what is research questions about

• Research Questions: Definitions, Types + [Examples]

Research questions lie at the core of systematic investigation and this is because recording accurate research outcomes is tied to asking the right questions. Asking the right questions when conducting research can help you collect relevant and insightful information that ultimately influences your work, positively. 

The right research questions are typically easy to understand, straight to the point, and engaging. In this article, we will share tips on how to create the right research questions and also show you how to create and administer an online questionnaire with Formplus . 

What is a Research Question? 

A research question is a specific inquiry which the research seeks to provide a response to. It resides at the core of systematic investigation and it helps you to clearly define a path for the research process. 

A research question is usually the first step in any research project. Basically, it is the primary interrogation point of your research and it sets the pace for your work.  

Typically, a research question focuses on the research, determines the methodology and hypothesis, and guides all stages of inquiry, analysis, and reporting. With the right research questions, you will be able to gather useful information for your investigation. 

Types of Research Questions 

Research questions are broadly categorized into 2; that is, qualitative research questions and quantitative research questions. Qualitative and quantitative research questions can be used independently and co-dependently in line with the overall focus and objectives of your research. 

If your research aims at collecting quantifiable data , you will need to make use of quantitative research questions. On the other hand, qualitative questions help you to gather qualitative data bothering on the perceptions and observations of your research subjects. 

Qualitative Research Questions  

A qualitative research question is a type of systematic inquiry that aims at collecting qualitative data from research subjects. The aim of qualitative research questions is to gather non-statistical information pertaining to the experiences, observations, and perceptions of the research subjects in line with the objectives of the investigation. 

Types of Qualitative Research Questions  

• Ethnographic Research Questions

As the name clearly suggests, ethnographic research questions are inquiries presented in ethnographic research. Ethnographic research is a qualitative research approach that involves observing variables in their natural environments or habitats in order to arrive at objective research outcomes. 

These research questions help the researcher to gather insights into the habits, dispositions, perceptions, and behaviors of research subjects as they interact in specific environments. 

Ethnographic research questions can be used in education, business, medicine, and other fields of study, and they are very useful in contexts aimed at collecting in-depth and specific information that are peculiar to research variables. For instance, asking educational ethnographic research questions can help you understand how pedagogy affects classroom relations and behaviors. 

This type of research question can be administered physically through one-on-one interviews, naturalism (live and work), and participant observation methods. Alternatively, the researcher can ask ethnographic research questions via online surveys and questionnaires created with Formplus.  

Examples of Ethnographic Research Questions

• Why do you use this product?
• Have you noticed any side effects since you started using this drug?
• Does this product meet your needs?

• Case Studies

A case study is a qualitative research approach that involves carrying out a detailed investigation into a research subject(s) or variable(s). In the course of a case study, the researcher gathers a range of data from multiple sources of information via different data collection methods, and over a period of time. 

The aim of a case study is to analyze specific issues within definite contexts and arrive at detailed research subject analyses by asking the right questions. This research method can be explanatory, descriptive , or exploratory depending on the focus of your systematic investigation or research. 

An explanatory case study is one that seeks to gather information on the causes of real-life occurrences. This type of case study uses “how” and “why” questions in order to gather valid information about the causative factors of an event. 

Descriptive case studies are typically used in business researches, and they aim at analyzing the impact of changing market dynamics on businesses. On the other hand, exploratory case studies aim at providing answers to “who” and “what” questions using data collection tools like interviews and questionnaires. 

Some questions you can include in your case studies are: 

• Why did you choose our services?
• How has this policy affected your business output?
• What benefits have you recorded since you started using our product?

An interview is a qualitative research method that involves asking respondents a series of questions in order to gather information about a research subject. Interview questions can be close-ended or open-ended , and they prompt participants to provide valid information that is useful to the research. 

An interview may also be structured, semi-structured , or unstructured , and this further influences the types of questions they include. Structured interviews are made up of more close-ended questions because they aim at gathering quantitative data while unstructured interviews consist, primarily, of open-ended questions that allow the researcher to collect qualitative information from respondents. 

You can conduct interview research by scheduling a physical meeting with respondents, through a telephone conversation, and via digital media and video conferencing platforms like Skype and Zoom. Alternatively, you can use Formplus surveys and questionnaires for your interview. 

Examples of interview questions include: 

• What challenges did you face while using our product?
• What specific needs did our product meet?
• What would you like us to improve our service delivery?

Quantitative Research Questions

Quantitative research questions are questions that are used to gather quantifiable data from research subjects. These types of research questions are usually more specific and direct because they aim at collecting information that can be measured; that is, statistical information. 

Types of Quantitative Research Questions

• Descriptive Research Questions

Descriptive research questions are inquiries that researchers use to gather quantifiable data about the attributes and characteristics of research subjects. These types of questions primarily seek responses that reveal existing patterns in the nature of the research subjects. 

It is important to note that descriptive research questions are not concerned with the causative factors of the discovered attributes and characteristics. Rather, they focus on the “what”; that is, describing the subject of the research without paying attention to the reasons for its occurrence. 

Descriptive research questions are typically closed-ended because they aim at gathering definite and specific responses from research participants. Also, they can be used in customer experience surveys and market research to collect information about target markets and consumer behaviors. 

Descriptive Research Question Examples

• How often do you make use of our fitness application?
• How much would you be willing to pay for this product?

• Comparative Research Questions

A comparative research question is a type of quantitative research question that is used to gather information about the differences between two or more research subjects across different variables. These types of questions help the researcher to identify distinct features that mark one research subject from the other while highlighting existing similarities. 

Asking comparative research questions in market research surveys can provide insights on how your product or service matches its competitors. In addition, it can help you to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your product for a better competitive advantage.  

The 5 steps involved in the framing of comparative research questions are: 

• Choose your starting phrase
• Identify and name the dependent variable
• Identify the groups you are interested in
• Identify the appropriate adjoining text
• Write out the comparative research question

Comparative Research Question Samples 

• What are the differences between a landline telephone and a smartphone?
• What are the differences between work-from-home and on-site operations?

• Relationship-based Research Questions  

Just like the name suggests, a relationship-based research question is one that inquires into the nature of the association between two research subjects within the same demographic. These types of research questions help you to gather information pertaining to the nature of the association between two research variables. 

Relationship-based research questions are also known as correlational research questions because they seek to clearly identify the link between 2 variables. 

Read: Correlational Research Designs: Types, Examples & Methods

Examples of relationship-based research questions include: 

• What is the relationship between purchasing power and the business site?
• What is the relationship between the work environment and workforce turnover?

Examples of a Good Research Question

Since research questions lie at the core of any systematic investigations, it is important to know how to frame a good research question. The right research questions will help you to gather the most objective responses that are useful to your systematic investigation. 

A good research question is one that requires impartial responses and can be answered via existing sources of information. Also, a good research question seeks answers that actively contribute to a body of knowledge; hence, it is a question that is yet to be answered in your specific research context.

• Open-Ended Questions

 An open-ended question is a type of research question that does not restrict respondents to a set of premeditated answer options. In other words, it is a question that allows the respondent to freely express his or her perceptions and feelings towards the research subject. 

Examples of Open-ended Questions

• How do you deal with stress in the workplace?
• What is a typical day at work like for you?
• Close-ended Questions

A close-ended question is a type of survey question that restricts respondents to a set of predetermined answers such as multiple-choice questions . Close-ended questions typically require yes or no answers and are commonly used in quantitative research to gather numerical data from research participants. 

Examples of Close-ended Questions

• Did you enjoy this event?
• How likely are you to recommend our services?
• Very Likely
• Somewhat Likely
• Likert Scale Questions

A Likert scale question is a type of close-ended question that is structured as a 3-point, 5-point, or 7-point psychometric scale . This type of question is used to measure the survey respondent’s disposition towards multiple variables and it can be unipolar or bipolar in nature. 

Example of Likert Scale Questions

• How satisfied are you with our service delivery?
• Very dissatisfied
• Not satisfied
• Very satisfied
• Rating Scale Questions

A rating scale question is a type of close-ended question that seeks to associate a specific qualitative measure (rating) with the different variables in research. It is commonly used in customer experience surveys, market research surveys, employee reviews, and product evaluations. 

Example of Rating Questions

• How would you rate our service delivery?

  Examples of a Bad Research Question

Knowing what bad research questions are would help you avoid them in the course of your systematic investigation. These types of questions are usually unfocused and often result in research biases that can negatively impact the outcomes of your systematic investigation. 

• Loaded Questions

A loaded question is a question that subtly presupposes one or more unverified assumptions about the research subject or participant. This type of question typically boxes the respondent in a corner because it suggests implicit and explicit biases that prevent objective responses. 

Example of Loaded Questions

• Have you stopped smoking?
• Where did you hide the money?
• Negative Questions

A negative question is a type of question that is structured with an implicit or explicit negator. Negative questions can be misleading because they upturn the typical yes/no response order by requiring a negative answer for affirmation and an affirmative answer for negation. 

Examples of Negative Questions

• Would you mind dropping by my office later today?
• Didn’t you visit last week?
• Leading Questions  

A l eading question is a type of survey question that nudges the respondent towards an already-determined answer. It is highly suggestive in nature and typically consists of biases and unverified assumptions that point toward its premeditated responses. 

Examples of Leading Questions

• If you enjoyed this service, would you be willing to try out our other packages?
• Our product met your needs, didn’t it?

Read More: Leading Questions: Definition, Types, and Examples

How to Use Formplus as Online Research Questionnaire Tool  

With Formplus, you can create and administer your online research questionnaire easily. In the form builder, you can add different form fields to your questionnaire and edit these fields to reflect specific research questions for your systematic investigation. 

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to create an online research questionnaire with Formplus: 

• Sign in to your Formplus accoun t, then click on the “create new form” button in your dashboard to access the Form builder.

• In the form builder, add preferred form fields to your online research questionnaire by dragging and dropping them into the form. Add a title to your form in the title block. You can edit form fields by clicking on the “pencil” icon on the right corner of each form field.

• Save the form to access the customization section of the builder. Here, you can tweak the appearance of your online research questionnaire by adding background images, changing the form font, and adding your organization’s logo.

• Finally, copy your form link and share it with respondents. You can also use any of the multiple sharing options available.

