“Why do we ask the questions we ask?” 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 often discursive.

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You may have several research questions and distinguish between the primary question and secondary questions.