“Why do we ask the questions we ask?”  This takes one deeper into one’s particular research interests as one begins to draft a proposal or any other aspects of research.  The questions form the spine of the research process and help to guide the research inquiry.  

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During our courses we explore this using the three circles exercise, a way of uncovering the personal, social and theoretical dimensions of one’s research.  

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Drafting research questions

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The wording of a question is very important.  Firstly pay attention to the interrogative pronouns used (who, what, where, when, how).  Avoid questions that can be easily answered with a yes or no.  These are called closed-ended questions, e.g. Is smoking harmful for health?  Rather, opt for an open-ended question, e.g. To what extent is smoking harmful for health?  This gives you more room and scope to explore the different aspects of harm or benefit, whereas a close-ended question forecloses any possibility for discussion, and defies the very nature of scholarship which is discursive.

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You may have several research questions and chose to distinguish between the primary question and the secondary questions.  These sub questions would help you  achieve the broader research goals.

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