Conclusion  

The success of your research starts with framing the right questions to help you collect the most valid and objective responses. Be sure to avoid bad research questions like loaded and negative questions that can be misleading and adversely affect your research data and outcomes. 

Your research questions should clearly reflect the aims and objectives of your systematic investigation while laying emphasis on specific contexts. To help you seamlessly gather responses for your research questions, you can create an online research questionnaire on Formplus.  

Connect to Formplus, Get Started Now - It's Free!

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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

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Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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Research Question Examples 🧑🏻‍🏫

Research Question Examples

• Psychology research questions
• Business research questions
• Education research questions
• Healthcare research questions
• Computer science research questions

Examples: Psychology

Let’s start by looking at some examples of research questions that you might encounter within the discipline of psychology.

How does sleep quality affect academic performance in university students?

This question is specific to a population (university students) and looks at a direct relationship between sleep and academic performance, both of which are quantifiable and measurable variables.

What factors contribute to the onset of anxiety disorders in adolescents?

The question narrows down the age group and focuses on identifying multiple contributing factors. There are various ways in which it could be approached from a methodological standpoint, including both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Do mindfulness techniques improve emotional well-being?

This is a focused research question aiming to evaluate the effectiveness of a specific intervention.

How does early childhood trauma impact adult relationships?

This research question targets a clear cause-and-effect relationship over a long timescale, making it focused but comprehensive.

Is there a correlation between screen time and depression in teenagers?

This research question focuses on an in-demand current issue and a specific demographic, allowing for a focused investigation. The key variables are clearly stated within the question and can be measured and analysed (i.e., high feasibility).

Examples: Business/Management

Next, let’s look at some examples of well-articulated research questions within the business and management realm.

How do leadership styles impact employee retention?

This is an example of a strong research question because it directly looks at the effect of one variable (leadership styles) on another (employee retention), allowing from a strongly aligned methodological approach.

What role does corporate social responsibility play in consumer choice?

Current and precise, this research question can reveal how social concerns are influencing buying behaviour by way of a qualitative exploration.

Does remote work increase or decrease productivity in tech companies?

Focused on a particular industry and a hot topic, this research question could yield timely, actionable insights that would have high practical value in the real world.

How do economic downturns affect small businesses in the homebuilding industry?

Vital for policy-making, this highly specific research question aims to uncover the challenges faced by small businesses within a certain industry.

Which employee benefits have the greatest impact on job satisfaction?

By being straightforward and specific, answering this research question could provide tangible insights to employers.

Examples: Education

Next, let’s look at some potential research questions within the education, training and development domain.

How does class size affect students’ academic performance in primary schools?

This example research question targets two clearly defined variables, which can be measured and analysed relatively easily.

Do online courses result in better retention of material than traditional courses?

Timely, specific and focused, answering this research question can help inform educational policy and personal choices about learning formats.

What impact do US public school lunches have on student health?

Targeting a specific, well-defined context, the research could lead to direct changes in public health policies.

To what degree does parental involvement improve academic outcomes in secondary education in the Midwest?

This research question focuses on a specific context (secondary education in the Midwest) and has clearly defined constructs.

What are the negative effects of standardised tests on student learning within Oklahoma primary schools?

This research question has a clear focus (negative outcomes) and is narrowed into a very specific context.

Need a helping hand?

Examples: Healthcare

Shifting to a different field, let’s look at some examples of research questions within the healthcare space.

What are the most effective treatments for chronic back pain amongst UK senior males?

Specific and solution-oriented, this research question focuses on clear variables and a well-defined context (senior males within the UK).

How do different healthcare policies affect patient satisfaction in public hospitals in South Africa?

This question is has clearly defined variables and is narrowly focused in terms of context.

Which factors contribute to obesity rates in urban areas within California?

This question is focused yet broad, aiming to reveal several contributing factors for targeted interventions.

Does telemedicine provide the same perceived quality of care as in-person visits for diabetes patients?

Ideal for a qualitative study, this research question explores a single construct (perceived quality of care) within a well-defined sample (diabetes patients).

Which lifestyle factors have the greatest affect on the risk of heart disease?

This research question aims to uncover modifiable factors, offering preventive health recommendations.

Examples: Computer Science

Last but certainly not least, let’s look at a few examples of research questions within the computer science world.

What are the perceived risks of cloud-based storage systems?

Highly relevant in our digital age, this research question would align well with a qualitative interview approach to better understand what users feel the key risks of cloud storage are.

Which factors affect the energy efficiency of data centres in Ohio?

With a clear focus, this research question lays a firm foundation for a quantitative study.

How do TikTok algorithms impact user behaviour amongst new graduates?

While this research question is more open-ended, it could form the basis for a qualitative investigation.

What are the perceived risk and benefits of open-source software software within the web design industry?

Practical and straightforward, the results could guide both developers and end-users in their choices.

Remember, these are just examples…

In this post, we’ve tried to provide a wide range of research question examples to help you get a feel for what research questions look like in practice. That said, it’s important to remember that these are just examples and don’t necessarily equate to good research topics . If you’re still trying to find a topic, check out our topic megalist for inspiration.

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Choosing a Topic

Narrowing your topic, developing strong research questions, sample research questions.

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• MLA Citations

A useful way to think about your project is to describe it in a three-step sentence that states your TOPIC + QUESTION + SIGNIFICANCE (or TQS):

Don’t worry if at first you can’t think of something to put as the significance in the third step. As you develop your answer, you’ll find ways to explain why your question is worth asking!

TQS sentence example:

I am working on the topic of the Apollo mission to the moon , because I want to find out why it was deemed so important in the 1960s , so that I can help my classmates understand the role of symbolic events in shaping national identity .

Note: The TQS formula is meant to prime your thinking. Use it to plan and test your question, but don’t expect to put it in your paper in exactly this form.

Adapted from Kate L. Turabian, Student’s Guide to Writing College Papers , 5th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2019), pp. 14–15.

Start researching your topic more broadly to help you narrow your topic.

Think about:

• Which aspects am I most interested in?
• Is there a particular group of people to focus on?
• Is there a particular place to focus on?
• Is there a particular time period to focus on?
• What's the right scope for this particular research project? (For example, how much can I meaningfully address in this many pages?)

Background information can help with these questions before you dive in to more focused research.

• Research Guides Curated guides for a variety of topics and subject areas. Use them to find subject-specific resources.

Now use your narrowed topic to develop a research question!

Your research question should be:

• Focused on a single problem or issue
• Researchable using primary and/or secondary sources
• Feasible to answer within the timeframe and practical constraints
• Specific enough to answer thoroughly
• Complex enough to develop the answer over the space of a paper or thesis
• Relevant to your subject area and/or society more broadly

Adapted from Shona McCombes, "Developing strong research questions." Scribbr , March 2021.

Adapted from: George Mason University Writing Center. (2008). How to write a research question. Retrieved from http://writingcenter.gmu.edu/?p=307.

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How to Write a Research Question: Types and Examples 

The first step in any research project is framing the research question. It can be considered the core of any systematic investigation as the research outcomes are tied to asking the right questions. Thus, this primary interrogation point sets the pace for your research as it helps collect relevant and insightful information that ultimately influences your work.   

Typically, the research question guides the stages of inquiry, analysis, and reporting. Depending on the use of quantifiable or quantitative data, research questions are broadly categorized into quantitative or qualitative research questions. Both types of research questions can be used independently or together, considering the overall focus and objectives of your research.  

What is a research question?

A research question is a clear, focused, concise, and arguable question on which your research and writing are centered. 1 It states various aspects of the study, including the population and variables to be studied and the problem the study addresses. These questions also set the boundaries of the study, ensuring cohesion. 

Designing the research question is a dynamic process where the researcher can change or refine the research question as they review related literature and develop a framework for the study. Depending on the scale of your research, the study can include single or multiple research questions. 

A good research question has the following features: 

• It is relevant to the chosen field of study. 
• The question posed is arguable and open for debate, requiring synthesizing and analysis of ideas. 
• It is focused and concisely framed. 
• A feasible solution is possible within the given practical constraint and timeframe. 

A poorly formulated research question poses several risks. 1   

• Researchers can adopt an erroneous design. 
• It can create confusion and hinder the thought process, including developing a clear protocol.  
• It can jeopardize publication efforts.  
• It causes difficulty in determining the relevance of the study findings.  
• It causes difficulty in whether the study fulfils the inclusion criteria for systematic review and meta-analysis. This creates challenges in determining whether additional studies or data collection is needed to answer the question.  
• Readers may fail to understand the objective of the study. This reduces the likelihood of the study being cited by others. 

Now that you know “What is a research question?”, let’s look at the different types of research questions. 

Types of research questions

Depending on the type of research to be done, research questions can be classified broadly into quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods studies. Knowing the type of research helps determine the best type of research question that reflects the direction and epistemological underpinnings of your research. 

The structure and wording of quantitative 2 and qualitative research 3 questions differ significantly. The quantitative study looks at causal relationships, whereas the qualitative study aims at exploring a phenomenon. 

• Quantitative research questions:  
• Seeks to investigate social, familial, or educational experiences or processes in a particular context and/or location.  
• Answers ‘how,’ ‘what,’ or ‘why’ questions. 
• Investigates connections, relations, or comparisons between independent and dependent variables. 

Quantitative research questions can be further categorized into descriptive, comparative, and relationship, as explained in the Table below. 

• Qualitative research questions  

Qualitative research questions are adaptable, non-directional, and more flexible. It concerns broad areas of research or more specific areas of study to discover, explain, or explore a phenomenon. These are further classified as follows: 

• Mixed-methods studies  

Mixed-methods studies use both quantitative and qualitative research questions to answer your research question. Mixed methods provide a complete picture than standalone quantitative or qualitative research, as it integrates the benefits of both methods. Mixed methods research is often used in multidisciplinary settings and complex situational or societal research, especially in the behavioral, health, and social science fields. 

What makes a good research question

A good research question should be clear and focused to guide your research. It should synthesize multiple sources to present your unique argument, and should ideally be something that you are interested in. But avoid questions that can be answered in a few factual statements. The following are the main attributes of a good research question. 

