additionally, you learned about how to choose a research topic itself. Starting with a topic you care about is important, but you also should be mindful of how close you are to the research topic and what that might mean for your ability to be objective and to work with the topic while protecting yourself. Everyone brings prior assumptions and experiences to their research, so be mindful of what yours are and how you are experiencing your research project.