• Specific: The research question should not be a fishing expedition performed in the hopes that some new information will be found that will benefit the researcher. The central research question should work with your research problem to keep your work focused. If using multiple questions, they should all tie back to the central aim. 
• Measurable: The research question must be answerable using quantitative and/or qualitative data or from scholarly sources to develop your research question. If such data is impossible to access, it is better to rethink your question. 
• Attainable: Ensure you have enough time and resources to do all research required to answer your question. If it seems you will not be able to gain access to the data you need, consider narrowing down your question to be more specific. 
• You have the expertise 
• You have the equipment and resources 
• Realistic: Developing your research question should be based on initial reading about your topic. It should focus on addressing a problem or gap in the existing knowledge in your field or discipline. 
• Based on some sort of rational physics 
• Can be done in a reasonable time frame 
• Timely: The research question should contribute to an existing and current debate in your field or in society at large. It should produce knowledge that future researchers or practitioners can later build on. 
• Novel 
• Based on current technologies. 
• Important to answer current problems or concerns. 
• Lead to new directions. 
• Important: Your question should have some aspect of originality. Incremental research is as important as exploring disruptive technologies. For example, you can focus on a specific location or explore a new angle. 
• Meaningful whether the answer is “Yes” or “No.” Closed-ended, yes/no questions are too simple to work as good research questions. Such questions do not provide enough scope for robust investigation and discussion. A good research question requires original data, synthesis of multiple sources, and original interpretation and argumentation before providing an answer. 

Steps for developing a good research question

The importance of research questions cannot be understated. When drafting a research question, use the following frameworks to guide the components of your question to ease the process. 4  

• Determine the requirements: Before constructing a good research question, set your research requirements. What is the purpose? Is it descriptive, comparative, or explorative research? Determining the research aim will help you choose the most appropriate topic and word your question appropriately. 
• Select a broad research topic: Identify a broader subject area of interest that requires investigation. Techniques such as brainstorming or concept mapping can help identify relevant connections and themes within a broad research topic. For example, how to learn and help students learn. 
• Perform preliminary investigation: Preliminary research is needed to obtain up-to-date and relevant knowledge on your topic. It also helps identify issues currently being discussed from which information gaps can be identified. 
• Narrow your focus: Narrow the scope and focus of your research to a specific niche. This involves focusing on gaps in existing knowledge or recent literature or extending or complementing the findings of existing literature. Another approach involves constructing strong research questions that challenge your views or knowledge of the area of study (Example: Is learning consistent with the existing learning theory and research). 
• Identify the research problem: Once the research question has been framed, one should evaluate it. This is to realize the importance of the research questions and if there is a need for more revising (Example: How do your beliefs on learning theory and research impact your instructional practices). 

How to write a research question

Those struggling to understand how to write a research question, these simple steps can help you simplify the process of writing a research question. 

Sample Research Questions

The following are some bad and good research question examples 

• Example 1 
• Example 2 

References:  

• Thabane, L., Thomas, T., Ye, C., & Paul, J. (2009). Posing the research question: not so simple.  Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal canadien d’anesthésie ,  56 (1), 71-79. 
• Rutberg, S., & Bouikidis, C. D. (2018). Focusing on the fundamentals: A simplistic differentiation between qualitative and quantitative research.  Nephrology Nursing Journal ,  45 (2), 209-213. 
• Kyngäs, H. (2020). Qualitative research and content analysis.  The application of content analysis in nursing science research , 3-11. 
• Mattick, K., Johnston, J., & de la Croix, A. (2018). How to… write a good research question.  The clinical teacher ,  15 (2), 104-108. 
• Fandino, W. (2019). Formulating a good research question: Pearls and pitfalls.  Indian Journal of Anaesthesia ,  63 (8), 611. 
• Richardson, W. S., Wilson, M. C., Nishikawa, J., & Hayward, R. S. (1995). The well-built clinical question: a key to evidence-based decisions.  ACP journal club ,  123 (3), A12-A13 

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How to Write a Research Question: Types & Examples

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A research question is the main query that researchers seek to answer in their study. It serves as the basis for a scholarly project such as research paper, thesis or dissertation. A good research question should be clear, relevant and specific enough to guide the research process. It should also be open-ended, meaning that it allows for multiple possible answers or interpretations.

If you have located your general subject and main sources but still aren’t quite sure about the exact research questions for your paper, this guide will help you out. First, we will explore the concept of it together, so you could answer it in your work. Then some simple steps on composing your inquiry will be suggested. In the end, we will draw your attention to some specific details which can make your work good or bad. Sometimes it’s just easier to delegate all challenging tasks to a reliable research paper service . StudyCrumb is a trustable network of qualified writers ready to efficiently solve students’ challenges.

What Is a Good Research Question: Full Definition

Good research questions provide a concise definition of a problem. As a scholar, your main goal at the beginning is to select the main focus. It should be narrow enough so you could examine it within your deadline. Your work should be focused on something specific. Otherwise, it will require too much work and might not produce clear answers. At the same time your answer should be arguable and supported by data you’ve collected. Take a look at this example:

How to Write a Research Question: Step-By-Step Guide

In this section we will examine the process of developing a research question. We will guide you through it, step by step. Keep in mind that your subject should be important for your audience. So it requires some preliminary study and brainstorming. Let’s take a closer look at the main steps.

Step 1. Choose a Broad Topic for Your Research Paper Question

First, you need to decide on your general direction. When trying to identify your research paper questions, it is better to choose an area you are really interested in. You should be able to obtain enough data to write something about this topic. Therefore, do not choose something out of your reach. At the same time, your broad topic should not be too simple. Research paper questions that can be answered without any study would hardly make any sense for your project.

Step 2. Do Preliminary Reading Before Starting Your Research Question

Next, it is time we explore the context of the selected topic. You wouldn’t want to choose research questions that have already been examined and answered in detail. On the other hand, choosing a topic that is a complete ‘terra incognita’ might be a bridge too far for your project. Browse through available sources that are related to this topic. You should try and find out what has been discovered about it before. Do you see a gap that you can fill with your study? You can proceed with developing your exact inquiry! Have no time for in-depth topic exploration? Leave this task to professionals. Entrust your “ write my research paper ” order to StudyCrumb and get a top-notch work.

Step 3. Consider an Audience for Your Research Question

It is good to know your reader well to be able to convey your ideas and results to them in the best possible way. Before writing research questions for your projects, you might need to perform a brief analysis of your audience. That's how you'll be able to understand what is interesting for them and what is not. This will allow you to make better decisions when narrowing your broad topic down. Select a topic that is interesting for your reader! This would contribute much to the success for writing a research paper .

Step 4. Start Asking a Good Research Question

After you have considered your options, go ahead and compose the primary subject of your paper. What makes a good research question? It should highlight some problematic and relevant aspects of the general topic. So, after it is answered, you should have obtained some new valuable knowledge about the subject.  Typically scholars start narrowing down their general topic by asking ‘how’, ‘why’ or ‘what’s next’ questions. This approach might help you come up with a great idea quickly.

Step 5. Evaluate Your Research Question

Finally, after you have composed a research paper question, you should take a second look at it and see if it is good enough for your paper. It would be useful to analyze it from the following sides:

• Is it clear for your audience?
• Is it complex enough to require significant study?
• Is it focused on a certain aspect of your general topic?

You might use the help of your peers or your friends at this step. You can also show it to your tutor and ask for their opinion.

Types of Research Questions: Which to Choose

A number of research questions types are available for use in a paper. They are divided into two main groups:

Qualitative questions:

• Explanatory
• Ethnographic

Quantitative questions:

• Descriptive
• Comparative
• Relationship based.

Selecting a certain type would impact the course of your study. We suggest you think about it carefully. Below you can find a few words about each type. Also, you can seek proficient help from academic experts. Buy a research paper from real pros and forget about stress once and for all.

Qualitative Research Questions: Definition With Example

When doing qualitative research, you are expected to aim to understand the different aspects and qualities of your target problem. Therefore, your thesis should focus on analyzing people’s experience, ideas and reflections rather than on obtaining some statistical data and calculating trends. Thus, this inquiry typically requires observing people’s behavior, interacting with them and learning how they interpret your target problem.  Let’s illustrate this with an example:

What Is Contextual Research Questions

Contextual research revolves around examining your subject in its natural, everyday environment. It may be watching animals living in their usual habitats or people doing their normal activities in their familiar surroundings (at home, at school or at office). This academic approach helps to understand the role of the context. You'll be able to better explain connections between your problem, its environment and outcomes. This type of inquiry ought to be narrow enough. You shouldn’t have to examine each and every aspect of the selected problem in your paper. Consider this example:

Definition and Sample of Evaluative Research Questions

Evaluative research is performed in order to carefully assess the qualities of a selected object, individual, group, system or concept. It typically serves the purpose of collecting evidence that supports or contradicts solutions for a problem. This type of inquiry should focus on how useful a certain quality is for solving the problem.  To conduct such study, you need to examine selected qualities in detail. Then, you should assume whether they match necessary criteria. It might include some quantitative methods such as collecting statistics. Although, the most important part is analyzing the qualities. If you need some examples, here’s one for you:

Explanatory Research Questions: Definition With Example

Your paper can be dedicated to explaining a certain phenomenon, finding its reasons and important relationships between it and other important things. Your explanatory research question should aim to highlight issues, uncertainties and problematic aspects of your subject. So, your study should bring clarity about these qualities. It should show how and why they have developed this way. An explanation may include showing causes and effects of issues in question, comparing the selected phenomenon to other similar types and showing whether the selected qualities match some predefined criteria. If you need some examples, check this one:

Generative Research Questions

This type of research is conducted in order to better understand the subject. With its help, you can find some new solutions or opportunities for improvement. Therefore, its main purpose is to develop a theoretical basis for further actions. You need to compose your generative research questions in a way that facilitates obtaining new ideas. It would help to begin with asking ‘why’, ‘what is the relationship between the subject and the problems X, Y, and Z’, ‘what can be improved here’, ‘how we can prevent it’ and so on. Need relevant examples? We’ve got one for you:

Ethnographic Research Question

Ethnography research is focused on a particular group of people. The aim is to study their behavior, typical reactions to certain events or information, needs, preferences or habits. Important parameters of this group which are most relevant to your general subject are taken into consideration. These are age, sex, language, religion, ethnicity, social status and so on. Main method in this case is first-hand observation of people from the selected group during an extended period of time. If you need strong examples, here’s one:

Quantitative Research Questions: Full Definition With Examples

Quantitative research deals with data – first of all, it is numeric data. It involves mathematical calculations and statistical analysis. It helps to obtain knowledge which is mostly expressed in numbers, graphs and tables. Unlike the qualitative type, the purpose of quantitative research is finding patterns, calculating probabilities, testing causal relationships and making predictions. It is focused on testing theories and hypotheses. (We have the whole blog on what is a hypothesis .) It is mostly used in natural and social sciences. These are: chemistry, biology, psychology, economics, sociology, marketing, etc. Here are a couple of examples:

Descriptive Research Questions: Definition With Example

This is probably the most widespread type of quantitative research question. Such inquiries seek to explain when, where, why, or how something occurred. They describe it accurately and systematically. These inquiries typically start with ‘what’. You are expected to use various methods to investigate one or more variables and determine their dependencies. Note, however, that you cannot control or manipulate any of these variables. You can only observe and measure them. Looking for some interesting examples? Here is one:

Definition of Comparative Research Questions

Comparative research question is used to highlight different variables and provide numerical evidence. This type is based on comparing one object, parameter or issue with another one of a similar kind. It can help to discover the differences between two or more groups by examining their outcome variables.  Take a look at these two examples:

Relationship Research Questions

We conduct this type of research when we need to make it clear whether one parameter of a selected object causes another one. A relationship based quantitative research question should help us to explore and define trends and interactions between two or more variables. Are these two things mutually dependent? What kind of dependence is it? How has it developed? And what are possible outcomes of this connection? Here is an example of relationship-based quantitative research questions:

Research Questions Examples: Free

This section contains a number of helpful examples of research questions. Feel free to use them as inspiration to create your own questions and conduct productive study. Let’s start with two simple ones:

Are you interested in well written and inspiring questions? Do you want to learn what to avoid in your study? Just stay with us – there will be more of them below.

Examples of Good and Bad Research Questions

Everyone is interested in getting the best possible appraisal for their study. Choosing a topic which doesn't suit your specific situation may be discouraging. Thus, the quality of your paper might get affected by a poor choice. We have put together some good and bad examples so that you could avoid such mistakes.

Good Research Questions Examples

It is important to include clear terms into your questions. Otherwise, it would be difficult for you to plan your investigation properly. Also, they must be focused on a certain subject, not multiple ones. And finally, it should be possible to answer them. Let’s review several good examples:

Examples of Bad Research Questions

It is difficult to evaluate qualities of objects, individuals or groups if your purpose is not clear. This is why you shouldn’t create unclear research questions or try to focus on many problems at once. Some preliminary study might help to understand what you should focus on. Here are several bad examples:

In case you may need some information about the discussion section of a research paper example , find it in our blog.

Final Thoughts on Research Questions

In this article we have made a detailed review of the most popular types of research questions. We described peculiarities. We also provided some tips on conducting various kinds of study. Besides, a number of useful examples have been given for each category of questions.

Feel free to check out essay writing services. We have experienced writers who can help you compose your paper in time. They will absolutely ensure the high quality of your text.

Frequently Asked Questions About Research Questions

1. what is an example of a weak research question.

Here is an example of the weakest research question: 

An answer would be simply making a list of species that inhabit the country. This subject does not require any actual study to be conducted. There is nothing to calculate or analyze here.

2. What is the most effective type of research question?

Most effective type of research question is the one that doesn't have a single correct answer. However, you should also pay close attention to your audience. If you need to create a strong effect, better choose a topic which is relevant for them.

3. What is a good nursing research question?

If you need an idea for a nursing research question, here are a few helpful examples you could use as a reference:

4. What are some sociological research questions?

Sociological questions are the ones that examine the social patterns or a meaning of a social phenomenon. They could be qualitative or quantitative. They should target groups of people with certain parameters, such as age or income level. Keep in mind that type of study usually requires collecting numerous data about your target groups.

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Developing a Research Question

• Introduction
• The Research Process
• Scholarly & Peer-Reviewed
• Primary vs. Secondary Sources
• Quantitative vs. Qualitative
• Evaluating Sources

What is a research question?

A research question is an essential tool to help guide your research paper, project, or thesis. It poses a specific question that you are seeking to answer in your paper. Research questions can be broad or narrow, and can change throughout the research process.

A good research question should be:

• Focused on a single issue
• Specific enough to answer thoroughly in your paper
• Feasible to answer within the length of your paper
• Researchable using the resources available to you
• Relevant to your field of study and/or to society at large

The length of your paper and the research you're able to locate will help to shape your research question. A longer paper, like a thesis or dissertation, may require multiple research questions.

The answer to your research question develops into your thesis statement .

Writing Your Research Question

Chose a Topic

You should choose a research topic that is interesting to you. This will make the research and writing process much more bearable.

A good way to begin brainstorming research questions is to list all the questions you would like to see answered, or topics you would like to learn more about. You may have been provided a list of potential topics by your professor, if none are interesting to you ask if you can develop your own.

It is better to start broad and narrow down your focus as you go.

Do Preliminary Research

Reference materials like encyclopedias can also be good for this purpose.

Narrow Your Topic

Now that you have a basic idea of what research exists on your topic, you can begin to narrow your focus.

Make sure that your question is specific enough that it can be answered thoroughly in the length of your paper.

Developing a Research Question Video Tutorial

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educational research techniques

Research techniques and education.

Research Purpose, Hypotheses, and Questions

Four key components to a research project are the purpose statement, research questions, hypotheses, and research objectives. In this post, we will define each of these.

Definitions

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between college completion and organizational commitment of undergraduate students in Thailand. 

Here is an example of a qualitative purpose statement.

The purpose of this study is to explore student experiences at a university in Thailand about completing their tertiary degree.

Both of these examples are short one-sentence responses to what the study will attempt to do. This is a critical first step in shaping the study.

Research Question

The research question(s) in a quantitative or qualitative study narrows the purpose down to a specific question(s) for the researcher to find answers. Below are examples from both the quantitative and qualitative perspective. We are continuing the research themes from the previous section on the purpose statement.

Quantitative

Does organizational commitment affect college completion of students?

Qualitative

What kinds of experiences have students had while completing their degree?

On closer examination, you may have noticed that the research questions sound a lot like the purpose statement. Research questions often split a part a long complex purpose statement into several questions. This is why questions sound so redundant when compared to the purpose statement. Despite this apparent problem, this thought process helps researchers to organize their thinking and proceed in a manner that is much more efficient.

The next two components only relate to quantitative research and they are the hypotheses and research objective(s). For this reason our illustration of qualitative concepts will stop at this point.

Hypotheses are statements a researcher makes about the potential outcome(s) of a study based on the examination of literature. Below is an example from the same theme as before.

Students who have a higher perception of organizational commitment will also have a higher likelihood of completing college.

Again, the wording of the research questions, hypotheses and purpose statement are similarly. The difference is only slightly and is due to context. Seeing these similarities quickly will help you to move faster in finishing a study. The difference between these elements is a matter of perspective rather than a strong difference, as they do sound awfully similar.

Research Objectives

Research objectives are the goals a researcher has for a study. This component is not always included in a study. Below is an example.

To examine the correlation between organizational commitment and the rate of college completion

Share this:

10 thoughts on “ research purpose, hypotheses, and questions ”.

This is the wrong use of the word, it should be “their” not “there”.

The purpose of this study is to explore student experiences at a university in Thailand about completing there tertiary degree.

Whoops, thanks for catching that

Thank you for this, very helpful 🙂

This has been helpful.

This was helpful. Thank you

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This was helpful.

Glad to be of service

As an emerging researcher, my worry is that I have six objectives but five research questions and hypotheses. Am I correct or they must all be the same in times of numbers? Thank you

Thank you, this information helped me so much.

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How to Develop a Good Research Question? — Types & Examples

Cecilia is living through a tough situation in her research life. Figuring out where to begin, how to start her research study, and how to pose the right question for her research quest, is driving her insane. Well, questions, if not asked correctly, have a tendency to spiral us!

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Questions lead everyone to answers. Research is a quest to find answers. Not the vague questions that Cecilia means to answer, but definitely more focused questions that define your research. Therefore, asking appropriate question becomes an important matter of discussion.

A well begun research process requires a strong research question. It directs the research investigation and provides a clear goal to focus on. Understanding the characteristics of comprising a good research question will generate new ideas and help you discover new methods in research.

In this article, we are aiming to help researchers understand what is a research question and how to write one with examples.

Table of Contents

What Is a Research Question?

A good research question defines your study and helps you seek an answer to your research. Moreover, a clear research question guides the research paper or thesis to define exactly what you want to find out, giving your work its objective. Learning to write a research question is the beginning to any thesis, dissertation , or research paper. Furthermore, the question addresses issues or problems which is answered through analysis and interpretation of data.

Why Is a Research Question Important?

A strong research question guides the design of a study. Moreover, it helps determine the type of research and identify specific objectives. Research questions state the specific issue you are addressing and focus on outcomes of the research for individuals to learn. Therefore, it helps break up the study into easy steps to complete the objectives and answer the initial question.

Types of Research Questions

Research questions can be categorized into different types, depending on the type of research you want to undergo. Furthermore, knowing the type of research will help a researcher determine the best type of research question to use.

1. Qualitative Research Question

Qualitative questions concern broad areas or more specific areas of research. However, unlike quantitative questions, qualitative research questions are adaptable, non-directional and more flexible. Qualitative research question focus on discovering, explaining, elucidating, and exploring.

i. Exploratory Questions

This form of question looks to understand something without influencing the results. The objective of exploratory questions is to learn more about a topic without attributing bias or preconceived notions to it.

Research Question Example: Asking how a chemical is used or perceptions around a certain topic.

ii. Predictive Questions

Predictive research questions are defined as survey questions that automatically predict the best possible response options based on text of the question. Moreover, these questions seek to understand the intent or future outcome surrounding a topic.

Research Question Example: Asking why a consumer behaves in a certain way or chooses a certain option over other.

iii. Interpretive Questions

This type of research question allows the study of people in the natural setting. The questions help understand how a group makes sense of shared experiences with regards to various phenomena. These studies gather feedback on a group’s behavior without affecting the outcome.

Research Question Example: How do you feel about AI assisting publishing process in your research?

2. Quantitative Research Question

Quantitative questions prove or disprove a researcher’s hypothesis through descriptions, comparisons, and relationships. These questions are beneficial when choosing a research topic or when posing follow-up questions that garner more information.

i. Descriptive Questions

It is the most basic type of quantitative research question and it seeks to explain when, where, why, or how something occurred. Moreover, they use data and statistics to describe an event or phenomenon.

Research Question Example: How many generations of genes influence a future generation?

ii. Comparative Questions

Sometimes it’s beneficial to compare one occurrence with another. Therefore, comparative questions are helpful when studying groups with dependent variables.

Example: Do men and women have comparable metabolisms?

iii. Relationship-Based Questions

This type of research question answers influence of one variable on another. Therefore, experimental studies use this type of research questions are majorly.

Example: How is drought condition affect a region’s probability for wildfires.  

How to Write a Good Research Question?

1. Select a Topic

The first step towards writing a good research question is to choose a broad topic of research. You could choose a research topic that interests you, because the complete research will progress further from the research question. Therefore, make sure to choose a topic that you are passionate about, to make your research study more enjoyable.

2. Conduct Preliminary Research

After finalizing the topic, read and know about what research studies are conducted in the field so far. Furthermore, this will help you find articles that talk about the topics that are yet to be explored. You could explore the topics that the earlier research has not studied.

3. Consider Your Audience

The most important aspect of writing a good research question is to find out if there is audience interested to know the answer to the question you are proposing. Moreover, determining your audience will assist you in refining your research question, and focus on aspects that relate to defined groups.

4. Generate Potential Questions

The best way to generate potential questions is to ask open ended questions. Questioning broader topics will allow you to narrow down to specific questions. Identifying the gaps in literature could also give you topics to write the research question. Moreover, you could also challenge the existing assumptions or use personal experiences to redefine issues in research.

5. Review Your Questions

Once you have listed few of your questions, evaluate them to find out if they are effective research questions. Moreover while reviewing, go through the finer details of the question and its probable outcome, and find out if the question meets the research question criteria.

6. Construct Your Research Question

There are two frameworks to construct your research question. The first one being PICOT framework , which stands for:

• Population or problem
• Intervention or indicator being studied
• Comparison group
• Outcome of interest
• Time frame of the study.

The second framework is PEO , which stands for:

• Population being studied
• Exposure to preexisting conditions
• Outcome of interest.

Research Question Examples

• How might the discovery of a genetic basis for alcoholism impact triage processes in medical facilities?
• How do ecological systems respond to chronic anthropological disturbance?
• What are demographic consequences of ecological interactions?
• What roles do fungi play in wildfire recovery?
• How do feedbacks reinforce patterns of genetic divergence on the landscape?
• What educational strategies help encourage safe driving in young adults?
• What makes a grocery store easy for shoppers to navigate?
• What genetic factors predict if someone will develop hypothyroidism?
• Does contemporary evolution along the gradients of global change alter ecosystems function?

How did you write your first research question ? What were the steps you followed to create a strong research question? Do write to us or comment below.

Frequently Asked Questions

Research questions guide the focus and direction of a research study. Here are common types of research questions: 1. Qualitative research question: Qualitative questions concern broad areas or more specific areas of research. However, unlike quantitative questions, qualitative research questions are adaptable, non-directional and more flexible. Different types of qualitative research questions are: i. Exploratory questions ii. Predictive questions iii. Interpretive questions 2. Quantitative Research Question: Quantitative questions prove or disprove a researcher’s hypothesis through descriptions, comparisons, and relationships. These questions are beneficial when choosing a research topic or when posing follow-up questions that garner more information. Different types of quantitative research questions are: i. Descriptive questions ii. Comparative questions iii. Relationship-based questions

Qualitative research questions aim to explore the richness and depth of participants' experiences and perspectives. They should guide your research and allow for in-depth exploration of the phenomenon under investigation. After identifying the research topic and the purpose of your research: • Begin with Broad Inquiry: Start with a general research question that captures the main focus of your study. This question should be open-ended and allow for exploration. • Break Down the Main Question: Identify specific aspects or dimensions related to the main research question that you want to investigate. • Formulate Sub-questions: Create sub-questions that delve deeper into each specific aspect or dimension identified in the previous step. • Ensure Open-endedness: Make sure your research questions are open-ended and allow for varied responses and perspectives. Avoid questions that can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no." Encourage participants to share their experiences, opinions, and perceptions in their own words. • Refine and Review: Review your research questions to ensure they align with your research purpose, topic, and objectives. Seek feedback from your research advisor or peers to refine and improve your research questions.

Developing research questions requires careful consideration of the research topic, objectives, and the type of study you intend to conduct. Here are the steps to help you develop effective research questions: 1. Select a Topic 2. Conduct Preliminary Research 3. Consider Your Audience 4. Generate Potential Questions 5. Review Your Questions 6. Construct Your Research Question Based on PICOT or PEO Framework

There are two frameworks to construct your research question. The first one being PICOT framework, which stands for: • Population or problem • Intervention or indicator being studied • Comparison group • Outcome of interest • Time frame of the study The second framework is PEO, which stands for: • Population being studied • Exposure to preexisting conditions • Outcome of interest

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1-Research Questions

1. The Purpose of Research Questions

Both professional researchers and successful student researchers develop research questions. That’s because research questions are more than handy tools; they are essential to the research process.

By defining exactly what the researcher is trying to find out, these questions influence most of the rest of the steps taken to conduct the research. That’s true even if the research is not for academic purposes but for other areas of our lives.

For instance, if you’re seeking information about a health problem in order to learn whether you have anything to worry about, research questions will make it possible for you to more effectively decide whether to seek medical help–and how quickly.

Or, if you’re researching a potential employer, having developed and used research questions will mean you’re able to more confidently decide whether to apply for an internship or job there.

The confidence you’ll have when making such decisions will come from knowing that the information they’re based on was gathered by conscious thought rather than serendipity and whim.

Choosing & Using Sources: A Guide to Academic Research Copyright © 2015 by Teaching & Learning, Ohio State University Libraries is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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The value of asking questions

Ronald d vale.

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Address correspondence to: Ronald D. Vale ( [email protected] ).

Received 2013 Jan 3; Revised 2013 Jan 7; Accepted 2013 Jan 9.

“ASCB®,” “The American Society for Cell Biology®,” and “Molecular Biology of the Cell®” are registered trademarks of The American Society of Cell BD; are registered trademarks of The American Society of Cell Biology.

Science begins by asking questions and then seeking answers. Young children understand this intuitively as they explore and try to make sense of their surroundings. However, science education focuses upon the end game of “facts” rather than the exploratory root of the scientific process. Encouraging questioning helps to bring the true spirit of science into our educational system, and the art of asking good questions constitutes an important skill to foster for practicing scientists.

INTRODUCTION

“It is easier to judge the mind of a man by his questions rather than his answers.”—Pierre-Marc-Gaston, duc de Lévis (1764–1830)

“I get it; science is just like spelling. You just have to memorize it and it doesn't make any sense.”—Anonymous U.S. elementary school student

The juxtaposition of these quotes illustrates a serious shortcoming of K–12 science education. The foundation of science is to ask questions about the natural world and then seek answers. If a student sees spelling and learning science as similar experiences, then we are failing to communicate the fundamental reason why science exists as a discipline and what it has to offer.

The student's quote, sadly, reflects our approach to teaching science: Learn the facts and don't deviate from that script. However, before organizing scientific data into “facts,” science begins by asking questions as a form of intellectual exploration. Young children are full of questions, spawned by true curiosity rather than a desire to impress. But over the course of their education, students and adults ask fewer questions and more passively accept facts as “the way things are.” I have witnessed this trend in my experiences in school classrooms. However, I would like to think that it is not an inevitable outcome of the educational pipeline. Thus it is worthwhile to ask whether we could be doing more to promote questioning as a fundamental tool for science education and in the practice of professional science.

THE ART OF ASKING A GOOD QUESTION

You can't expect to wake up one morning and run a marathon without training. Similarly, asking good questions is a skill that requires practice, training, and mentoring. If a child (or adult) is placed in an environment that does not encourage active questioning, then that skill will not become an active habit of mind.

The purpose and practice of active questioning has its roots in ancient philosophic traditions. Socrates is well known for using questioning to probe the validity of an assumption, analyze the logic of an argument, and explore the unknown. Questions were a means to educate his students by drawing out their understanding of a subject and then leading them to discover a set of logical conclusions instead of lecturing them on what is true or false. Socratic questioning is still advocated as a powerful contemporary teaching method ( Brill and Yarden, 2003 ).

Questioning is a core principle of Eastern philosophies as well. In the Prashna-Upanishad, one of the earliest of the Upanishad texts that serve as a foundation of Hinduism, pupils pose six great questions to a wise teacher ( prashna means question in Sanskrit). The Buddha also encouraged questioning by his disciples, and a fundamental role for questioning is still embraced in the practices of modern Buddhism. I recently had the pleasure of visiting Dharamsala, India, where I watched Tibetan Buddhist monks debate—a daily practice that involves one monk continually questioning another monk for an hour, often on esoteric points of Buddhist thought. The impressive aspect of this practice is how the monks use this method of questioning/answering to hone their skills in logic and to probe complex questions. The questioning involves great mental concentration and intense exchange, punctuated by episodes of laughter and joy. Interestingly, the use of questioning for intellectual exploration and teaching evolved independently in Socratic and Buddhist schools of thought, and both developed this skill through a high degree of discipline and practice.

Philosophy and science grew up together and were inseparably intertwined; logical argument and inductive thinking were ways of exploring/explaining the natural world. There were few “facts” to memorize, and the framework of using experimentation/data gathering to formulate scientific theories gained hold only in the middle of the second millennium. Since that point, science and philosophy have grown steadily apart in subject areas and methodologies. It would be rare to find a scientist and philosopher exchanging ideas with one another at a meeting. However, the art of questioning is practiced by scientists, philosophers, and educators, and these disciplines might learn from one another and explore and exploit each other's practices and ideas.

POSING A QUESTION AS A BASIS OF INDEPENDENT LEARNING AND INQUIRY

Virtually all educators agree that teaching science should involve more inquiry-based learning and less fact-based memorization (Committee on a Conceptual Framework for New K-12 Science Education Standards, 2012). Many educators are now developing experimental modules that engage students in the practice of scientific inquiry in a laboratory setting and are trying to export these experimental modules and ideas to many schools.

Pursued properly, a good question also can be an excellent vehicle with which to start a process of inquiry. Investigating an answer to a question need not require a laboratory, special equipment, or money. The goal of asking and answering a question is not necessarily to probe a completely untouched area of science (which is unrealistic for K–12). Rather, it should be a personal quest to resolve a curiosity and grapple with trying to understand the answer. Furthermore, researching one question often results in a further round of questions that dig deeper into a phenomenon.

Let's consider some examples of questions. Alan Alda, the famous actor/director/writer, who is now on the advisory board of the Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University, posed a challenge in Science of answering the question, “What is a flame?” ( Alda, 2012 ). This challenge was based on his experience as an 11-year-old asking his teacher this same question and receiving the disappointing, few-syllabic answer, “It's oxidation.” Last spring, Alda received more than 800 answers to that question from scientists, and the answers were judged by 6000 11-year-olds. This example illustrates that a lot of thought is required to understand and explain “simple” questions about our everyday experiences. “Why is the sky blue?” can be used to learn an enormous amount about light and the atmosphere. Even the question “What is light?” is enough to set off an endless string of subsequent questions. “It is both a wave and a particle.” What does this nonintuitive answer mean? What evidence supports light's behavior as a wave? Why do we say that it is a particle? And for more advanced students, “How can single photons aimed at a pair of slits create interference patterns on the other side, as though they passed through both slits simultaneously?” By posing questions, one appreciates that science is not all about filling in the correct bubble with a #2 pencil. Some mysteries lack good answers or have partial answers with fuzzy boundaries. That might frustrate a subset of teachers and students who want clear-cut answers. But it can make science “cooler” and better prepare students to think about evidence and to navigate in a complex world that does not always have precise answers.

Questioning can be used to promote independent learning in a school setting in a variety of ways. The key ingredients are that students should have some freedom to choose a question in which they are interested, have an opportunity to research the answer on their own, and then have an opportunity to teach others (peers and the teacher) what they learned. I witnessed one especially successful example of spontaneous, curiosity-driven questioning in the “Katta,” a volunteer science discussion group for college students led by Milind Watve, then at Garware College, Pune, India ( Jog, 2009 ). A katta in Marathi (the regional Indian language) means a place where people can meet, talk, and exchange ideas. In Watve's Katta, students drive the discussion. Many questions arise and quickly subside. However, in some instances, students begin to swarm around a question, wanting to know more. This experience often ignites a student, or a group of students, to investigate the question more deeply on their own and then present what they discovered at a later Katta. Sometimes the group of students decides to investigate the question in a scientific manner, using tools of a laboratory, math, field studies, and so on, as appropriate. In several cases, those investigations went all the way to publications in well-known journals.

Watve's role is as a catalyst, providing a safe environment where students can feel free to ask a question without worrying about whether it is good, bad, intelligent, or crazy. Usually, no one in the room (including Watve) is an expert in the subject. But he encourages them to pursue the question regardless, stimulating them to take ownership of the question and think in new ways that possibly may not have occurred to scientists in the field.

PURSUING ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS: THE NEW ROLE OF THE INTERNET

When I was a child and needed to research a topic for school or find an answer to a question, I pulled out the World Book Encyclopedia , our family's prized possession. I did not always have to go the library; I was fortunate to have a source of knowledge at home.

How different the world has become for my teenage kids. Through the Internet, they have unprecedented access to information encompassing virtually the entire scope of human knowledge. This information is now available on a time scale of seconds, as if it has become a virtual extension of our cerebral cortex. If an interesting question pops into one's mind, one can research it immediately and from multiple sources, rather than visit the library tomorrow or next week. Furthermore, global connections can now be made between a child in India with a question and a scholar in England who can provide a response. However, the rapid blooming of the Internet into a vast, thick jungle of information poses a couple of problems—our time is limited, and there is no easy formula for integrating information. Thus the most important skill for the twenty-first century, in my opinion, is learning how to judge and integrate information from multiple sources to generate conceptual understanding or a new idea.

Although integrating information is becoming increasingly important for future success, the educational community has not fully grappled with how to teach students these skills. Many teachers, for example, say that Wikipedia is unreliable and cannot be used as a resource. Some make blanket statements that .org or .gov sites are good and .com sites are bad. Kids are savvy enough to know that such statements are too simplistic and not true. Yes, one can find errors in Wikipedia, although several studies suggest that there are relatively few ( Giles, 2005 ). But a state-approved high school biology textbook also can have out-of-date information and incorrect simplifications. It is also folly to think that teenagers who seek an answer to one of their own questions will go to their textbook or their teacher; they will head straight to the Internet, and with some judgment, they will find a good resource in short time. In addition, we are already living in a world where most adults are turning to the Internet as a source of information about science ( Brossard and Scheufele, 2013 ).

Rather than severely restricting kids from Internet research, more attention needs to paid to teaching them best practices, such as directing them to good Internet sources, teaching them how to identify potentially flawed information, how to integrate information from multiple sources, and how to reference them. Categorically stating that Wikipedia is unreliable is insufficient; rather specific pages or examples on Wikipedia where information might be incomplete or inaccurate need to be illustrated (and these are rare from my experiences with bigger scientific topics). Students also need to gain a more mature view of knowledge, understanding that it is dynamic and that there are points of contention that demand judgment rather than blind memorization. Importantly, there is no need to create two camps of scholarship by creating separate instruction manuals for what kids need to do to get the best grade for a classroom assignment versus how they should assimilate knowledge beyond school. Most schools have mottos about teaching students to “become life-long learners,” but this will not happen unless students see connections between how they research a question for school and how they would research a question on their own.

BARRIERS TO ACCEPTING QUESTIONING AS A BASIS OF TEACHING

Questioning may seem like a good educational approach, so why is it not a more common practice in science education? Several cultural factors present barriers. First is the perception that the teacher is an almighty vessel of knowledge who imparts information to students. In that formulation, a difficult question with no immediate answer or an uncertain answer can be threatening to a teacher and disappointing to a student. However, that view is unfair to teachers. Teachers also need to be students. A teacher should feel completely comfortable saying, “I do not know the answer to that question, but let me look it up—or let's look it up together.” Many questions do not have quick, easy answers and thus become seeds for investigation. Students also should be able to teach their peers when they look up an answer to a question. In this model, teachers and students become partners in their mutual education.

A second impediment to using questioning as an educational tool is that questions are unpredictable by their nature. One cannot know what students are going to ask in a particular year. It can be hard to plan around such uncertainty. With state-mandated curricula, there is little, if any, time to deviate from the script. The ability to ask a question, research the answer, and present it to the class requires some degree of flexibility in the weekly lesson plan. Most teachers, particularly in state-run schools, do not have that luxury.

A third impediment to using questioning is that it is not a trivial skill to learn. I already discussed that ancient Greeks and contemporary Buddhists practice this skill for many years. Similarly, teacher training would be required to implement such ideas in a classroom.

As discussed in recent editorials by Bruce Alberts (2012a , b ), at the root of all three obstacles is the lack of time in K–12 education for in-depth investigation by students or teachers. State science curricula mandate a list of “required” topics and information that is so long that it becomes quite difficult for teachers to pack it all in during a school year. This comprehensive, memorization-based approach is great for testing but poor for producing kids who are interested in science or even know what science is truly about. A conceptual understanding of how cells use and make energy is more important than regurgitating all of the steps in glycolysis, which can be quickly relearned online. State educators need to reduce the amount of required material in their science curricula to allow more the time for in-depth learning, teacher initiative and professional development, and exploration of questions. Finland is adopting such strategies, with substantially better educational outcomes than the United States ( Sahlberg, 2011 ).

QUESTIONING AS A SKILL FOR PROFESSIONAL SCIENTISTS

Identifying a good question and being able to articulate it well is not just an exercise for high school students, but is also a key skill in becoming a successful scientist. A grant proposal often receives a poor score not because the proposed experiments are poorly conceived, but because the questions being asked are not interesting or not clearly articulated. It is easy to fall into this trap, because specific aims are often written in terms of achieving a specific technical goal rather than from the standpoint of framing and answering a compelling question. Weaving good questions into the text of a grant can be a way to communicate the goals of a project.

Articulating interesting questions also is essential for delivering a scientific talk. Many seminars are lackluster because they are swimming in data but lack a captivating question to motivate the data collection. Raising questions throughout a seminar engages the audience and involves them in the thought process. Posing a single question on a slide also can be an effective means of framing the steps involved in answering that question in subsequent slides.

In summary, asking questions is a part of the joy of science. It begins as soon as we can utter the word “why.” Even much later, as a seasoned, well-educated scientist, one can continually learn from and strive to perfect this gift of human intellect.

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Which research topics have the most papers in the Nature Index?

A new way to explore trends in the database reveals the fields where researchers are publishing.

Simon Baker

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30 October 2024

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The Nature Index has long made possible an analysis of research output trends from institutions or countries by broad subject area: four in the natural sciences (physical sciences, chemistry, biological sciences and Earth & environmental sciences) and, from 2022, in the health sciences. Research articles are assigned to these subject areas according to the discipline of the journal in which they appear , except for those that appear in one of the five multidisciplinary journals tracked by Nature Index, which are assigned at the article level.

From this week, the most recent data available on the Nature Index website — representing the latest 12-month window of uploaded articles — can also be browsed by more granular ‘topics’ that have been defined by analysing citation networks.

A team at Nature Research Intelligence used machine-learning methods to create the topic areas from networks of articles that either cite each other or are very similar to each other in terms of content. Each topic area at a certain level of granularity was labelled according to second-level subject categories used by the ANZSRC classification devised by the Australian Bureau of Statistics . Articles in these topic areas were then matched with those in the Nature Index database.

The largest three topic areas by article numbers in the database are in chemistry: physical chemistry ; organic chemistry ; and macromolecular and materials chemistry . The data show that China is the dominant producer of Nature Index research in each (see table below). Two health-sciences topics — clinical sciences and oncology/carcinogenesis — are fifth and sixth by article count, and are led by output from the United States.

Leading 10 topics by Nature Index article Count

Each available topic has its own dedicated data page showing the leading institutions and countries/territories in that topic by Share , the trend in article numbers for that topic in the past few years, and the leading institutional collaborations.

Leading topics can also be viewed as bar or bubble charts , allowing a quick comparison of the topics that tend to dominate in the database for each main Nature Index subject area. For instance, in Earth and environmental sciences, the three areas with most output are: climate change science ; atmospheric sciences ; and physical geography and environmental geoscience .

It is important to note that these topics, and the Nature Index data accompanying them, should not be compared with the fields of research that are the focus of some Nature Index supplements . These supplement topics are defined by using keywords to search for relevant articles, and as such can represent a more comprehensive view of a particular field of research.

Over the coming months, the Nature Index editorial team will periodically bring more insights — through our regular ‘data insights’ blogs — into the research trends seen in the citation topic areas.

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More From Forbes

How to answer ‘what is your work style’ in a job interview.

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Helpful and important ways to address your work style, in your job interviews

Interviewing for a new role can be exciting, but it also can come with challenges that make us feel insecure and concerned that we’re not fully prepared. This is especially true when we’re asked questions like “What is your work style” - about our preferred approach and style in addressing key job goals and responsibilities.

This question, while seemingly direct and simple, is typically posed to help the interviewer understand more deeply whether your work approach will align well with the open role and the organization’s work culture. With the right preparation, you can craft your answer so it’s not only helpful but also reflective of what matters most to you and highlights your unique strengths, priorities, and values.

To understand how best to address this question honestly and confidently, prepare by thinking about your particular style and approach and what “success” looks and feels like to you personally. Brainstorm in advance about how you most enjoy working, including the types of collaboration that are most successful for you and the business outcomes you find most rewarding and compelling to support.

Bring to mind the top accomplishments and outcomes you’ve achieved in the past that make you most proud, and tease out the exact skills and abilities you possess that helped you generate those outcomes. Think about both individual contributions as well as your successes through collaborations, and what was made possible because of your adaptability, creativity and resilience.

What are some different versions of this question you can expect?

The question “What is your work style?” can be approached in a variety of ways, each with subtle differences. Here are a few common variations you might hear:

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Clues And Answers For Friday, November 1st

The top 10 richest people in the world (november 2024), top-3 kansas city chiefs trade targets ahead of nfl deadline, "how do you prefer to work".

This phrasing offers a more open-ended approach, giving the freedom to describe your ideal work environment and work practices that help you successfully complete tasks and projects.

"Tell me about your work process.”

Here, the interviewer may want to explore how you approach the execution of your projects, and how you make decisions, handle tasks, work with others, and address challenges and setbacks.

"What does your day-to-day work look like?"

This version is focused on the current flow of your daily tasks and priorities, as well as how you handle deadlines and multitasking. It also touches on how you prioritize your current workflow.

"Do you work best independently or as part of a team?"

This question aims to explore your collaborative strengths and comfort level in working cohesively with others versus being self-directed and taking solo, independent initiative.

"How do you handle feedback and communication with teammates or supervisors?"

With this query, the interviewer is probing about your communication style, your openness to feedback (both positive and what you may perceive as “negative”) and how you relate to and with others.

Each version of the question provides an opportunity to showcase your strengths and values. Be prepared to offer some concrete examples that demonstrate how you adapt to and thrive in different work environments and situations.

What Hiring Managers Are Really Looking For Through This Question

When interviewers ask about your work style, they typically want to evaluate whether you’ll be a strong fit for this particular role, including how you’ll mesh with the existing managers and leaders, other team members and the organization’s values and culture overall. Think about what makes you unique and stand out, what you prioritize as important in your career and roles, as well as traits and actions that have helped you achieve professional growth in the past, and share information that will help interviewers assess:

Your Self-Awareness and Self-Mastery: Do you recognize your strengths and areas for growth? Candidates who recognize and confidently discuss their key skills, accomplishments and work values often stand out from the competition.

Adaptability and Flexibility: Can you easily adjust your approach based on the team or project needs? Being adaptable is especially important in today’s dynamic workplaces.

Collaboration and Communication: Effective communicators who respect others, work well with diverse team members, and collaborate openly tend to thrive best in team environments. Interviewers want to understand your interaction style.

Growth Mindset: Candidates who demonstrate optimism, resilience and a commitment to growth and learning often achieve high performance results.

Key Themes to Include in Your Answer

Your answers should be honest, clear and tailored to the specific role and company culture you’re interviewing for. Below are some tips for developing a strong response:

Research the Company's Culture

Before the interview, take time to research the company’s culture and standout qualities. Review their website, read employee ratings and reviews, and explore their social media presence and what leaders and employees share online. This will give you clues about their values, work environment, and pace. If it’s a high-energy, collaborative atmosphere, emphasize your teamwork skills. If it’s a more independent, results-driven environment, highlight your ability to work autonomously and produce consistent results.

Align Your Answers with the Role’s Requirements

Think about the skills and attributes required for the position. For instance, if the role requires cross-departmental collaboration, discuss your strengths in communication and teamwork. If it’s a role that demands self-management and independence, highlight your organizational skills, focus, and reliability.

Highlight Your Key Attributes

Hiring managers are looking for certain traits in almost every role, such as dependability, strong communication skills, flexibility, and openness to feedback. Incorporate these themes that fit your unique style into your answer. For example, “I’m very responsive when working in a team setting, making sure I’m communicating openly and taking in helpful feedback. When working alone and/or remotely, I’m highly organized and deadline-focused, but also comfortable asking questions when needed, which helps me deliver quality results.”

Incorporate Specific Examples

Illustrate your answer with examples from past successes. Talk about a time when your work approach helped you succeed in a project or contributed to an important goal. For instance, “In my last role, I was in charge of a large business integration project spanning many teams and departments and a newly acquired company with divisions across several countries. It was a critical project with a hard deadline and it impacted hundreds of employees’ responsibilities and outcomes. I set up weekly meetings with key stakeholders to ensure everyone was aligned, but I also set aside focused time to dive into my own research and analysis, to formulate an effective strategy for the project and adjust that strategy when needed. This balance allowed me to complete the integration in a timely way that met all the key goals of the leadership team.”

Preparing Follow-Up Questions

The “work style” question is also an invitation for you to ask follow-up questions. Remember, your interview is not an “audition.” It’s a two-way street. Consider asking questions that get at what you need to understand, including the team structure, communication style, work culture, key qualities that successful employees share and more. This can help you determine if the company is a strong fit for your personal values and approach.

Succeeding More Confidently In Your Interviews

Thoughtfully answering the question “What is your work style?” demonstrates you’ve reflected on your career trajectory and your strengths and talents, and how those have contributed to growth and success in previous roles. It’s not about whether you’re “good” or “bad” at certain tasks; it’s about alignment with the role and culture.

By viewing this question as a way to showcase your unique talents and the important ways you’ve contributed in the past, you can share the highest and best version of you, while also listen for clues to help you assess clearly if this opportunity is right for you, and will allow you to thrive and grow.

Kathy Caprino is a career and leadership coach , author, trainer and podcaster , supporting the advancement of women in business.

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15 Thought-Provoking Questions for America’s Next President, Posed by BU Faculty and Students

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Americans’ top sources of political news ahead of the 2024 election

Americans have a wide variety of news sources available to them this election season.

In September, we asked U.S. adults to name the source they turn to most often for political and election news. People mentioned hundreds of unique sources across more than 8,000 open-ended responses, demonstrating the fragmented nature of the modern news environment.

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to understand where Americans turn most often for their political news ahead of the 2024 presidential election. We surveyed 9,680 adults from Sept. 16 to 22, 2024.

Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), a group of people recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses who have agreed to take surveys regularly. This kind of recruitment gives nearly all U.S. adults a chance of selection. Surveys were conducted either online or by telephone with a live interviewer. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other factors. Read more about the ATP’s methodology .

In the survey, we asked respondents in an open-ended question to volunteer their main source for political news. This allowed respondents to name any source, not limiting them to the ones we asked about in other questions . If respondents volunteered more than one source, we accepted the first one mentioned.

We grouped these open-ended responses by brand. For instance, “NY Times,” “NYT” and “nytimes.com” were all counted as indicating The New York Times was the respondent’s main source. Additionally, specific local television channels were grouped into the “local TV” category.

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

Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. This is the latest report in Pew Research Center’s ongoing investigation of the state of news, information and journalism in the digital age, a research program funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, with generous support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

The most common single outlet that Americans name as their main source for political news is Fox News (13%). Older adults are much more likely than younger adults to name Fox News: 22% of those ages 65 and older say this is their main source for this news, compared with just 5% of adults under 30.

One-in-ten Americans cite CNN as their top source of political news. This represents a slight decline since the last time we asked this question in 2021, when 14% of respondents said CNN was their main political news source.

Beyond Fox News and CNN, at least 2% of Americans name eight other sources:

• A specific local TV station or local TV in general
• Other national TV news channels ( ABC News, NBC News, MSNBC or CBS News )
• NPR, the only radio organization among these top sources
• The New York Times, the only traditional newspaper on the list
• X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. A previous Pew Research Center study found that X is more of a destination for news than other social media sites.

About a third of Americans (32%) name a source other than these top 10. Another 17% say they don’t have a main source of election news or decline to answer the question.

Our September survey also asked respondents  what platform they most often use  for election news (e.g., TV, news websites, etc.) and whether they use  several specific news outlets  (including many of the most common sources mentioned above) as a major or minor source of political news.

Do Americans view their main source of political news as part of the mainstream media?

The September survey also asked Americans whether they think their main source for political news is part of the “mainstream media.”

Across many of the most common sources, large majorities of those who use each source say it is part of the mainstream media. For example, 84% of those who say CNN is their top source of election news say it’s part of the mainstream media, compared with just 5% who say it is not.

A majority of people who list Fox News as their main source say it is part of the mainstream media (61%). But this cable news network has a larger share of users who say that it is not mainstream (28%) than other top news outlets. About one-in-five Americans who name NPR as their main source of political news (19%) also say it is not mainstream media.

A relatively slim majority of Americans who say local TV is their main source of political news (57%) see it as mainstream media, but just 8% say this is not the case. Another 34% of these local TV news consumers say they aren’t sure whether their station is part of the mainstream media.

Partisanship and mainstream media

Overall, among those who listed a main source of political news, six-in-ten say that their source is part of the mainstream media. About a quarter (24%) say it is not mainstream and 16% aren’t sure.

Among those who named a main source of political news, Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are more likely than Republicans and GOP leaners to say that their main source of political news is part of the mainstream media (72% vs. 48%).

Meanwhile, Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say their main source of political news is not part of the mainstream media (36% vs. 13%).

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

• Election News
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Christopher St. Aubin is a research assistant focusing on news and information research at Pew Research Center .

More than half of Americans are following election news closely, and many are already worn out

Americans paid close attention as election returns came in, two-thirds of u.s. adults say they’ve seen their own news sources report facts meant to favor one side, americans plan to follow election returns closely; biden supporters more confident their news sources will make right call, political divides, conspiracy theories and divergent news sources heading into 2020 election, most popular.

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The Staying Power of Direct Mail Marketing

Who said direct mail is dead? Certainly not anyone working in marketing today—and certainly not Chitral Shah and Eduardo Mostrom, students of the Master’s in Integrated Marketing Communications program at Georgetown University. As students, they won the  Direct Effect™ Innovation Challenge sponsored by Capital One and the United States Postal Service, which centered on “The Forgotten Marketing Tool.”

Chitral Shah: Following My Gut 

When I was growing up, ads didn’t have a skip option, and over-the-top (OTT) advertising was not at its peak. However, the ads I knew and loved as a child remained in my head—I would ponder on them, analyzing their storytelling impact, sometimes even repeating the dialogues or jingles I loved. This was when I started understanding their power: the ability to use emotions to persuade someone’s feelings. Discussions evolved over the years and so did the means of communications. My curiosity to understand the ‘whys’ behind these influences led me to embark on a journey of exploration.   After a brief stint in public relations, I knew one thing for sure: I thrived in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment. It fueled my passion to change the world for the better. However, I also recognized a gap—I needed more skills to wield communications as a tool to craft impactful narratives. That’s when I decided to pursue a Master’s in Integrated Marketing Communications at Georgetown University. This program equipped me to answer the crucial question of ‘why it matters’ for brands.   Every class I took had one common takeaway: To curate the most strategic and creative approach, I needed to be cognizant of the ever-evolving business and cultural dynamics of the world. During my Consumer Research & Insights class, we learned how to unearth the ‘why’ and understand the underlying motivation for the way consumers behaved or reacted to an ad. This understanding played a pivotal role in winning the Direct Effect™ Innovation Challenge.   The aim of the challenge was to design a well-rounded, and research-driven campaign rooted in facts, but also remain engaging and relevant. In other words, an out-of-the-box campaign, and in the process try to achieve every marketer’s dream: to create something extraordinary. Initially, the thought of working with eight equally curious marketing professionals, whom I barely knew, felt daunting. To come up with a campaign in just four hours for Capital One seemed nearly impossible. However, I was in awe of how ideas floated around the table and how passionate we were while competing with other universities and pitching to the client. No one settled for anything less than extraordinary. In my opinion, we won because we worked as a team: brainstorming, playing to our strengths, and then coming together to combine our research insights to paint a colorful story. We truly believed in what we had created; it was as if we had a powerful gut feeling that our idea would work in reality.   Winning came with its perks. We were invited to present at the National Postal Forum (NPF) in Indianapolis to share our experience. 

My biggest takeaway from winning and attending the NPF was the importance of staying adaptable in a constantly changing world. And sometimes, change doesn’t always mean looking into the future— but sometimes the past, too. I learned about direct mail, a marketing tool that I thought was almost ancient, only to realize the power it holds today and the reach it has. Listening to professionals from all walks of life talk about their gut feelings, and how direct mail can make a difference, made me pause and reevaluate everything I’ve learned so far. 

It made me reflect upon the idea of integrated marketing. I was probably forgetting that there is more than one creative direction to stand out amid the social media clutter.   So what is this gut feeling? To me, it is a feeling of empowerment, one that makes me believe in the power of communication. In marketing, you have the opportunity to drive messaging through various channels depending on your campaign goals and this opportunity proved that there is still a place for direct mail. This gut feeling matters because it drives me to create stories that make this world a better place, ones that are worth remembering, just like the ad jingle I remember from when I was 5.

Eduardo Mostrom: Discovering Forgotten Marketing Tools

Having majored in public relations, with a couple of internships and relevant work in media relations and content development, I landed my first job in financial technology, or “fintech”, for a trade association. I realized that the digital era that we live in now requires more than just traditional media since we cannot use the press for everything, but we can use other tools such as email marketing, owned websites, and digital ads.

I started my journey at Georgetown University SCS with a Master’s in Integrated Marketing Communications . My third class was Campaign Management, and we had the opportunity to do an in-depth overview of marketing tools. 

In the fall of 2023, I received an invitation to participate in a challenge sponsored by Capital One and the United States Postal Service (USPS). Given my fintech background and Capital One’s involvement with the association I worked for, I believed I had an opportunity to shine in this challenge. The challenge was to implement a plan using direct mail, which is sometimes known as “The Forgotten Marketing Tool.” Over the years, direct mail marketing has lost its visibility among millennials and Gen Z, with many not even knowing what direct mail marketing is. 

Many of us grew up with the JCPenney and Fingerhut catalogs and the power they had in bringing us to their stores or calling to order an item. It makes us respond to their call to action and gives the marketer a higher number of impressions than digital. Emulating an agency environment with other Georgetown students, we divided the work into creativity, strategy, campaign planning, and implementation. 

After four hours to complete the challenge and a review from judges from Capital One and USPS, Georgetown was announced as the winner. The reason that set us apart was that we were the only team that provided an insight into what the Persona was for the target market Capital One was trying to reach for their Savor Card . 

Why did the persona set us apart? Well, it provided an overview of the ideal cardholder they were targeting: a “ College Student ” who just got their first card, is building their credit, and finds the perks the card offers useful for their lifestyle. 

In Spring 2024, we received an invitation to the National Postal Forum in Indianapolis to talk about our experience in the winning challenge. With all expenses paid and the opportunity to network with government officials, top consulting companies, agencies, and tons of cool people, my immediate reaction was “Yes! Let’s go to Indy.” 

As marketers, we are constantly bombarded with ideas for digital campaigns with catchy buzzwords that generate high impressions. In my research, I learned about a marketing tool that consistently achieves impressions: direct mail. When you receive a piece of mail, you see and interact with it, even if you do not follow through with the call to action. This level of engagement surpasses that of most digital tools and USPS aims to remind younger generations of the potency of mail marketing. In today’s digital-centric landscape, direct mail can differentiate a marketer.

A few months after winning the challenge, I interviewed with a top agency and had to submit a campaign idea as part of the interview process. While many campaign ideas are often similar, I aimed to distinguish myself by pitching direct mail marketing as one of my tactics. Let’s hope I get the job! 

Georgetown University has equipped me with the knowledge to stay current with the latest marketing tools, emerging trends, and effective yet overlooked methods. The opportunities for professional growth and networking at SCS are unparalleled.

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Yemen Faces Mounting Economic Challenges as Conflict Continues, Regional Tensions Escalate

Washington, October 31, 2024 — Yemen’s economy continues to confront deepening challenges as prolonged conflict, political fragmentation, and escalating regional tensions drive the country into an even more severe humanitarian and economic crisis, according to the World Bank’s latest Yemen Economic Monitor (YEM) . The Fall 2024 edition, " Confronting Escalating Challenges ", reveals that Yemen’s GDP is projected to contract by 1 percent in 2024, following a 2 percent decline in 2023, exacerbating the 54 percent drop in real GDP per capita since 2015. The conflict has pushed most Yemenis into poverty, while food insecurity has reached historic levels, with over 60 percent of the population now facing inadequate access to food.

The report underscores the significant economic hardships caused by the continued Houthi blockade on oil exports, which contributed to a 42 percent drop in fiscal revenues for the Internationally Recognized Government (IRG) in the first half of 2024, preventing it from providing essential services to the population. The suspension of IRG oil exports, combined with a heavy reliance on imports, has intensified external pressures, leading to a depreciation of the Yemeni Rial in the Aden market from 1,619 per US dollar in January 2024 to 1,917 by the end of August.

Since 2023, living conditions have deteriorated drastically for the majority of the population. In July 2024, World Bank phone surveys indicated that severe food deprivation more than doubled in some governorates. Economic fragmentation between Houthi- and IRG-controlled areas continues to worsen, with disparities in inflation and exchange rates undermining both stability and future recovery efforts. Simultaneously, regional tensions, especially in the Red Sea, have led to a more than 60 percent reduction in traffic through the strategic Bab El-Mandeb Strait and the Suez Canal. However, these disruptions have not yet resulted in significant increases in consumer prices.

“ Yemen’s economic and humanitarian challenges are growing more acute, yet the opportunity remains to reverse this downward trend with the right support ,” said Dina N. Abu-Ghaida, World Bank Country Manager for Yemen . “ Immediate action is required, including addressing fiscal and external imbalances, mitigating food insecurity, and fostering greater stability. We remain committed to working closely with partners to support Yemen’s recovery and pave the way for a sustainable future. ”

The YEM further details the potential risks to Yemen’s banking sector, which faced mounting tensions between the Houthis and IRG over regulatory control in the first half of the year. While regional and international mediation efforts have helped ease some tensions, the situation remains fragile, and the report recommends strengthening institutional resilience to manage inflation and fiscal challenges. The report also suggests improving trade routes and access to financial services to ease economic pressures and prevent further fragmentation.

Yemen’s economic outlook for 2025 remains bleak, with the continuation of regional conflict and internal strife threatening to deepen the fragmentation and worsen the social and humanitarian crisis. However, a potential peace dividend could spur rapid economic recovery, should a durable peace agreement be reached. This would pave the way for vital external assistance, reconstruction, and reforms necessary to stabilize the country and its economy.

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